A Youth Minsitry Blog

Subconscious Hunger

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:41:00 +0000

I have the tremendous blessing of living close enough to my parents that my wife and I don’t have to do that much grocery shopping, if you catch my drift.

I’ll stop by in between meetings, when there’s a show I want to watch on cable, or if we just feel like having some good home cooked meals. It’s quite delicious (both figuratively and literally).

I’ve noticed an odd sensation however. Whenever I walk into the house, I immediately go to the kitchen, open the fridge, and look for something to munch on. I realized this the other day when I stopped by to pick something up after eating a rather large lunch at a meeting. I shouldn’t have been hungry. In fact, I wasn’t. But something inside of me though, “Oh! This is where we get good food. It’s time to eat.” It was a weird kind of subconscious hunger.

Our ministries should do that. They should create a subconscious spiritual hunger. Students should walk in and something deep inside of them should think, “Hey! This is where we experience Jesus! Better get ready.”

How do we do that? The same way my Mom does. Consistently prepare great meals and serve them with huge doses of love. That means solid Bible teaching, that satisfies the hunger (aka matters in their life), and lets them know we care deeply about them while we serve up a healthy helping of the Big Guy.

Alright… I’m getting hungry. I’m gonna go over to my folks.

Coincidence is too small a word

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 05:50:00 +0000

Alright, a little post-Christmas story that boggles the statistical processing parts of my brain.

LIMA (Reuters) – Virgin Mary, a 20-year-old Peruvian woman, gave birth to a baby boy on Christmas day and named him Jesus, Peru's state news agency said on Friday.

The baby's father, Adolfo Jorge Huamani, 24, is a carpenter. Religious Peruvians compared him to Joseph the Carpenter in the Bible.

"Two thousand years later the story of Bethlehem is relived," read the headline about the birth in El Comercio, the main newspaper in Peru, a predominantly Catholic country.

The mother, Virgen Maria Huarcaya, delivered the 7.7 pound (3.5 kg) boy, Jesus Emanuel, in the early hours of Christmas at the central maternity hospital in Lima, the capital.

"A few days ago we had decided to name my son after a professional soccer player," the father said. "But thanks to a happy coincidence this is how things ended up."

(Reporting by Terry Wade; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Time-Waster: 99 Bricks

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:32:00 +0000

Tetris was a sacred game in my home growing up. My mom, who is not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination, was an obsessive and accomplished Tetris player. It wore of on me.

I credit my uncanny ability to pack a backpack, trunk, moving van, or garage to the hours spent crafting those geometric shapes into optimal arrangement, always praying that the shape-gods would bless me with a sacred Line.

But I’ve discovered the secret to my success. The bricks did not obey the laws of physics. If they had, my Tetris career would certainly have been less celebrated. (Technically, I’m the only one who celebrated my career, with little parties… and cake.)

I know that Physics would have been the end of me because I’ve recently been wasting time playing 99 Bricks over on ~~Time Waster Holy Land~~ Kongregate. The game works much like Tetris, except the pieces obey the laws of physics and the goal is to stack as high as possible, rather than make full lines that magically disappear. It’s pretty entertaining, and much more difficult than I expected.

Head on over and check it out!

Time-Waster: Assembler

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:16:00 +0000

Take your typical “build-a-contraption to get the shape in the right space” game, add physics. Now you’ve got Assembler. The concept, get the green piece in the green area. The trick, you’re given a limited number of pieces to re-arrange to accomplish this task, and they all follow the laws of physics. The result, time well wasted. Enjoy!

Play the game here.

Recharge: Keeping Fresh in Ministry

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:14:00 +0000

Ministry is exhausting. Sometimes it is because we have poorly planned and have too many things happening at once. Other times it is beyond our control and our flock requires extra attention.

I was on a road trip once and was passing the time talking on my cell phone. I eventually used the last bit of power and the phone shutdown. It was winter, I hit some black ice and spun around into a snow bank. The car was fine, but stuck. I was nearly home, so there were plenty of people in the area to help me get out. I grabbed my cell phone and… shoot!

That was a long and cold walk to get some help, but I learned my lesson. If I don’t keep the batteries charged, then I won’t have the juice when it really matters.

Keeping our emotional batteries charged is an incredibly important part of an effective ministry. If we let ourselves get too drained, there may come a point when someone calls on us and we just don’t have the energy to properly minister, and that’s lame. Here are some of the ways that I keep my batteries charged:

Keep a “Recharge File”

My favorite file in my entire office is my “Recharge File.” It is a folder in one of my drawers that holds every encouraging note or spiritually significant exchange I’ve had with a student. Things like

Thank You cards
Letters from Grads
Notes from Van Rides & Mission Trips
FaithStories (Testimonies)
Pictures

Thanks to the digital age, a lot of these things come via e-mail, but I just print them out and stick them in the folder. There have been plenty of rough days full of students being crazy, parents getting upset, lessons that bombed, or just plain exhaustion. These are the days that I take 10 minutes and go through my Recharge File. It rarely fixes my problems, but it always puts them in perspective.

Have an Encouragement Buddy

A few weeks ago we had a retreat that was a huge success. Spiritual growth galore! I’ve learned over the years that these experiences are often followed by frustration and disappointment. Partly being snapped into reality, and partly Satan working to keep us form getting to motivated, I’m sure. I came back from the trip and told my wife, “This trip was amazing. I’m going to need you to remind me of that in the coming weeks.”

Sure enough, after another youth event, I was bumming out. My wonderful spouse was right there to remind me what I had said.

Find somebody who can be the person who remind you of the great things that are happening in your ministry. It could be your spouse, a co-worker, or a volunteer leader. Just make sure you tell them when things are going great, so they can remind you when things aren’t so great.

Take A Day Off Each Week

Disclaimer: I suck at doing this. But it’s from failing to do it that I realize how important it is. God can keep being God without your help. All of your students won’t reject Him if you take a break for 24 hours. Pick a day of the week to take off and guard it like a hungry pit bull with a steak. No excuses. Just do it.

Play!

Find something to do each day that has no other benefit besides being enjoyable. It doesn’t have to make sense, and it doesn’t have to take long. It just has to remind you that playing is part of the point of creation.

Personally, I have a little gun that shoots smoke rings. I like to shoot them in my office and play a form of “Smoke Ring Horseshoes” by seeing if I can get a “ringer” around differing things in the room.

Be a Christ Follower

We spend the majority of our time being leaders. There is a restful quality it just being a follower. Spend time in the Bible that isn’t just because you’re planning a lesson. Spend time in prayer without having an agenda. Do the things you are telling your students to do. That’s where you will find the rest the Bible talks about.

So those are the things I do to keep the batteries full. What do you do?

[ht to Tim Schmoyer at Life in Student Ministry for suggesting this topic]

This girl is my hero..

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:58:00 +0000

A really interesting article here from the Chicago Tribune where an 8th grade girl did an experiment in her school in the suburbs of Chicago.

From the article:

“Catherine Vogt, 14, is an Illinois 8th grader, the daughter of a liberal mom and a conservative dad. She wanted to conduct an experiment in political tolerance and diversity of opinion at her school in the liberal suburb of Oak Park.
She noticed that fellow students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama for president. His campaign kept preaching "inclusion," and she decided to see how included she could be.”

This could be a great discussion starter for a youth group meeting about acceptance or hypocrisy, or courage (because Catherine is a very brave girl).

The Facebook of Genesis

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:17:00 +0000

I thought this was hilarious! NSFYG (Not safe for youth group) probably… well, not safe for those certain parents, you all had someone come to mind just now. The ones who have decided to wage a personal war on joy…

Anyway, it’s funny. Enjoy!

Update: The pic looked much better in my editor than online. Just follow the link to check it out.

Video of the Week: Dark Story 2

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Bravo! One of the best mashups I’ve seen:

True Hope and Change? Yes We Can.

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:28:00 +0000

This week our country elected it’s next President. A look at the popular vote reminds us that the country is basically split in half politically. (53% Obama vs. 47% McCain). There is a divide that widens whenever we elect a new leader, and a resentment that arises on the losing side.

This stems from too many people relying too heavily on the influence and actions of our nation’s leader.

The words “hope” and “change” practically grew on tress this year, as candidates in dozens of races evoked them as the new standard for political progress. Entire campaigns were based on the idea of restoring hope and bringing change.

The obvious insight is that we are a country that desperately needs hope, and deeply desires the change it would take to have that hope restored. The problem is many spent Tuesday waiting around to see if the result of the election would bring them the hope they want.

“We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.)” That’s Romans 8:24. There is nothing that a new president will bring to our world that can overshadow the things that a relationship with Jesus already provides. While every president faces a time when citizens are disappointed by his decisions, “… this hope will not lead to dissapointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” [Romans 5:5]

And that love, not a political party, will be what brings the change we hope for in our world. Every political issue has already been addressed by Jesus.

The Economy
And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. [2 Corinthians 9:8]

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?
[Matthew 6:25]

Caring for the poor
You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. [2 Corinthians 9:7]

National Security
We have been rescued from our enemies
so we can serve God without fear, [Luke 1:74]

You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! [Matthew 5:43-44]

Crime and Punishment
So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. [2 Peter 2:9]

And it could go on.

The point is this, despite who you rooted for or what you think needs to happen in Washington, the purest and most reasonable shot we have at providing hope and bringing positive change does not come from filling in a circle on a ballot, but from living the way Jesus asks his followers to live.

Failing at that makes us a useless lamp [Matthew 5:15]. Sending politicians instead of light into the dark parts of this world. It makes us meaningless.

Attempting it makes us the salt of the earth that Jesus spoke of [Matthew 5:13]. Battling the decaying world and becoming the spice that brings flavor to life. It creates a force for good that will overshadow any legislation ever passed, speech ever given, or political movement ever organized.

Don’t wait for an elected official to bring change. Don’t use elections as your only source of hope. Don’t blame politicians for our lack of effort.

Be the change you want to see the world! -Gahndi

If Youth Ministry had a TV Show...

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:22:00 +0000

I have decided that the first summer camp that builds a replica of the obstacle course on the TV Show 'Wipeout' will be the camp that my church goes to... forever.
I figured I wasn't the only one who thought this. My suspicions were confirmed by yesterday's post on Married To a Youth Pastor (which every youth pastor's spouse should read btw.)

Update: If you haven't seen this show you can view them online here.

Henri Nouwen Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:50:00 +0000

One of my fellow pastors sent this quote along to the staff and it served as a timely reminder as I was ~~preparing~~ freaking out over the lesson for youth group last night.

“Ministry is the least important thing. You cannot NOT minister if you are in communion with God and live in community. A lot of people are always concerned about: ‘How can I help people? Or help the youth to come to Christ? Or preach well? But these are all basically nonissues. If you are burning with the love of Jesus, don’t worry: everyone will know. They will say, ‘I want to get close to this person who is so full of God.’” -Henri Nouwen

Time-Waster: Pyro Sand

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:48:00 +0000

[Time-Waters is a recurring feature here on AYouthMinistryBlog.com, check out other posts]

This week’s Time Waster is an oldie but a goody, Pyro Sand 2.

The premise of the game is simple. You’ve got different indgredients such as sand, water, oil, cement, napalm, C4 that come in single pixel form. You then take these various substances and mix them into your own cocktails of pyromania. The graphics are about as simple as you can get and there is no goal… it’s just a huge open book for what you are going to do with them.

This is one of those games that is strangely addictive and I have no idea why, but it has the hypnotic calming effects of a lava lamp.

New Kid on the Browser Block: Google ‘Chrome’

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:59:00 +0000

Google released their own web browser today. Being the geek that I am, I immediately downloaded it and have been playing with it all afternoon.

My first impressions were positive, the interface is very natural and they’ve done a good job of doing their own thing while not making you feel like you need to re-learn how to surf the web. Some of the features that are somewhat unique:

Each Tab has it’s own address bar and control buttons. This is handier than I thought it would be. Functionally it isn't a great deal different than Firebox, but for some reason it just feels better.
It runs Google Apps faster. I haven't gotten out my stopwatch, but there seems to be a significant improvement in the load and response times when using GMail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and the like. Personally, this is a huge plus because I use these services tightly in my ministry. (Something I will write about soon in the Tech Tools feature.)
You can create applications from websites. Like I said, I use Google Apps for much of the day-to-day tasks in my ministry. Chrome has a feature that allows you to set up any website as an application. So now, I have a shortcut on my quick launch bar that will load Google Reader in a dedicated browser. This is very similar to the Google Gears Functionality.
The Start Page is smart. When you load Google Chrome or open a new tab you get a page with your most visited sites on it. This is simple, but incredibly useful. I suddenly wonder where this has been all my life.

So my verdict is that this will be the browser I use for things like Google Apps, e-mail, and Reader because all of those things are already tied into the ever-increasing Google ecosystem. But they've got a long way to go to catch up with Mozilla Firefox as far as plug-ins and standard web browsing. But knowing Google, this is just the beginning.

Click here to download Google Chrome

The Lucky Charms Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:35:00 +0000

I love lucky charms. And not just because I bear a striking resemblance to the guy on the box. I love the way the marshmallows taste, the fun different types of shapes, and the neat colors the milk turns as the colored sugar dissolves.

One day, I was eating breakfast in the dining hall of my college. One of my classmates sat down across from me and on his tray were a heaping bowl of lucky charms, an empty bowl, and a 20oz. bottle of Mountain Dew.

I watched as he meticulously separated the marshmallow shapes out from the pieces of wheat cereal. He placed the marshmallow pieces in his empty bowl until he had a healthy helping of colorful sugar, and another bowl that more closely resembled Cheerios rather than Lucky Charms. Then, he poured the Mountain Dew on the ‘mallows, and proceeded to eat them as though there was nothing odd. When he was done, he threw away the wheat parts and left.

I’m impressed that he didn’t go into shock, and glad I wasn’t sitting by him in my next class. But that image of picking out the sugary stuff and washing it down with pure (delicious) caffeine has always stuck with me.

A lot of people read the Bible the way my buddy ate his Lucky Charms. They pick out the sweet parts that are fun to eat. The feel good things like don’t steal, help the poor, God loves you, and other verses that are pretty easy to swallow. They are happy to eat the marshmallows of the Bible, but stay away from the parts that don’t taste as good. Things like don’t be arrogant or greedy, don’t gossip, stay pure, put others before yourself, and other verses that require us to actually change how we live.

You know those Nutritional Facts panels on the sides of cereal boxes? The results are based on eating everything in the box, not just one part. The Bible works the same way, the whole thing is good, and meant to be taken as a whole. So we need to be sure that we don’t just pick the comfortable, tasty, sugary parts of being a Christian. We need to take everything the Bible says, even the parts that are hard to swallow, and make it a part of our life. Any other way, just isn’t healthy.

Pastors and Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:01:00 +0000

Great Eugene Peterson quote over at PastorHacks.

"But prayer is not a work that most pastor are often asked to do except in ceremonial ways. Most pastoral work actually erodes prayer. The reason is obvious: people are not comfortable with God in their lives. They prefer something less awesome and more informal. Something, in fact, like the pastor. Reassuring, accessible, easygoing. People would rather talk to the pastor than to God. And so it happens that without anyone actually intending it, prayer is pushed to the sidelines.

And so pastors, instead of practicing prayer, which brings people into the presence of God, enter into the practice of messiah: we will do the work of God for God, fix people up, tell them what to do, conspire in finding the shortcuts by which the long journey to the Cross can be bypassed since we all have such crowded schedules right now. People love us when we do this. It is flattering to be put in the place of God. It feels wonderful to be treated in this godlike way. and it is work we are generally quite good at..."

I wonder how many times I’ve gotten in the way of what God is trying to do by trying do His job for him. Cue reflective consideration.

YouTube “Goodness”: Bad Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:31:00 +0000

I can’t remember who first tipped this off to me, but whenever I’m having a hard time recovering from a long youth band practice, I thank God that we at least aren’t doing this:

The crazy thing is that, musically, they are a pretty good band. I wouldn’t buy their album, but they don’t suck either. How can so much musical talent result in… well, in that?

Am I being to harsh? Can you top it?

Tech Tools: Flickr [Pro Account]

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:12:00 +0000

*Tech Tools is the new series that highlights technologies that can be helpful to youth ministries.
In the Old Testament, when God did amazing and providential things for the Israelites they would often build altars as reminders of what God did in that place.

Today, we take pictures.

The value of snapping photos at youth events cannot be overestimated. Pictures of your students should be hanging on every wall of your youth room and prominently displayed on your website. Photos have the ability to:

Make students feel important
Promote events the next time they happen
Help Parents feel connected to what happens at youth group
Give ownership to a space (this is my place, see… there’s my photo)
Tell the story of your ministry
Remind students of significant experiences in their lives.

My favorite pictures have less to do with what we were doing and more with what we were experiencing when the picture was taken. I love looking back on them, but there are hundreds and hundreds of pictures (we are averaging about 1000 pics a year and climbing). How do I share the shutterbug joy with everyone?

Enter:

Chances are you’ve heard of Flickr (pronounced Flick-er) if you spend much time online. The Yahoo-owned photo-sharing sight has one of the most loyal fan bases of any photography site on the web and literally millions of pictures are uploaded from Professionals to point-and-shooters. There’s a lot to love, like:

Uploading is simple. Getting your pictures onto Flickr is a piece of cake. There are 5 ways to move your collection online. You can download the Flickr Uploadr for batch uploading, use the in-browser tool, use iPhoto or plugins for other Photo Management Software (I use the Send 2 Flickr plugin for Picasa), and you can even send photos to your account via e-mail (which I do constantly from my BlackBerry). Plus the build-in editor, Picnik, makes editing the photos a snap once they are uploaded.

Organization is intuitive. It’s easy to create albums (or “sets”) once your photos are online. A bunch of sets makes a collection. So, for example, I will upload the photos from our Fall Retreat and make a new set called “Fall Retreat 2008,” I then place that set in the ""2008" Folder, making it even easier to find.

Sharing is easy. The whole point of uploading (besides archiving) the pictures is letting the students enjoy them, right? Sharing pictures is very simple with Flickr, you just have to point your visitors to your "photostream" (collection of pictures).Here is my group's photostream. There area also a good set of privacy settings, which means you can lock down certain collections, sets, or specific photos if you need to.

Flickr plays well with others. Because it is one of the most popular photo-sharing sites on the web (and as a great API), a lot of other web services tie in directly to Flickr, meaning you are more likely to be able to import your if you want to print photos from an online retailer or make something new with them. We'll look at some of these options in future "Tech Tools" posts.

So the typical budget-minded youth pastor asks, "What does it cost?"
As with most web services, Flickr has a free option and a "Bells-and-Whistles" option (aka "Pro Account"). This is great because it gives you a chance to mess around with it before committing, but I would recommend going Pro. The 100MB limit on the free account runs out pretty fast if you're uploading decent pictures, and the 200 picture limit won't seem like much when you fill up your memory card at the overnighter. At $25/year, it is way cheaper than buying a new external hard drive each year.

Flickr has made it a breeze for me to archive and organize all our youth event photos and put them somewhere that the students can readily see them, which is extra important for a young church like us without a physical youth room. However you choose to capture the meaningful moments that occur in your ministry, never underestimate the power of a picture to convey the heart of what you're doing in teenagers' lives.

Tech Tools: Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 05:19:00 +0000

I am assuming that you’re reading this is proof enough that you do not fear the Internet. While I am a bit geekier than most, I still have a low threshold for technology that doesn’t do what I want in a few simple steps. Because of that, I often spend hours combing the Internet (is has sandy blonde hair) for technological tools that do exactly what I want them to do. Ironically, it would probably take less time to learn the ropes of whatever techno-something is frustrating me, but I’m the kind of guy who drives the extra 5 miles because I’d rather be moving than stuck in traffic.

The result of this is that I end up amassing a considerable number of handy little tools that I use from time to time to make my youth ministry life easier. My bookmarks are a treasure trove of useful web services and programs that make life easier by automating or enhancing what I am trying to accomplish.

I’m all about sharing, I play nice with others. And the fact that these tools have made my life easier by producing impressive results (the boss likes that) and reducing the amount of time I spend on some tasks (the ~~other boss~~ wife likes that) makes me want to share them with you all the more.

So let the tech-know-how increase as we usher in “Tech Tools,” the newest feature on AYouthMinsitryBlog.com

::This feature was inspired by Tim Schmoyer's "100 Blog Topics I hope YOU Write"::

You Tube Goodness: Overnighter

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:07:00 +0000

Here’s a video that speaks honestly to the truthiness of one of the greatest realities in the life of a youth worker… overnights

I plan to share this with my leaders at out training next week as a friendly reminder that we all feel like this sometimes, even if we look like we’re having a blast on the outside.

Time-Waster: Fantastic Contraption

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:35:00 +0000

As promised, here is the first in a series of anti-productivity tools.
Fantastic Contraption is a game that mixes physics, engineering, tinker toys, and an erector set. Perfect for those who love to build things just to see what happens.
It's your standard "get this shape to this goal" premise, but you are given a half-dozen or so items that you can use to construct your own machine to accomplish the goal. It's tricky, and madly addictive. Screenshot and link below.
http://fantasticcontraption.com

Introducing "Time-Wasters"

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:23:00 +0000

If you’re anything like me (I know, scary, right?), there are some days where you’re at the office just because you have to be at the office. You aren't being productive, your brain won't let you tackle that mountain of paperwork, but nonetheless you are sitting at your desk. Maybe there is a meeting you need to attend, or maybe you just need some more “face time” so that you don’t have to explain why you’re “never at work" during the week. Whatever the cause or reason, we often need something non-worky to occupy our time and keep us from slipping into ~~a coma~~ prayerful meditation.

It is in that spirit that I introduce "Time-Wasters" to AYMB [that's A Youth Ministry Blog for those of you keeping score at home]. From time to time I will post something that can satisfy your need for maximum entertainment with minimal effort. It may be a funny website, a flash game, or whatever goofy things I find myself doing to occupy those hours where I'd rather be at Starbucks with a student.

So stay tuned, the first Time-Waster will show up tomorrow.

Comments Now Active or.. “why I’m the biggest idiot on the planet”

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:29:00 +0000

So there is all this fancy new bling at AYouthMinistryBlog.com, which I must say looks downright sexy. I’m sure you agree. The problem is, you haven’t been able to share your outpouring of delight because the comments were not working.

I, as your biggest fan, wanted to provide you with a proper place to share your valued insights. So I slaved away over the past 24 hours, working feverishly to try and resolve this most unfortunate of circumstances. I…

Reloaded the XML template
Compared the settings between my beta blog and this one
Tried to install Disqus (an alternative commenting engine)
Spent hours Googling to see if others had the same problem
Went through every line of code in the template
Forgot to check a box

That’s right. There is a box in the Blogger settings that asks if you’d like to show comments. Plain as day! Paging Captain Obvious.

But, it made me realize something. (I’m about to bust out some awesome Houdini-style, life lesson from random experience Pastorish goodness).

Sometimes we jump straight to the deepest and most involved part of a situation because we assume the problem stems from there. I do this with students a lot. A situation will arise, they will want some help, and before you know it I’m getting al Freudian on them and assuming it stems from a hair-pulling incident in the 2nd grade. When this happens, sometimes (enough times that I should have learned by now) all they are looking for is a prayer, or a Bible verse, or a reassuring smile.

I think we go for the hard and heavy so fast because we are experts. If I didn’t know anything about computer code I wouldn’t have spent so much time digging through it to solve the problem. I would have gone for the more obvious “There must be a checkbox somewhere because Google is gazillionaire organization built on the premise of simplicity” answer. Instead I decided that the problem must be incredibly complicated and would require my greatest understandings of technology.

Sometimes the answer is complicated. And sometimes a student comes to you because you are an expert. But other times we need to keep in mind that Jesus went out of his way to give the simplest response… because sometimes that’s all it takes.

New Design

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:53:00 +0000

Chances are that you are reading this through an RSS Reader. In which case you are not enjoying the sweetitude of the new look a AYouthMinistryBlog.com, and that makes me cry a little.

So click through and take a peak at the new digs. It’s not done, but the big overhaul is complete. Little details will be showing up ([gasp!] you might have to keep coming back). For now, offer suggestions, vote yay or nay, and just stop and smell the virtual roses.

And if you are already on the site, then this is kind of like picture-in-picture…

Link: The Death of Youth Ministry

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:50:00 +0000

A really interesting series of posts going on right now over at Vince Marrote’s blog nikao.
He’s writing about the shortcoming of youth ministry right now. And while that doesn’t sound like an uplifting (or challenging!) topic, he’s managed to deconstruct the modern youth group model in a very constructive way.
This is the first I’ve read of his stuff, so I’m still trying to pick up his vibe. But I can’t shake the feeling that he’ll move beyond the “doom and gloom” to a suggestion for how we progress from here.
His insights have been spot on from where I am sitting, and Vince is doing a good job of putting words to previously abstract thoughts I’ve held and wrestled with.
Check out the 4 posts so far…

::Death of Youth Ministry:: @ nikao.ws

Part 1- Introduction
Part 2 – The Church Doesn’t Take It Seriously
Part 3 – Parents Don’t Take It Seriously
Part 4 – Youth Pastors Don’t Take It Seriously
My own thoughts will follow… once they settle down from the the bar-fight ruckus that they are right now.

The Don’t Song

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Trouten) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:36:00 +0000

In line with yesterday’s post about Wives Submitting comes this information and inspirational video offering gobs (1 gob = 47 tid-bits) of information on being a good husband, in a way that any youth pastor can personally connect with. Cheesy music video. Enjoy!