Three things I learned watching the Youth Ministry Garage Live

The Youth Ministry Garage is a podcast for youth workers with 'just enough youth ministry so you don't feel guilty for listening'. If you haven't followed it or interested in what I'm listening to check them out here.

This podcast is hosted by Doug Fields, Josh Griffin, Matt McGill and Katie Edwards. This a crack team of specialists ranging from: Volunteers, Speaking, Running large ministries to really loud cackles of laughter. (that isn't in order of their names).

So last night at the National Youth Workers Conference they held a LIVE podcast for a ton of people in person and a bunch of us online. I was unable to be in attendance but stayed up late to watch online.

So now you are wondering what on earth did I learn:

1) Do Ministry with your friends- This team always has a good time, gets to make inside jokes and enjoys spending time with one another. In the past I have worked with teams of friends and teams where people butted heads. No matter what team you work with you will have tough times, a team of friends will make those tough times easier.

2) If you can't be present be online- While it is true that being in a room somewhere is always a special moment, you can't always be there. Things happen online now. Conferences have sessions free online, many training seminars are available by stream and podcast. Even though you can't be present always, don't let that keep you from learning something and potentially missing hearing something you might need.

3) Online chat is a great way to connect- Last night I logged into chat for the podcast, it was possibly my highlight. I had the chance to make inside jokes, and chat with others. It also was a great chance for me to meet a great group of Youth Workers from areas of North America I have never been to. I was fortunate to connect and network with guys like Darren Sutton, Jason Brown, Terry Weaver, Paul Byford and others. If it wasn't for logging on to the chat I would have missed out on connecting with an awesome crew of guys doing great things.

Taking the heat

There is a funny thing about working in Ministry; your social life is your work life.

I live and breathe my church. I love the people I work with and work for. Some of the families I work with are also my friends. The young adult small group I lead is a portion of my friends network.
Its really a fun thing until it gets tough.

The past couple of weeks I have taken some heat from a couple of parents. Some are justified and make good points, others make good points in a bad way, a few others make points that are misguided, and a few even still just take shots for no reason at all.

When these things come down the pipe; which they are bound to do because I work in ministry; I have to be prepared. I need to have people in my life who are outside the church and my ministry. I need to have people I can go to and hash things out with. Friends who will tell me I am wrong when I am wrong. But Friends who will back me up, or encourage me when I feel down.

Last night was great. I went to a friends birthday dinner and rock climb. We sat out on a rock face and ate some burgers and did a climb each. It was really fun to be with them. I got to decompress and be myself without having to worry about the things on my mind from the church.

Everyone needs that, you may not need many friends in life. But a few friends in different places that you can turn to, sure is a big help.

Non-Essentials

I have been reminded lately of my non-essentials.

God, family, friends, work these are my essentials. They are the things that I value, in that order. But what are my non-essentials.

At first it is an easy answer, obviously everything that is not one of those four things. But sometimes I don't live my life in that order. There are times when I put entertainment high above those other things. People who know me well, know that I like social media, blogging, a lot of movies and tv shows. But the problem is sometimes far too often I put entertainment in front of spending time with God and reading my Bible. I put entertainment in front of my wife. I am not saying that watching a movie with your spouse is bad, I am saying that there are more times than not when I should have a conversation or go for a walk, but instead I choose the easy path of just chilling out.

When you are reminded of the essential things in life, you need to fight hard for them. Even as I am writing this post, I had to stop and take a break. I started writing this short post while my wife was getting ready to go shopping for some veggie plants for the garden. I said I'd come with her, so when she came out ready to go I had to put the laptop down and head out for a day gardening.

Now that it is day number two of this post, let me tell you. If I hadn't got up and gone with my wife to the garden store I would have missed a super fun day filled with moments like getting ice cream, going to a movie prop store, and just having a great day.