Simply Kurt

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2008-07-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

THE GOOD:
Spent most of the day today visiting our three regional campuses at their high school summer camp. We take our junior highers to the same camp next week, so it was an added bonus to get a sneak peak ahead of time. Our three regional campuses are doing a great job and it was really fun to spend a little time with the staff and students from those campuses.

THE BAD:
It was really, really hot. We left right when organized rec. time was starting and I couldn't bare the thought of 400 high schoolers being forced to create cheers, run around with banners and compete for cheesy points. The camp does a great job with rec, but to me camp rec always equals bad. Am I alone in that sentiment?

THE UGLY:
I'll be the first to admit that my youth ministry mindset is often one of "anything you can do, we can do better". While visiting the camp today it didn't take long for me to switch from a mindset of "I'm just here to visit some of my team and students" to "I'm going to critique each aspect of camp and come up with reasons we could provide a better camp by doing it ourselves." I get that part of my role is to provide the best possible experiences for my students and to ensure they are getting their money's worth at events etc. But it is shocking to me how quickly and easily I judge and criticize the efforts of other Christ-loving brothers and sisters who, at the end of the day, have the same goals for my students as I do. I DON'T want to run camp and I'm so thankful we go to an incredible camp that does an incredible job.

Junior High Ministry Prizes

2008-07-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things I probably would have given away as prizes 10 years ago that I couldn't get away with today.
- Squirting Cigarettes
- Switchblade Comb
- Potato Gun

Obama and McCain Civil Forum

2008-07-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

The rumors have been confirmed. On August 16th, Saddleback will host both candidates in a civil forum. Rick Warren will lead the discussion. Should be interesting.

Monday Miscellaneous

2008-07-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

- This weekend was week #5 of our 'Full Service Summer' series. Overall, it was a great weekend. Bethany, a member of our JH team taught a great lesson on how to put the brakes on temptation. It was the first weekend of the Summer that attendance was fairly low.

- Wasted most of the evening last night watching the Deadliest Catch marathon.

- Kayla is at Disneyland, and Cole is at a buddy's house so Rachel and I spent some time on a 'date' shopping for sales on riding gear. Bought two new helmets and a jersey.

- Tomorrow we say goodbye to Allison Hibbard. Allison grew up in our junior high ministry, served as an intern for two years after college and has spent the last 5 years as a member of our full-time team. She's moving to Kenya for six months. Not sure what our ministry will be like without her.

Friday; And I'm Wondering...

2008-07-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

...What the easiest way to lose 10 pounds is. I've heard you can loose it just by drinking water instead of soda. For the first time in my life, I'm a little heavier than I want to be.

...If Heath Ledger is really as good in Dark Knight as we've been hearing. We'll find out tonight.

...Why Cherry Coke and Sweet Tea have such a grip on me. Most likely the reason I need to lose 10 pounds.

...How many of the "core" kids in my ministry have ever had a spiritual conversation with one of their friends.

...When our junior high ministry will have a new intern or two. This is the first time in several years that we've been without. Intersted?

...Why CBS cancelled 'Cane' after one season. A decent show that, I think, would have picked up steam.

...If the ministry I lead has done a good job recently of loving, thanking, encouraging our volunteers. Our ministry would fail to exist if it weren't for them.

Encouraging Kids To Serve

2008-07-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

At the PDYM student leadership conference we have had two teenage guests who are both making a significant impact for the kingdom share their stories.

Bethany Hamilton is the young woman from Hawaii who was attacked by a Shark a few years ago while surfing, and lost an arm as a result. Bethany had a promising career ahead of her and was tagged as one of the best up and coming female surfers. Since the attack, Bethany has refused to give up the sport she loves and has continued to climb the professional surfing ranks. She also travels the world sharing her incredible story and her love for Jesus.

Austin Gutwein is the high school freshman who started Hoops of Hope when he was 10 years old. Hoops of hope raises money for children orphaned by HIV. Austin loves basketball and decided he could get others to join him in a 'shoot-a-thon' to make a difference in the world.

Bethany is using something that happened to her to make a difference in the world and Austin is using something he's passionate about.

What a simple way to encourage our students that they can make a difference. When God allows crazy things to happen to us, it is an opportunity to use that experience to encourage others. When God puts passions in our lives, we can use those passions to encourage others. Every single student in your ministry has one or the other or both!

What Do The Experts Know Anyway!

2008-07-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

I was snooping around CPYU.Org and stumbled across this recent list of Top 10 television shows.

Rank TV Program Audience (in millions)

1. America's Got Talen t (NBC) 12
2. Wipeout (ABC) 9.5
3. Criminal Minds (CBS) 9.1
4. So You Think You Can Dance - Thu. (Fox) 8.8
5. CSI: NY (CBS) 8.5
6. Two and a Half Men (CBS) 8.5
7. 60 Minutes (CBS) 8.2
8. House (Fox) 8.1
9. CSI: Miami (CBS) 8
10.Hell's Kitchen (Fox) 8
Source: Neilsen Media Research

Do you remember several years ago when the "Reality T.V." craze kicked into high gear? At the time, most television experts and pundits went on the record as saying that reality tv would only last a year or two. It's interesting that in the list above, 4 of the top 10 tv shows are reality shows. In fact, 3 of the top 4 fall into the category!

The lesson: Experts and pundits aren't always right. Every field has its experts, and in every field, those experts can often be wrong in their assessments and predictions. Youth ministry is no different. And is often the case in other fields, the youth ministry experts, pundits and predictors of things to come are often far removed from the real world of youth ministry. I appreciate the wisdom and observations of men and women who observe trends, society, theology and try to help us figure out where it's all heading. But I also realize that they can be wrong. It doesn't make them less smart or less authoritative, just wrong sometimes.

Keep reading, keep going to seminars, keep talking to people you respect. But don't change your entire ministry based on what today's hot youth ministry topic is among the experts.

When I look at that list I notice a couple things:
First, things change and progress, and that's vital to progress.
Second, while some things change, lots of things stay the same.

Perhaps that's not a bad way to look at youth ministry.

Some questions to chew on:
- What things in your specific ministry have changed that you didn't expect?
- What things did you think would have changed by now that haven't?
- What things desperately need to change and you are willing to make it happen?
- What things must never change?

Monday Miscellaneous

2008-07-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

- Week 4 of "Full Service Summer" went really, really well. Heading into the weekend, I didn't love my lesson and after teaching it twice on Saturday night I really didn't love my lesson. But I was kinda stuck with it so headed into Sunday committed to giving it my best shot for final two services. My final evaluation of my lesson is this: Students seemed to like it and my insecurity of wanting to always be funny and captivating made me feel like this lesson wasn't very good because it wasn't as funny or captivating as normal. We had great attendance, games were fun, music was great, and the horrific acoustics in the gym couldn't even hold us back...even though they tried really, really hard.

- Played poker last night (we never play for money...just for fun). I went "All In" in the third hand and got schooled. My three Aces got beat by a straight. Needless to say I was home sitting next to Rachel on the couch much earlier than planned.

- I'm reading The Shack and, to be honest, I'm a little disappointed. Disappointed only because I expected it to be either the most amazing, world shaking and spiritually inspirational book of all time (based on what so many people say) or the most heretical, blasphemous, faith-wrecking book of all time (based on what so many people say). It is what it is: A good read with some great inspiration wrapped in a creative allegory.

- Spending the morning this morning working on my general session message for our PDYM student leadership conference. I feel nervous and unprepared and I believe I speak the session right before Francis Chan which will certainly set him up to look REALLY good! Better that I go before him than after him, I suppose. Wow, insecurity about teaching seems to be a recurring theme for me lately.

- Hoping to go for an afternoon surf today which would be the third time this week. I love Summer.

If Junior High Youth Group Was Like Costco

2008-07-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

....Kids would need a membership card to get in (bummer)
....Grace, encouragement, acceptance etc. would come in mass quantities (brilliant)
...It would be well organized (brilliant)
...Some offerings would never change, but lots of things would be rotated out (brilliant)
...The stuff we sell at our snack shack would be the best deal in town! (brilliant)
...There would be lots of kids on the outside looking in (bummer)

Okay, that's about all I've got. It sounded like an easy analogy but maybe not. Shoot us your contributions!

Junior High-Friendly Resource

2008-07-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Even though '10-Minute Talks' wasn't written specifically for junior high workers, I think it could be an incredible tool for people who work with young teens. What JH youth worker couldn't use a couple dozen short, sweet, simple lessons to keep on hand for when they find themselves in a pinch? I have a feeling I'll grab this book far too often!

Random Randomness

2008-07-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

- This week is flying buy! I've been gone since Tuesday morning on our annual "Burly" trip for JH guys. We limit the trip to 50 students and try to beef up on leaders so the event feels highly relational.

- Last weekend was week 3 of our "Full Service Summer" series. The object lesson was on the Exhaust Pipe. Application: Our outside actions, attitudes and words are closely related to what's going on "under our hood".

- Saw Hancock with a couple buddies on Saturday night. Above average but not great. The best part of Hancock (and, in my opinion often the best part of most movies he's in) was Jason Bateman. He has slowly become my favorite actor.

- I often say that junior high ministry is more about "long term fruit" than what you see in the moment. A recent example for us is Kathryn. Kathryn was in our ministry about 10 years ago. She went away to college, struggled in her faith for a bit and has returned this summer as a volunteer in our ministry. Her faith is strong and her servant's heart is amazing. She points to her junior high years in our ministry as key to her life experience. A great reminder of importance of young teen ministry.

- On Monday night our family went to the beach. It was the first time I've surfed in several months and I am still sore! It's amazing how quickly one gets out of 'surf shape'. The highlight of the night was watching Kayla and Cole paddle into their own waves.

Interesting Survey About High School Personas

2008-07-03T09:42:00.001-07:00

It turns out that your persona in high school (nerd, jock, cheerleader, etc.) has strong influence on your future career. Read more about it here.

I had a hard time placing myself in a specific category...I was a weird mix of the entire bunch. I guess that's why I'm I weird mix today.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

2008-07-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

THE GOOD:
The past couple of weeks have been like a breath of fresh air to me. Because it's summertime and because of our crazy schedule, I have been more "hands on" with our junior high ministry than I have in quite a while. I've always been really involved in most of the bigger day to day stuff, but in order to pull everything off in this season I've been doing everything from building stage props to shopping for prizes to coming up with the game ideas to working the information booth....you name it, and I've had my hands in it. I'm not sure it's been good for everybody else to have me up close and personal, but it's been GREAT for my own joy factor.

THE BAD:
As amazing as our new facility is, one thing stands out as HORRIBLE....the acoustics in our junior high room. Because of budget constraints, we eliminated acoustic treatments about a year ago while we were building. But the sound is so bad in our room that without some solution, I really believe we run the risk of attendance dropping. Students simply have to work too hard to clearly hear what's going on.

THE UGLY:
Last weekend during my lesson there was a brand new crop of cute little 7th grade girls sitting right up front. During most of my lesson they were talking fairly loudly amongst themselves. In a moment of weakness I called them out in front of entire group, which isn't the ugly part. The ugly part was my attitude and super sarcastic tone. Here's what I said (please read in your most sarcastic tone of voice):
"Hey you girls wouldn't happen to be brand new 7th graders would you? Yes? Oh, that explains why you're so immature and squirrley. Here in Junior High, we actually try to be respectful when somebody else is talking."
Ouch. Needless to say they didn't interrupt my lesson after that. The only redeeming piece of that story is that I tracked them down after service to apologize for the way I handled the situation which seemed to earn me some favor and grace.

Monday Miscellaneous

2008-06-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

- Our second weekend in our new building was MUCH smoother than our first. We managed to iron out lots and lots of wrinkles, which felt really good.

- Week 2 of "Full Service Summer" went well. The object lesson for the week was the steering wheel and the lesson was built around the idea of steering your life and choices God's way. The acoustics in the junior high room are really bad which adds some significant challenges, but we'll get that dialed in. Our new 7th graders don't seem quite as tiny and nervous as usual...they are jumping right in!

- Couldn't resist the temptation to see Wanted with the guys the other night. I should have. Too dark for my taste.

- We drive two big SUVs (one was a gift and the other might as well have been...)and the price of gas is killing me. I've never been called an environmentalist, but my conscious is beginning to question the need to burn oil at the rate we do. Of course I'm honest enough to acknowledge that my concerns about the environment seem to have only increased as the price of gas has!

- The car I want to replace my Expedition with is a Scion XB. Anybody have one or have any informed opinions?

- Looking forward to a super lazy day off. Absolutely nothing planned.

Finally Summer

2008-06-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

Now that we have moved into our new building and now that promotion weekend is behind us, it is FINALLY time to start the Summer season. This Summer, more than any other, we are adhering to the "Cheap and Easy" philosophy of events. Other than our Summer camp and one other over-nighter, all of our events are super cheap and super easy for students to attend. No sign ups, just show up.

The trend with our families seems to be the more spontaneous they can be with their decesion to attend an event, the better the attendance. I wish they planned for youth activities the way they plan for sports and school events, but they just don't. We decided to quit fighting the system and try to join it. So things like dodgeball, frisbee golf on campus, open Refinery nights, meet us at the park etc. are quickly becoming Summer-time staples.

Would be curious to hear your thoughts and experiences...

Lemonade Burglar

2008-06-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, I saw some really young kids selling lemonade on a fairly busy street corner and thought to myself, "man, I wonder if lemonade stands ever get robbed".
Today I saw this story.
Don't mess with 12-year-olds and their livelihood!

Monday Miscellaneous

2008-06-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

- Saw Get Smart on Friday night. Fun, but average. Updating classics always seems to be a risky business.

- We opened our new student center, The Refinery this weekend and it was unbelievable. The energy level was off the charts. Additionally, we brought back our fourth youth service (Sundays at 11:15) that we eliminated a year ago. The result: almost 150 extra junior highers. Well worth the effort.

- I went home SUPER sick after the 11:15 service and missed the final night of our church-wide grand opening tours. Our team has been working around the clock for several weeks and even though I felt like I was on my death bed, it felt terrible to not be there with them.

- Our Summer series, Full Service, kicked off fairly well. Each week we will look at a different car part and build an object lesson around it. Should be fun.

- I think I want some ice cream.

Box Boy

2008-06-20T08:48:00.001-07:00

This picture pretty much summarizes my life for the past week. In a hectic rush to get the Refinery open for last night's "sneak peak" and this weekend's student ministry programs, Our entire team has been on site chipping in.

What I haven't done this week:

- Thought about the budget of our summer events.
- Looked at our summer camp registration list.
- Participated in church staff meetings of any kind.
- Returned a phone call from my executive pastor.
- Worked on my weekend lesson.
- Met with an upset parent.
- Debated elders over the importance of valuing the young teens of the church.

What I have done this week:

- Assembled air hockey tables.
- Broke down and discarded truckloads of cardboard boxes.
- Swept, power washed, swept, power washed.
- Broke down and discarded truckloads of cardboard boxes.
- Moved hundreds chairs and tables
- Broke down and discarded truckloads of cardboard boxes.
- Assembled concrete picnic tables
- And I think that was all just yesterday!

It's been one of the best weeks of ministry in a long time!

Dear Blog

2008-06-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog,
I'm sorry that you and I haven't been spending much time together lately. It's not that I have lost interest or moved onto something sexier, it's just that I've been busy lately. I still think of you and long to spend time with you but you know how life can get. This isn't a 'Dear John' letter and I hope you can trust me when I say that you mean just as much to me today as you ever have. In fact, I hope our relationship is strong enough to weather a slightly stormy season.
Blog, I enjoy our friendship and look forward to continuing to see it flourish. I will still try to visit you on a daily basis to catch up but when that can't happen, please understand that it is only for a short time.

Love,
Kurt

Monday Miscellaneous

2008-06-16T12:47:00.001-07:00

- Said farewell to our 8th graders this past weekend, my daughter being one of them. Spent the time between each service giving more "check book tours" of our new building.

- Today, all hands were on deck at 7:00 a.m. (haven't had a day off in several weeks) to begin the grunt work of moving in furniture, assembling things, cleaning, vacuuming, moving piles of sand and numerous other last minute projects to get ready for first grand opening tour this Thursday night.

- Heard an interesting question earlier: Who do you think is facing bigger odds: Rocco Mediate against Tiger Woods or Lakers winning two against Boston at home? My vote goes to Lakers facing tougher odds.

- Kung Fu Panda: Go see it.

- Today is Kayla's 14th Birthday. A bunch of her friends surprised her with an early morning kidnapping. She really does have a fantastic inner circle of friends who treat each other well, and look out for each other.

- Our junior high department just traded our old, beat-up RV for a sweet 1976 Ford Ranchero that will double as a utility truck for our ministry. I think it gets about 5 gallons to the mile!

- I have suddenly lost a bunch of my interest in the political race. I just can't get excited about either candidate. Not sure I love the type of change I think Obama represents (although I do like his charisma) but don't care much for the status quo that I think McCain represents either (not sure he knows what the word charisma means). What to do.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2008-06-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

THE GOOD:
After more than four years in the making, we are slated to move into The Refinery (our new student ministry center) next weekend, June 21-22 which happens to be the first weekend of the Summer and also our promotion weekend. The place is amazing and energy and anticipation are at an all time high.

THE BAD:
There are still quite a few loose ends, specifically the certificate of occupancy. Yesterday the fire marshall walked through and gave us a fairly short list of things that needed to be fixed. Every day that we wait for the green light to "move in" means one less day for all the stuff we need to do before our first programs in just over a week. It's kinda like getting the keys to a house. At that moment, the building will be ours but we have to get it cleaned up, set up, organized, tweaked etc.

THE UGLY:
Because we have so much promo in our church body and the community announcing the grand opening date, I cringe to think about the consequences if we miss our deadline.

LIVE Bible Update

2008-06-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, when I posted about Group's new LIVE Bible, I was having trouble downloading information from the website so I linked to Amazon instead. Here is the link to a much better description (including a video) on the Group site.

New Bible For Students!

2008-06-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

For years and years and years, the bible we have recommended and sold to our junior highers has been the Life Application for Teens. And for the last couple of years I've felt like it may be time to make a switch, but I love the Life Application so much that I just haven't been able to find something that I like enough to warrant replacing my old friend.

Part of my struggle has been that so many Bibles for teens are just plain dorky, and not something I get excited about selling to my students. That's always been part of the allure of the Life Application for Teens; it's simple, classic, and great for teenagers.

Today at the Large Church Youth Ministry Summit at Group Publishing, they put something in our hands that has me questioning my loyalty to the Life Application Bible. The LIVE Bible (not sure I love the name. Is it live as in "Wow, this bible makes me feel like I'm listening to Jesus' voice live and in person." or is it live as in "Wow, this bible really helps me live like Jesus."?) is fresh, trendy looking, edgy, but not dorky and full of really neat features such as artwork contributed by students, stickers to customize the cover, great insights etc. And best of all, it seems really junior high friendly.

My hunch is that after almost a decade of faithful service to our students, I will be trading in the Life Application Bible for The Live Bible....if I can figure out how to pronounce the name!

Monday Miscellaneous

2008-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

- Crazy, but amazing weekend! We wrapped up our "Heroes" series with a lesson about the men who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. In addition to our usual jh program, we were giving "checkbook tours" of the Refinery before and after every service. Additionally we hosted our end-of-the-school year volunteer appreciation BBQ. So needless to say things were a bit hectic.

- Saw Kung-Fu Panda with my family over the weekend. I gotta say, I think it is one of the more enjoyable animated films I've ever seen. Just dumb, silly humor.

- As of last week, our junior high ministry officially has ZERO interns for the first time in about 5 years. In the past we've had as many as five at a time so this feels fairly foreign. If you know anybody who would be interested in a two year internship, pass them my way!

- Not sure the Lakers can come back from an 0-2 start to the series. Because of how both teams have played in the playoffs, I honestly thought the Lakers would take the championship easily.

- Had a really nasty hotel experience last night: I arrived to my room at about 1:30 a.m. only to find that the bed had been made but sheets not cleaned....dirty, hairy, totally gross. There was no housekeeping available at that hour so the front desk handed me a set of clean sheets and pillow cases so I could change them myself. Truly a disgusting scene.

Simply Kurt

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Junior High Ministry Prizes

Obama and McCain Civil Forum

Monday Miscellaneous

Friday; And I'm Wondering...

Encouraging Kids To Serve

What Do The Experts Know Anyway!

Monday Miscellaneous

If Junior High Youth Group Was Like Costco

Junior High-Friendly Resource

Random Randomness

Interesting Survey About High School Personas

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Monday Miscellaneous

Popular Podcast Topic: What To Do When You're New

Finally Summer

Lemonade Burglar

Monday Miscellaneous

Box Boy

Dear Blog

Monday Miscellaneous

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

LIVE Bible Update

New Bible For Students!

Monday Miscellaneous