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Stand by Me-French Quarter Style

October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A friend sent me a link to this amazing video, produced by “Playing for Change” which includes a few “street musicians” from New Orleans.  For my friends who’ve never been to New Orleans, these are just a few of the talented, soulful people who share their music with the public in New Orleans. But why take my word for it? Come see for yourself at the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry in December!

In case you’re up for another, less staged but equally awesome French Quarter performance, check out this version starring “Grandpa Elliott”

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Meaning behind the Music

October 27, 2010 By 6 Comments

Jonathan McKee at thesource4ym.com blogged on the importance of familiarizing ourselves with the music and music videos that are popular among our young people. By paying attention to the top ten lists, reading the lyrics and watching the videos (despite our particular tastes in music) we can glean lots of useful information about what’s going on inside our young people and their culture.

If you’ve heard me speak before you know how I can “go off” on this topic. For years I’ve used music as a way to connect with youth and understand them. On retreats I would encourage my peer ministers to add a song or two to their talk that they felt related to what they were sharing. Inevitably their songs expressed something more than was in their spoken testimony/talk.

As a counselor I often ask my young clients to bring their iPod with them to a session. They pick a song that tells me something about them and we’ll listen to it. Occasionally, I’ll print out the lyrics so that I can understand them.

Why it works…

Its like linguistic multiple choice. Remember how much you used to look forward to multiple-choice tests in high school and college? Well in the same way you may have found multiple choice tests easier than fill in the blank tests, so do young people when it comes to expressing the deep experiences in their emotional and spiritual lives.

As adults we have grown in our ability to express ourselves using words. But we weren’t always good at it (some of us still aren’t—and that’s OK). Young people are just starting. But we often make the mistake of thinking that because they don’t talk, they aren’t experiencing. Quite the contrary. Youth have a huge reservoir of experiences that they can recognize if someone can offer them the language for it. Music does this really well.

Music isn’t the only way this happens. In fact we (parents, teachers, ministers) help youth grow emotionally and spiritually by helping them form language around their experiences. This can happen on retreat, in the car or at the dinner table. It can even happen over the phone and online.

Use this principle when you feel you’re getting nowhere talking to a young person.. Listen to their music. Don’t judge it. Discuss it. Use it as a springboard for connection instead of another wedge in a growing relational crevasse.

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Flipping Ministry

October 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Karl Fisch a 20-year veteran teacher at Arapahoe High School in Colorado, Karlfisch and co-creator of one of the most viral videos on the web Shift Happens (Did You Know) has “flipped” the way he teaches math. Traditional teaching involves presenting lessons during the school day and sending students home to work on problems. Karl instead is  videoing his lessons and uploading them to Youtube for students to watch at home.  He uses class time the following day to answer questions and help students work on problems together.

Daniel Pink, in an interview with Fisch quotes him, “When you do a standard lecture in class, and then the students go home to do the problems, some of them are lost. They spend a whole lot of time Picture 3being frustrated and, even worse, doing it wrong.”

And while most of us have expanded our ministry tool box to include other strategies, processes and delivery systems other than a “talk”, there are millions of youth every week sitting on terazzo tiled floors listening to “talks” they could watch online.

A few questions:

  • How much of our face time with the busiest generation in the history of civilization are we spending giving talks?
  • What can you offer young people face to face that they cannot get through and online medium?
  • How might we use technology to better leverage the time we spend face to face with young people?
  • What are the things that take up time in your classes, meetings, etc. that can be  replicated online?
  • How might  parent outreach be more effective using webinars in lieu of having them find babysitters and handle the evening routines in order to attend another meeting?

This doesn’t have to replace face time with our families, staffs, volunteers, teens—but it should be another “tool” in our box to share the gospel with youth and their families.

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Five Tips for Being a Rockstar Teacher

October 21, 2010 By 1 Comment

In a post entitled What Catholic Teachers Can Learn From Guitarist Phil Keaggy, Nick Singer at the Catholic School Chronicles suggested five ways teachers can emulate the accomplished musician:

  1. Know your stuff: In order to inspire, we must first perspire. No doubt some of us are born with a natural ability to teach, as Phil was born with a natural ability to play the guitar. But that ability must be nurtured and developed through constant practice.
  2. Innovate: Phil plays guitar like no one else, always pushing the creative envelope. Do we sit back and reuse our lesson plans year after year, or do we look for more effective, creative ways to bring the gospel message to our students?
  3. Make technology work for you: As talented as Phil is, he also knows how to use the latest technology to be even more entertaining and expressive. Are we taking advantage of educational technology to be more efficient, interesting and relevant?
  4. Enjoy what you do: There is a joy that radiates from Phil’s face as he plays. What radiates from our faces as we teach?
  5. Give it all to God: Finally, Phil understands the source of his gifts, and is living a life of gratitude by offering those gifts back to God. We, too, have the opportunity to make our work a living offering to the great God of the universe.

The point about enjoying our work/ministry is especially important. Young people don’t need another frustrated, bitter and burned out teacher–especially ones in Catholic schools representing God and the Church. Mother Teresa would echo this sentiment to her new aspirants “As Missionaries of Charity we serve Jesus in the poor–with joy. There is much work to do–difficult work to do, but we must do it with joy, with a smile. The poor have enough problems–they need the Joy of Christ that comes through us.” The same can be said of our young people many of whom are spiritually and emotionally poor if not financially.

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Complacency in Ministry and the Spiritual Life

October 11, 2010 By 3 Comments

Two bloggers I read regularly both posted recently on various aspects of complacency in the spirtual life and ministry.

Mike Patin, sudoku ninja, speaker and author, who is emceeing this year’s National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry in New Orleans, LA  (and in 2011 will IStock_000001547146XSmall-1 be Keynoting the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, IN) blogged on the temptation to grow complacent in the spiritual life:

“It is really easy for me with life’s brisk pace, as well as having a “job” that has a spiritual side to it, to get  complacent.  It is so easy to lose focus on God and family, both of whom are SO CLOSE that I can forget to share love, and time, and possessions with them as well as others who are close and who come across my path. It’s like I fall in love with my activity more than God and the people I am given to show his love.”

Read his whole post. Its great, especially the quote about from the Patriots Superbowl Lockerroom.

Josh Griffin, who blogs at More than Dodgeball, reminds ministers that we will never “arrive.” There will be no point when all God’s work is done and we can relax. We must continue growing, stretching and learning. There will always be challenges and opportunities to follow Christ more closely and love him more deeply. Josh writes:

You may get closer to the goal, but you’ll never really get there. You’re not supposed to. You need to be OK with that fact. Youth ministry is about seasons of success, seasons of failure, busy seasons and busier seasons. Youth ministry is good, bad and ugly all wrapped into one. You will never arrive – God’s church and your leadership will always be a work in progress. Read the whole post here.



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Your Relationship with Jesus is Your Ministry

October 6, 2010 By 4 Comments

Wearing sandals, tattered jeans and a hideous tropical shirt Mike Yaconelli, (aka “Yac”) peered over his glasses at a group of youthworkers gathered for an early morning bible study. With mischievous grin and twinkling eyes—an obvious “tell” for those who knew him that he was about to “upset the applecart”, he said:
Mikejesus
“We’ve worked hard to make sure that you have an amazing experience. We hope you’ll take advantage the opportunity to acquire new tools, tricks and tips from the best resources and presenters we could find in an effort to help you lead young people to Jesus. That being said remember that your relationship with Jesus is your youth ministry.”

His point was clear. We could amass the latest and greatest resources, skills and strategies but without an abiding, personal relationship with Jesus our ministry would be shallow and minimally effective at best.

This is not only true for youth ministry.

What if…

Your relationship with Jesus is your teaching.

Your relationship with Jesus is your administration.

Your relationship with Jesus is your parenting.

Your relationship with Jesus is your counseling.

Your relationship with Jesus is your coaching.

Your relationship with Jesus is your mentoring.

Your relationship with Jesus is your spiritual direction.

Your relationship with Jesus is your music ministry.

Your relationship with Jesus is your speaking.

Your relationship with Jesus is your consulting.

Your relationship with Jesus is your mission work.

Your relationship with Jesus is your campus ministry.

The marginalized, the lost and the sick do not need more ministers. They need Jesus.

Our “ministries” are not Jesus. They are a means for us to be Christ for others. That only happens when we first allow Jesus to be Christ for us.

Check out this clip below of Yac at his best.



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