Dunn Funn

I recently taught this lesson to a group of Senior Highers. I have provided the outline for your use. I usually leave the blanks, but I will fill them in for you in the post so that you can know where to go with them. Feel free to use this in anyway to aid in your ministry. I’d also love feedback on this: What else should I add, what other points might be important, any other scripture that we could do. This was a 20 minute lesson as is. The outline is adapted from the July 15th entry in Nelson’s Annual Youth Ministry SOURCEBOOK, 2007 edition. http://www.ecampus.com/book/1418508977 I highly recommend this book for any youth ministry. Enjoy!!

Just a note, I refer to the Apostle Paul as “Grand Master ‘P’. It’s funny how sometimes the strangest things help kids to remember certain things…..

You be the Judge!!

Imagine the perfect person of the opposite sex. What do they look like? What are they wearing? What are they doing? Did you imagine anyone in this room? (C’mon, you know that you were thinking of me….

We all have ______________standards_______________________________. We all have ideals. The question that needs to be asked is how do we use our standards to make our decisions?

When we use our standards to make our decisions, we call it: ___discernment_______________.
We discern things in a lot of ways, but there is a fool proof way of doing this.

Romans 2:1-16 What does The Grand Master “P” (Paul) say about judging?

We are judged in Three Ways by God.
1.According to the ________Truth_____________.
2.According to ___________Deeds__________________.
3.According to the _______Light a Person has__________________.

We need to use these same measures for Discerning things in life. I believe that God has given us some good tools as well that we need to use everyday.
Jason’s Rules for Discernment
1. Does it ___________Feel Right_________________________?
2. Does it ______Build Someone Up_________________________?
3. What are my ____Friends saying about it__________________?
4. Why am I _______Doing it_______________________?

Paul makes the point that “first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” I believe we can further that by saying “first for the Christian, then for the non-Christian.” We will be judged by our actions, by the truth, and by the “light” that we shine in this world. We have an immense responsibility to live a Christlike life, when we choose to call ourselves publically a Believer.

What are you holding back. What things in your life are you participating in that could corrode your Faith. Let God search your heart and give in to His Grace.

“With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility” Gandalf

Blogging is fun! I know that I’ve been a slacker as of late, but hey, sometimes life happens. Its fun to get your thoughts out there for the world to see. It’s fun to get responses from that world at times as well. The internet can be a really cool place, sometimes. Its a place that we can find encouragement, humor, and even some spiritual insight at times. And if you’re looking for all those things I’d like to introduce you to my Niece:

This Little Muffin Head, as her mother calls her, is a very special girl. She has Hemi-plagia (a form of Cerebral Palsy). But she doesn’t let that stop her from doing a lot of things.

Check out this blog dedicated not only to the Little Muffin Head, but to parents, moms, and anyone who deals with those kids with special needs everyday. Share in my sister-in-laws joys and struggles, and give her a little love too.

http://www.littlemuffinhead.blogspot.com/

I’m the father of three wonderful (sometimes frustrating) kids. 7, 5, 3, that’s their ages, odd numbers for sometimes odd kids. I love the little things about being a father. Everyday I come home from work to smiling kids. My youngest is always there to give me a hug as I walk through the door. The other older ones always stop and say “HI Dad!” and then go about their business (hey, they’re busy) I LOVE that.

Right now, we’re potty-training our 3 year. (Ok, maybe its more like the Bataan Death March, since we’ve been at it since LAST September.) This potty training has a very unique component to it. At night, just before I go to sleep I take her to the bathroom. I stalk into her room and pick her out of bed and carry her off to the potty. It’s actually one of my favorite times of the day. When I pick her up she is still 95% asleep so she wraps her arms tightly around my neck and her legs tightly around my stomach and nuzzles her head in the crook of my neck. I LOVE that.

She’s so close and so fragile and totally my responsibility and the very best thing is that she fits perfectly in that position with my body. It’s like we were made for each other.

Its like that with all of our kids. Its those late night, grabbing them out of the car seat, still asleep, times that you realize it. You realize that this parenthood stuff is special, feels good, and is so humbling. You realize that you don’t ever want to lose that feeling of closeness that you have with your children at THAT moment.

Our Heavenly Father wants to have that same kind of relationship with us. He wants to be that close. He wants to be there, to carry us into our beds, tuck us in and kiss us on the foreheads. He desires that kind of relationship with us, His children. He wants us to stop what we’re doing, if only for a brief second, and say “HI Dad!”

Galatians 4:6,7 “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

This is one of my newsletter articles for my church this past year. I was really just ranting about what truly is important. To say the least, I got a lot of reaction to this particular one….

I started to attend Center Church about 13 years ago, and one of the first things I remember about the church might catch you by surprise. Of all the things, I remember the bulletin, and more importantly what was on the front. It’s something that has stayed with me all this time. It simply stated: “Continuing that we might become like Jesus. Romans 8:29” I’ve recently come across that verse again but in a different context. In The Message translation it reads like this:

29-30God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

I like that verse. “We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.” This verse tells us to be like Jesus. That was God’s goal for us, to model our lives after Jesus.

What I’m about to say might be a little controversial but I do feel very strongly about it. When I think about children, teens, and young adults I see them through the lens of this verse. Do we want children to “behave,” to be “mature,” or do we want them to be like Jesus?

I’m not saying that I think there should be no control, but what I’m saying is, “what are we focusing on?” Our goal should be that our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, young friends, etc become like Jesus, not be small adults. We worry about their behavior, but do we worry about their Spiritual Behavior?

As I begin to think about this coming year, I’m going to be asking myself that question a lot when it comes to the kids in our youth ministry and my own children. I’m going to focus on their most important behavior, their relationship with Christ. Will you join me?

I’m a spring type of person. I love this time of year. It’s just getting a little warmer. The sun feels so great on my skin. The grass is a little greener. It’s a welcome relief from the short and cold days of winter.

When I think of this time of year I think of the smells. I have the baseball glove that I used all through my childhood. Sometimes I just take that glove and cover up my face with it and breathe in. It is a great smell and so unique. That battered old leather brings back so many memories. It is amazing how one little insignificant thing can evoke such joy and excitement. I’ve made so many memories with that glove, so many lessons, so many significant times and places, and I’m transported back to them by just a little whiff of that saddle soap soaked piece of cow.

Memories are important. Working with the kids in our church reminds me of that every day. Many times we as youth leaders are striving to create significant memories for the youth. We take them to retreats like Winter Weekend. We spend time raising money for The 30 Hour Famine. We go to events like Acquire the Fire. We take them on mission trips. We do all this to have an impact, to put a God shaped dent into their hearts. These things are important. When they look at pictures, hear a verse from that event, even remember the car ride, they are hopefully reminded of how God was speaking to them during that time.

Easter is a time for memory as well. Easter is time when we remind ourselves of the true Love that God had for us in giving up His Son. It is a time that we are reminded of His Grace and how we most definitely don’t deserve it. Lastly, we are reminded of how we can begin anew because of what Christ did for us on that Cross.

Memories are important. Let’s remember to make some that last!

What started out as a test to see if I could post a YouTube Video on my blog has become a very interesting post indeed. The Internet is a crazy place and Second Life is a mystery to me. I mean I know the basics, a giagantic sim world where people hang out and explore. Pretty much a myspace on speed. I just came across this and thought that it was an interesting and thought provoking video and also well done…. I’m not saying that I support Second Life, in fact I think its something that we should be very careful about. I think its sad that people become so engrossed and so wrapped up in it all. I’m sure its very addictive, but I think I’d rather be addicted to something else…..like a real life.

Youth ministry is like playing golf-its hard!! You’ve got to hit that little white dimpled ball, with this little, skinny club, into this little white cup, surrounded by sand traps, water hazards, and rolling hills….and if you’re like me, nine out of ten times the ball doesn’t go where you want it to go. 

Youth ministry is the same.  You’ve got only a few hours a week with students, dealing with their very short attention spans to hopefully speak a little bit of truth into their lives.  And again, nine times out of ten I blow that opportunity.

BUT

There’s always that one “shot” that lands on the green, that one fifty foot putt that we sink, and that one talk that we give that we see a glimmer of recognition in the eyes of a student that keeps us coming back for more. 

Though, those nine out of ten failures can definitely be a drag on us mentally and spiritually…

Today, I’d like to share with you some “Truths” that will hopefully help you push through those frustrations that we all encounter in youth ministry and encourage you to keep anticipating those positive breakthroughs.

1.  Take care of yourself spiritually. 

Those of us who work or volunteer in Youth Ministry are the greatest abusers of spiritual well being. We go nonstop from one event to another to one meeting to another, to one phone call to another.  Slow down!!  Read some scripture that you will NOT be teaching on later, go on a retreat just for YOU, spend some time alone with God.   We’re definitely not the energizer bunny, we can not keep going and going and going…

2.  Dwell on the positives

Let’s face it, Youth Ministry is full of messes sometimes.  Kids are inconsistent, they don’t committ, families question your skills as a youth worker, even your senior pastor might not quite support you in everything that you do.  It’s easy to get bogged down with the negatives, but we must break that cycle.  The positives WILL come and when they do we need to celebrate them and party like its 1999 all over again!

3.  Give yourself permission to say “NO!”

Who knew that two little letters could hold so much meaning and power?  Many of us are “people pleasers.”  We want people to like us and we want to be everything to everyone.  When we do that, we just leave ourselves open to getting to spread thin and eventually burn out.  God wants us to be effective in our ministries and He wants us to be healthy.  Practice it, say it, let it become your montra.  and when the REALLY important things come along, you’ll have the time and energy to do them well and with enthusiasm.  Also, you give yourself the time to spend time at home with your spouse or family or both.  We need to stop hurting the ones we love the most, we need to give ourselves permission to say NO!!

The good and the bad, frustrations will come, but because we know they will we can prepare.  I’m hoping and praying that you are taking care of yourself, focusing on the postives, and saying “no” a little more often and saying YES to being a healthy youth worker. 

Whew! What a Weekend! Retreats are the joy and the bane of my existence as a Youth worker. They’re joys because of all the good ministry time you get with students, the fellowship and networking with other youth leaders, and the FOOD-there’s always some good food! They’re the bane at the same time. Lack of sleep, lack of comfortable rest times, and nonstop, on the go things happening for three days straight. Don’t you just love youth ministry!!

This year was a great year, our biggest in quite a few years. Over 140 students showed up for the weekend and they all had a ball!! This year we challenged them as they thought about the Heroes of the Faith and also about how they are called to be a Hero.

If you work in youth ministry you know that every once in a while we come across students who become….how to put it lightly…..extreme PAINS in our BUTTS!!!  They complain about EVERYTHING, they criticize EVERYTHING, they misbehave, they cause disturbances, like I said they’re just major beatings to us.  In the past few years I’ve come across a few of those students, but instead of trying to find ways to “encourage” them to leave, we’ve implemented a different plan for these “Trouble Students.”

One such student that I encountered was making my life at the church miserable.  They just were not happy with anything.  So after some prayer (and some extra strength advil) we felt a leading to create some leadership opportunities for this student.  I have to admit, I was a little skeptical on how well it would go.  Like many youth workers, I suffer from the “Lone Ranger” Syndrome, I just like to go it alone, to do everything myself.  (not a good plan) 

So after a little bit of apprehension, we created some responsibilities for this student.  It started out pretty small, like writing the monthly newsletter article for our congregation.  Then it was announcing things during our meeting times, which led to them working with the younger students in our ministry, to finally after a few month, actually planning and leading an entire special event. 

Now during this progression we noticed a lot of changes in this student.  They complained less, they whined alot less, and they started to take ownership in part of the youth ministry.  This student gained through practical, hands-on experience, a new appreciation for what we as youth leaders go through.  It created a very valuable empathy towards the other youth leaders, and we saw this student mature spiritually through this process as well.  They began to understand that Youth Ministry is not about them, but about serving others, and that is where TRUE leadership begins.  A leader with a servant’s heart, is a leader with a Christ-like heart. 

Don’t pull your hair out, don’t punch any walls, and don’t run away from Youth Ministry when students start complaining.  Give them responsibility, give them your trust, and see where it leads them.  I know that it will lead them closer to Christ.    

I recently presented a workshop a training event for our Local Presbytery.  Here’s the outline from that workshop.  If you work with kids, these websites are a great resource for FREE stuff!!

Youth Ministry on a Dime
Presented by: Jason Dunn
Saturday, January 13 2006
 

1.                   The Free Stuff Mentality
                  You know the saying; You get what you pay for…
                  -Be Creative: Think Outside the Box
                  -Be Aware:     Always be looking
                  -Be Connected:          Its not what you know,  its who you know
 

2.                  Free Internet
                  Good Ideas, stimulating thoughts, free resources
 

                              www.simplyyouthministry.com
                              www.youthspecialties.com
                              www.youthpastor.com
                              www.childrensministry.com
                              www.youthministry.com
                              www.myym.mylabora.com
                              www.thesource4ym.com
                              www.sermons4kids.com
                             
                  Not Youth Ministry, but definitely stimulating
                             
                              www.youtube.com
                              www.raisethisup.com
                              www.flickr.com
                              www.ahajokes.com
                              www.sheeplaughs.com
                              www.imdb.com