I’m on a quick road trip trying to film 10 video small group lessons in two days. Last year, we filmed ten lessons that our leaders could throw in the dvd player without any prep. The idea was that they would be used when a leader hadn’t had time (or taken the time) to prep the usual lesson, if it felt like the group needed a break from the usual curriculum or for any other reason.

We purposely only filmed 10 lessons because we didn’t want the use of video curriculum to become the norm in a small group. Despite the super poor quality lighting and sound, our groups absolutely loved the stuff.

So this year we are going way more professional in hopes of producing a much higher quality resource for our leaders and students.

I’ve written ten ’scripts’ but I tend to freestyle quite a bit so it should be interesting. We’ve budgeted our time to allow about one hour per video! I’m stressed about the next two days, but excited to put some better stuff in the hands of our leaders.

- Weekend: It was a pretty good weekend over-all. The weekend immediately following Summer Camp is always interesting because students are super tired, but super excited at the same time. I ditched the programs on our Lake Forest campus to head down to our San Clemente campus (A beach town about 30 minutes South) to be a part of their first Saturday night youth service. About 25-30 kids showed up and it was really fun. In fact it was fun enough to make me pause and wonder what the heck I’m doing in a massive ministry setting. The whole vibe was super mellow, highly relational and just wonderful.

- Another camp: My 10-year-old son, Cole, heads off to camp his afternoon and is pumped. Our children’s ministry seems to do everything really well, and camp is no exception.

- Still another camp: We head out next Wednesday to our second summer camp…Beach Camp. This camp is only open to about 80 students and is much more laid back than our traditional summer camp. We stay at a church near the beach and spend the days hanging out surfing, body boarding and laying around. Oddly, this camp seems to be gaining popularity while our traditional camp seems to be losing popularity.

- Football Season! I spent much of last night at a friend’s house with my family. In addition to a few rousing rounds of Guitar Hero, we watched most of the Hall of Fame Game between the Saints and the Steelers. I can’t [...]

Continue Reading “Weekend Wrap Up Etc..”

Attendance: Average
Lesson Topic: Week 6 of our summer series: Road Trip Summer (How To Jump For Joy)
‘Fun Factor’: Above Average
Volunteer Involvement: Below Average
Music: Above Average
Lesson Quality: Average
Length of Lesson: 20:16 minutes
Student Response: Average

This week on our Summer Road Trip, we stopped at Disney World, the happiest place on earth. Our lesson took a look at the idea that happiness is fine, but we should really be pursuing joy. I think the lesson was interesting, fun, short and kinda funny….not bad, really.

We played a great game called ‘Will it Float’ (borrowed from David Letterman). We had an aquarium on stage and dropped several random items one-by-one into the water. Students had to vote for float or sink for each item. It was a total hit.

We leave for Summer Camp today which is why this post is up earlier than usual.
Not sure I’ll post every day.

- I’m sitting in our newest Starbucks but may need to move to my old location for future Starbucks Sessions. This one seems to constantly smell of vinegar. Maybe a cleaning solution of some sort? It doesn’t seem like anybody else notices, but I can’t ignore it.

- I’ve been writing some small group curriculum and have been pondering the life of Paul. We’re set to dedicate only one lesson to him, but the more I think about his life before Christ, his conversion, his ministry, his writings, his influence etc. it’s tough to come up with only one lesson. For now I’m turning it into a lesson on dedication. Paul was extremely dedicated in each life role…..

- My family had dinner with our potential children’s pastor and his wife last night. GREAT couple and I’d be thrilled if they joined the team.

- Haven’t read a really good book in a little while. Any suggestions?

- Leaving to Summer Camp on Sunday which is always a highlight.

I truly don’t know what to think about this.

(so to a blog I refuse to link)

Since almost every Disney movie is rated PG, I’m not sure what a ‘G’ rating means any more. But apparently my blog is safer viewing than most Disney movies.

Click here to get a rating for your blog.

(so to Matt Doan)

I’ve been tagged several times to participate in random exercises and they usually turn out to be kinda fun. Today, I’m going to start my own Tag Thingy. Here it is:
“IF YOU HAD TO BE A _____________ (who would you be and why)”

1. FAMOUS PERSON FROM HISTORY: Peter. Hung out with Jesus, a bit of a rebel, helped change the world even though he had no real idea that he was doing so.

2. CELEBRITY: I would want to be a working celebrity who isn’t so famous that I could never go out in public. The kind of celebrity that when somebody finally does recognize me they say, “Hey, aren’t you that dude……” So, I’ll go with the guy who plays the Microsoft/Windows Character on those Mac vs. Microsoft commercials that are so popular. I’m sure he makes a good living and every now and then somebody comes up to him and says, “Hey, aren’t you that dude who plays the Microsoft/windows character on those commercials?

3. ATHLETE: My first reaction was John Elway, but the reality is that most football players can’t walk very well by the time they’re 50. So instead I’m going to go with Tiger Woods. I know that this choice goes against my ‘can’t go out in public’ philosophy, but if I’m super competitive and if I’m an athlete I want to be the best athlete in the world.

4. FAMOUS MUSICIAN: Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20. I’ve always been a fan and he can go out [...]

Continue Reading “My Own Tag Thingy”

I’m wrestling with these issues in our ministry right now. A few feel like age-old struggles that I should have figured out by now or that I should realize will never be figured out. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of them:

- How realistic is it to have a working 6 year teaching plan that corresponds with the high school ministry? It sounds great…to make sure we cover what we want etc. but also feels confining.

- Would you ever use sophomores or juniors in high school in leadership positions in your middle school ministry? If so, in what capacities? We currently only use seniors, but find ourselves turning away really great students who are younger.

- What’s the longest series you’ve ever taught in your junior high ministry? Occassionaly we do six-week series (usually as part of a church-wide campaign), but they feel so stinkin’ long.

- How much is too much to charge for Summer Camp? Currentyly, we charge almost $400.00 for 5 nights at camp. Attendance is down a little this year and I’m beginning to wonder if ‘traditional’ Summer Camp needs to be re-evaluated.

- How can the church break the cycle of overworking our best, most willing, volunteers?