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Summer 2011
An Inside Look
It has been a rough couple of years! Don’t get me wrong. I know that many people have it rougher than I do. And, there have been some very good things in the last couple of years. I am deeply encouraged by God. It just hasn’t been without some anguish.
Maybe I’m overstating it. You be the judge. Every year we have our Foundational Retreat for the youth ministers that are beginning our program in late August or early September. In the early days I envisioned this happening in May. This happened once. However, a great many youth ministers are hired in the summer time. So, we decided the late August time frame would be ideal.
In 2009 and 2010 I entered the month of August with zero participants signed up to begin the Youth Ministry Institute. That’s right. Zero. Goose Egg. I had no one to join the previous year’s class already in progress.
So, obviously I did some praying. One would think that the prayer I prayed might have gone something like this, “Please, please, PLEASE, God, give me some youth ministers that will participate in my program. I have worked very hard. Remember, that YOU called me to this!
That was not my prayer. Though tempted to pray that, I chose another way that matched my theology a little bit better. I prayed, “God, if you don’t want me to do this anymore, don’t give me anyone. Please make it obvious that I need to close up the shop.”
I was really okay with quitting. I didn’t want to. But, if the need didn’t exist, I didn’t want to waste time addressing it.
Miraculously, each of those years we added five youth ministers. I guess that God wasn’t done with YMI after all. In fact, we were able to refine other functions and systems within the organization during this time. We expanded our relationships with our partners and added new ones. Our philanthropy efforts were well received as income from our supporters increased. I felt that God was sending a stronger message. Don’t quit!!!
Beginning in October 2010, a dramatic shift occurred. For four years I had been doing pre-hiring consultations all over the state for churches that are in the process of hiring a youth minister. I usually did between four and seven each year. I use it as a marketing tool. Prior to 2009, 50% of those churches would sign up their youth minister to be in our program once they were hired. It was a different story in 2009 and 2010. None of the youth ministers joined YMI during these years because I consulted with their church before they were hired.
The ramifications of the poor economy were twofold. Youth ministers weren’t leaving jobs for fear they would not be able to find another one. And some churches decided to down size expenditures and not rehire a youth minister.
So, what was this most recent shift? Since October 2010 I have done 17 pre-hiring consultations, three times as many as I would normally do on average in a year! Youth ministers were moving. Churches were hiring again. 75% of this year’s participants come from these consultations. This past weekend four churches completed their interviewing process and have orally committed to enrolling their youth minister in the Youth Ministry Institute. Another two churches made oral commitments. Five churches may complete their process in the next month, hopefully making it in under the deadline for this year’s class.
God continues to make it obvious. Don’t quit! There is a need!!!
A New Class Begins
On Monday the new class of youth ministers began. There are eight in the class representing all sorts of demographics and interest. Most were hired within the last six months. Two hadn't even "officially" met their kids as the youth minister!
Their first activity together consisted of a two-day Foundational Retreat. Strangers become friends in a short amount of time. Our largest Foundational Retreat in the short history of YMI resulted in new insight gained as five different instructors communicated the values of the Youth Ministry Institute. They were taught the framework of our leadership curriculum which focuses on self awareness and authenticity. The new youth ministers learned what "color" they are through a personality temperament inventory. Budgeting, spiritual disciplines and organization were covered in great detail. Amazingly enough, there still may be other members that join this class. They have until September 19th to be part of this great group of beginning youth ministers.
Partner Highlight
HUMAN eX Ventures
I have a typical youth minister’s office. No. I don’t have an executive director’s office. I’m not entirely sure I would be comfortable in one. Too many earth tones. I have a small basketball goal hanging on my closet door. The basketball can be found rolling around some place on my floor. Hanging from the goal are name tags from every conference I have attended in the last several years – like I’ll wear any of them anytime soon. I have a white board littered with colorful lists of the things I must complete to keep my head above water. On one wall I have framed and hung the degrees that prove my pedigree in business and law but have been little help in my profession. I also honor my universities with various tributes throughout the room including a Jayhawk gnome and a 2008 Champions poster. I have a small refrigerator with stale food in it, a small television that I never use and a rack of magazines that I have read but won’t look at again. Behind me are shelves of books. Proudly, I have read most of them. Above the shelves are the senior pictures of youth who have graduated from my youth group. And, of course on my desk and on my door are pictures of my own children so that I can remember that they are the most important youth in my life.
So, when I scheduled a meeting with Brad Black, CEO of HUMAN eX Ventures I had to do a little cleaning. Brad is from Nebraska and was traveling to Orlando on other business. His company developed a unique assessment tool that measures the extent that a youth minister might utilize each of ten core competencies. We use this tool to develop our youth ministries so that not only will their knowledge grow, so will their character. The Youth Ministry Institute has been using it exclusively with the youth ministers enrolled in YMI.
I asked for the meeting so that we might explore the use and expansion of the interview tool. It seemed to me that if we interviewed more youth ministers, the tool would become stronger and we could help other similarly situated organizations. I also wanted to make our partnership more intentional and interconnected. To my delight, Brad was very receptive to this. He told me about other tools his company is working on that would eventually benefit our work.
We are in the final stages of working out the details of our revised partnership. I am very excited. There are a few things that make the Youth Ministry Institute unique. This assessment tool is one of them. The amount of personal growth that occurs as a result of our work with the tool and the developmental processes we have created allows youth ministers to more accurately live into their potential. Therefore, it excites me to use it more extensively so that we might help other youth ministers, too.
Coming Soon
YMI Appreciation Event
We are appreciative of the many people who support the Youth Ministry Institute. Our board of directors continues to look for ways to show appreciation. Be on the look out for multiple Appreciation Events throughout the year. It is our hope that these events will be a window into the operation of the Youth Ministry Institute. It is one thing to hear about the great work that God is doing in the lives of youth ministers and the ministries that they lead. It is quite another thing to see it in action.
The next event is October 14, 2011. The board of directors would like for supporters to come and see first hand the inner workings of The Academy, an event designed for youth ministers and their volunteer teams. The Skit Guys are the headline act. Eddie and Tommy mix humor with a deep meaningful message to deliver God’s word in a manner in which it is remembered and personal.
We’ll gather for dinner at 5:30 at 142 East Jackson Street in Orlando. After some words of introduction, we’ll head up to our reserved seats for the Skit Guys. As a bonus, Mark DeVries, noted youth minister and author, will also be speaking that night. Mark most recently wrote a book called The Indispensable Youth Pastor in which he quotes (on page 57) our executive director, Steve Schneeberger.
We consider our organization to be family. There is this network of brothers, sisters and distance cousins thrice removed of which you are a part. If you support the Youth Ministry Institute, then please come to this family reunion.
My wife and I bought a house last Monday. I’m feeling a little guilty. I know I shouldn’t. But, I do. Let me give you a little bit of the back story.
Our previous house of 15 years was 1200 square feet, which was fine when it was just my wife and I. Then, we added a dog, a cat, a human girl and two human boys. Oh, and by the way, for those of you who don’t live in Florida – we didn’t have a basement. Northerners don’t know how Floridians can survive without basements. Pile on the fact that we didn’t have a garage AND our cars parked nightly under a pine tree that continually dripped sap.
An aside: a few years ago I took my car to the car wash – one of those car washes where they have three guys prep it, send it through the 100 foot tunnel and then, at the end, another three guys wipe it down. My car is a 1997 Explorer and doesn’t get treated to this kind of car wash very often. At the end I claim my car by handing my ticket to one of the guys. Usually they say, “Thank you very much, sir.” This time I was scolded for parking my car under a pine tree. “It is ruining your paint,” he said. The pine tree covers my drive way. So, a couple of weeks later I parked my car on the street because my wife’s car was parked in the middle of the driveway. That night the neighbor across the street backed into my car leaving a big crease on the driver’s side door and quarter panel. I wanted to take my car back to the car wash and say to the guy, “See. I didn’t park it under the pine tree this time!” Of course, the best way to get rid of the sap was to have the whole quarter panel replaced. The next time I should ask my neighbor to drop something on top of the car as this is where most of the sap hardens.
Back to the new house and my guilt. Our new house is 2800 square feet with a three car garage. Ugh. There, I said it.
My bedroom is bigger than the living room at my old house. There are places I can go where I don’t hear the other people with whom I am living. I have a bathroom with a real door that locks (I know. That is good for another story at another time.) My wife and I can occupy the bathroom at the same time without touching one another! We have a living room and dining room that are empty because these rooms didn’t exist in the old house. I’m not really sure what they are used for. I think I’m going jockey for a pool table and some arcade games. It is easy to tell that this experience is causing monumental changes in our lifestyle!
My wife and I were also shopping for a neighborhood that would be great for our kids. On the second day after we moved in, five neighborhood kids came and introduced themselves. On the third day our kids were out playing with them – hide and go seek, bike riding, swimming at their pool. For three hours we trusted that our kids were okay playing outside without our supervision. We wouldn’t have done that in our old neighborhood. We didn’t know that this was still possible in the 21st century.
Why is there an instant level of trust in this community? You see, our development is a half mile square and is ringed by a wall with one gate leading into the 77 homes. When we tell people where we live, they say, “Oh, yeah, behind the wall.”
Here comes my guilt. I have always made fun of people in gated communities (behind their backs of course). I have always felt that a gate gives a false sense of security. What if the criminals lived inside the gate? Or what if people with gate access let the nar-do-wells in? To prove my point, our gate has been broken for the last three weeks. Anybody can come in!
I have also had a certain prejudice about people that live in nice houses and nice neighborhoods. I’m sure that most of it stemmed from jealousy. I wanted to live in a nice house and in a nice neighborhood.
So, I know that you are asking, “How can he afford to live there? He is a youth minister. He can’t make that much money.” I’m asking myself the same question.
There were four houses for sale in this community. After we looked at the first one, our realtor asked me, “What do you think?” I said, “I’m not thinking because I can’t afford this house. They are asking way beyond my ceiling. Let’s not come back here.”
What I discovered is that the combination of a flooded market in this neighborhood plus overall declining housing prices, low interest rates and the amount of equity I had in my old home (which sold in 19 days) allowed me to buy a house within my price range. I could afford it.
I’m still feeling guilty. I’m a hypocrite. Even though I am living well within my means, I feel like I’m living beyond them.
I am very very thankful to have found the house in this neighborhood. It is exactly what we were looking for and more. I guess, what it boils down to is that I expected to find what I was looking for. I didn’t expect something beyond my comprehension.
I’m not saying God gave us this house even though I am very thankful to God for every good thing that happens in my life and the lives of my family and others. I would venture to say that God does give us experiences beyond our comprehension. I have experienced that in this instance and at other pivotal times in my life.
And, just like God’s love, I have trouble getting my mind around it. So, instead of simply accepting it, I have to rationalize it and end up feeling guilty for not being worthy of the gift.
I plan to get beyond guilt and rational thought so that I might enjoy all the extravagant experiences that God has planned for me. I know it will take some time. But, I want to enjoy this stage of my life, too.
By the way, let me know if you would like the gate code. Or, who knows, it might still be broken.
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