Tag: NYMC 07

Yesterday Tim Hawkins spoke in the main session in the morning and in a workshop on the youth worker and marriage in the arvo. Both were very helpful.

The morning talk was very challenging. We looked at Jeremiah 17 and reflected on trusting in God vs trusting in ourselves and the consequences of each. A check point that Tim had was “do you spend more time planning your programs for the teenagers you’re trying to reach or praying for the teenagers you are trying to reach.”

I have been convicted on day one and two on trusting not in myself and my own strength but to trust in God. This is shown in my prayerlessness.

It would have been helpful to talk about the cross and trusting in the work of Jesus on the cross more specifically than Tim did. 1) It ought to be central to all that we do. 2) It’s a distinctive of evangelical theology. 3) Tim is an evangelical in a context where there are people who aren’t.
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Tim and Karen spoke in the arvo about marriage and their context. It was encouraging. Everyone has difficulties in their marriage. Christian workers have unique difficulties. While men and women are different and sinners (therefore there will always be struggles), I need to make sure that I’m married to my wife and not my ministry.

Tim Launched a new book yesterday: Disciples who will last

NYMC Live Blog: #1 – Live Blogging; #2 – Getting here, #3 – Josh Griffin, #4 – My Place on MySpace, #5 – Thanksgiving, #6 – Josh Griffin Podcast.

CCECYOUTH has a weekly Podcast. I did a special interview on the Gold Coast with Internet Superstar: JOSH GRIFFIN. He has a blog, podcast, myspace page and youtube channel. We talk about safety on the internet and other stuff. Good times.

www.simplyjosh.com
www.simplyyouthministry.com
www.myspace.com/griffinjosh
www.youtube.com/joshgriffin

www.ccecyouth.com
ccecyouth@gmail.com

RSS address: http://ccecyouth.podomatic.com/rss2.xml (subscribe with iTunes)

Download

NYMC Live Blog: #1 – Live Blogging; #2 – Getting here, #3 – Josh Griffin, #4 – My Place on MySpace, #5 – Thanksgiving.

Observation: Americans are good at giving thanks. Culturally they have a day set aside each year to express thanksgiving and it seems that they are much better at acknowledging people in ministry than we are in Australia. Josh Griffin and The Skit Guys are both good at simply saying ‘thank you’ to youth pastors and volunteers for the work they do in loving teenagers and loving Jesus.

Is it trite? I don’t think so. I think we have much to learn from the Americans in how to show our thankfulness to people for their work – and ultimately God for his work.

Shout out to CCECYOUTH leaders. Thanks for your work with Central Coast teenagers – I am truly thankful to God for the way you share the gospel of Jesus and your lives with them.

NYMC Live Blog: #1 – Live Blogging; #2 – Getting here, #3 – Josh Griffin, #4 – My Place on MySpace.

New record for September: 7.5 hours of sleep!! Glorious! This morning Josh Griffin ran a seminar on the internet, social networking and teenagers. I’m running some similar things early next year – so it’s good to rip his ideas! Here’s some:

To protect yourself on line you must…

1. Stranger-protect your profile
2. Limit the use of personal information online
3. Open up to parents and accountability
4. Regularly clean-up your profile
5. Only befriend real-life friends
6. Don’t talk to strangers
7. Report red flags to the proper channels
8. Take a few minutes and clean it up
9. Move the computer to a public space

6 Key to remember

1. What you post is like a billboard along the information superhighway
2. It is quite possible you are being lied to
3. People say things online they would never say in real life
4. What you post is permanent
5. Don’t be afraid of “shoulder surfing”
6. The internet is as safe as you want it to be

To get people to your website

• Content
• Community
• Current

Stay tuned for a special episode of On the Poddy with Josh.

NYMC Live Blog: #1 – Live Blogging; #2 – Getting here, #3 – Josh Griffin.

Today was a professional development day. I spent the day with Josh Griffin. He’s a good guy (and famous blogger). The workshop was called: Your first two years in youth ministry. While I was familiar with lots of the ideas he presented, having read lots of the gear that has come from Doug Fields and the Simply Youth Ministry crew, it was a very encouraging day.

It was good fun. I won a prize with an sms competition (yesssss!). Three statements stood out to me and were very timely:

• A healthy youth ministry requires leaders to depend on God’s power
• A healthy youth ministry requires leaders who recognise they can never do enough… but God can.
• Ministry never ends… believe you can’t do it all

It was also good to chat to Josh over some Seafood noodles at lunch about some specific questions to do with our ministry.

Good times. Thanks Josh.

NYMC Live Blog: #1 – Live Blogging; #2 – Getting here.

I like to think of myself as a city-slicker. Let’s be honest. I’m really just a country-bumpkin! Here are two sms’ I sent to Row on my way here:

• Conversation #1. “Excuse me sir you seem to look a little lost”….”Um can you tell me how I check in”.
• I’m on the bus. I thought we were going the wrong way until I realised the ocean was on the right hand side

I made it to the Gold Coast. I made it alive. And I even made it on time! However… I came without having booked any accommodation. God provided. Thanks to Andy, Cameron, Ron, Chris and James for letting me bunk in with them. Good times.

NYMC Live Blog: #1 – Live Blogging

I’m at the National Youth Ministry Convention 2007. If I get a chance I’ll do some ‘live-blogging’ of some of the gear. (Click here for some live blogging I did at a youth convention at the start of the year)