1. Youth Group Rules by Jon; my 2 favorite are #9 (At no point should a youth minister try to keep a bad dating relationship together simply because he knows that as soon as the church girl dumps the non church boyfriend he’ll drop out of youth group.) & #13 (The one parent who complains about something you did will not be empowered to steer the entire course of the youth group. The 50 other parents who didn’t complain will also be considered.)
2. In Everyone Is Clueless Seth talks about the difference between everyone & the right someone.
3. Tim takes a look @ the future of the church & the role technology will play in it in his post Change…Scary? or Exciting?
4. Michael created a stir w/ his Thoughts on Worship.
5. I found these tips to be useful in getting out of a message rut.

Everyone (I used to do so as well) does a review of their worship services.  So, I think I’ll switch it up & offer a preview of what we’ll be doing each Wednesday night.  Here’s a rundown of tonight:

Songs: Salvation is Here, Spring of Life, Center, Inside Out
Message: week 2 of 3 of Thirsty;
Speaker: Stan Buckley; thankful that are pastor is serving our teens by teaching them this week in our student worship service
Announcements: YouVersion Live, world missions week, & Krave

Open this file, 11.04.09,  to view our service program sheet (the lights columns is blank because we have a college student who runs the lights & he comes in on Wednesday afternoons to set the scene for each element).

Monday night we (student ministry staff & a few college volunteers) had a family offer us their home to watch the Saints vs. Falcons.  They were actually going to the game, but they let us come over & watch the game in their media room.  Their HUGE HD projection screen, a great sound system, good food & the reclining leather stadium seats made for a fun night.

During the game we were texting back & forth w/ their teenage son who was @ the game.  As the night went on the text became more & more creative (pictures of us eating all of his food).  Eventually he sent this picture of the game from his seat in the dome:

Not a bad view of the game from his front row seat.  I responded w/ my view of the game:

Not a bad view for watching the game on tv.

Sunday we had lunch w/ our seniors.  Great group of teens.

Posted in Pictures, Sr. High Ministry, Youth Ministry ]]> http://neiltullos.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/lunch-w-10/feed/ 0 ntullos senior lunch http://neiltullos.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/book-review-have-a-little-faith/ http://neiltullos.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/book-review-have-a-little-faith/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:00:16 +0000 Neil http://neiltullos.wordpress.com/?p=3099 ]]>

Have A Little Faith was given to everyone who attended Catalyst.  It’s author, Mitch Albom, was interviewed as a part of the conference.  Mitch is known from Tuesdays with Morrie & Five People You Meet in Heaven.  I’ve known him due to him being a sportswriter (Detroit Free Press) & a regular on ESPN’s Sports Reporters (the original & best version of what makes up much of sports programming today).

Have A Little Faith is Mitch’s story of him getting to know his rabbi & an inner-city pastor in Detroit.  For me as a minister it was interesting to read his views of religious leaders.  How he knew his rabbi as his spiritual leader, but didn’t know him personally.

It was also interesting to read to see how Albom’s Jewish faith interacts w/ the Christian minister & church in inter-city Detroit.  The pastor’s (it’s worth the price of the book just to read of how God delivered him from addictions & a life of crime) church is located in old decaying building, but he’s still reaching out to the poor & homeless.  Although, their faith isn’t the same, they find common ground in helping the hungry & homeless.

Mitch’s writing is incredibe & the topic/story was intriguing.  I began reading it last Friday, & didn’t put it down for several hours & finished up the last few pages a few nights later.

A few quotes that stood out to me:

• Man likes to run from God.
• The most inspirational man I knew only reached his potential by helping a child reach his.
• Faith is about doing.  You are who you act, not just how you believe.
• I was amazed at how a man who was supposed to be available for so many people could somehow be available for each one of them.
• Having more does not keep you from wanting more.
• Getting old, we can deal with.  Being old is the problem.

To read more about Albom & Have A Little Faith click here.  To purchase it at Amazon click here.

Fall = football.  Here’s a few thoughts from my weekend of footbal consumption.

• Really encouraged by the State win over Kentucky.  Really impressed at how @CoachDanMullen has had the Dogs ready to play each week.
• Brett Favre just looks silly in a Vikings uniform playing the Packers in Lambeau.
• USC lost.  Having the most talent doesn’t always = wins.
• Fantasy Football is addictive & changes the way I watch football.  I’m watiching games I don’t really care about & rooting for players I don’t like.
• Can’t believe M.C. lost.  1st game I’ve been to since I graduated.  We had a good time, great weather, but just too many turnovers.
• Division 3 games are much more fan friendly.  No tv timeouts are so nice.  The entire game was played in about 2.5 hours & both favored the pass which typically means longer games.
• Students having a bonfire @ the game is something that only happens at Division 3 game (see photos below).
• Twitter is a great tool if you love to keep up w/ stats, injuries & other behind the scenes info. @joestate, @kyleveazey & @stricklinMSU give me all of that type of info during State games.
• Hopefully, the Saints beat the Falcons tonight.

 

Mississippi College vs Howard Payne

bonfire @ the MC game (fire is just to the right of the stands)

Incarnate Leadership was a book I received through the Catalyst Filter.  I’d never heard of it & likely wouldn’t have ever purchased/read it otherwise (1 of things I like about the Catalyst Filter  is that introduces me to new/different authors).  It’s author, Bill Robinson, is the president of Whitworth University.

Servant Leadership has been a popular term (style of leadership?) for at least the past decade.  I’ve read much on the topic.  However, it often seems that servant leadership is taught as a leadership technique so that the leader can achieve his goals.  It’s an end to a means rather than truly servant leadership.  This book doesn’t hint of alterior motives for servant leadership.

The author takes leadership principles from the life of Jesus & applies them to how Christian leaders are to lead.  It’s powerful, but it’ll also challenge your view of leadership.  Many of his examples are his personal shortcomings & strengths in leading a Christian university. 

This quote in the 1st chapter sums up the book “Perhaps our desire to be good leaders has elbowed its way in front of our desire to be imitators of Christ.”  Robinson states the book’s puropse as “I do not intened to describe how Jesus led; others have done that well.  Rather, I invite you to think with me about some of the tough, paradoxical challenges in leading with a different kind of authorityh than one that comes from your title, your office, your salary, or your degrees.”

A few quotes that stood out to me:

• I think we have done better job of making Christ the center of our faith than the center of our leadership.
• With no venture capital, no budget, and no formal orginzation, he changed the world; and two thousand years later he’s still changing it.
• People love to see leaders on their turf.
• The most powerful position of leadership is beside those God calls us to lead.
• I’m not sure there has been a more corrosive leadership practice than secrecy and unnecessary confidentiality.
• The best leaders want thinkers in their organizations.  Less talent is needed to obey a rule than to make a well-reasoned decision.
• Values are smarter than rules.
• What makes us think God gets mad about homosexuality, but he’s a good sport about pride?
• My most deadly enemy is me.
• We pick and choose how we want to be like Jesus.  But mostly we want Jesus to be like us.
• We could accomplish much if we didn’t care about receiving credit.
• Leadership without sacrifice is not Christian leadership.

You can read more about the author by clicking here.  You can purchase Incarnate Leadership by clicking here.

1. Blaine Hogan - I just discovered his blog & it’s quickly become 1 of my favorites
2. Balloon Boy & The State of the World by Marshall
3. The Joy of Quitting by Seth
4. The Guy Who Refuses To Scoot at The End Of The Pew by Jon
5. The Most Slamming Church Building by Carlos

Not sure why, but I’ve gotten out of the habit of posting book reviews of what I’ve been reading.  I want catch up on everything I’ve read in the past 6 months?, but I’ll post reviews of the 3 books (Forgotten God, Incarnate Leadership & Have A Little Faith) I’ve read most recently.

I’m a huge Francis Chan fan.  I’ve heard him speak several times & last summer I even got to spend a couple of hours with him prior to a youth event he was speaking at.  He’s 1st book, Crazy Love, was revolutionary for me.  I say all that to say that before I ever opened Forgotten God I was expecting to really enjoy reading it.

A lparagraph in the Introduction  grabbed my mind’s attention the 1st time I read it & I’m still wrestling w/ the idea.   Chan writes:

But what if you grew up on a desert island with nothing but the Bible to read?  Imagine being rescued after twenty years and then attending a typical evangelical church.  Chances are you’d be shocked (for a whole lot of reasons, but that is another story).  Having read the Scriptures outside the context of contemporary church culture, you would be convinced that the Holy Spirit is as essential to a believer’s existence as air is to staying alive.  You would know that the Spirit led the first Christians to do unexplainable things, to live lives that didn’t make sense to the culture around them, and ultimately to spread the story of God’s grace around the world.”

That’s a dangerous thought to think about.  Forgotten God is full of challenging/thought provoking ideas about how we (typical American Christians) have ignored the Holy Spirit.  It’s a good read, but not necessarily enjoyable because of how convicting I found it in how I’ve ignored the Spirit in my own life.

Chan is able to break through the stereotypes we’ve placed on the Holy Spirit & those we characterize as focusing on the Spirit too much.  He does so be relying on Scripture to describe the Holy Spirit.  That should be the norm, but unfortunately it seems we depend on tradition more than Scripture to shape our beliefs.

At the end of each chapter he provides stories from the lives of individuals who are living a Spirit filled life.  It helped me to see how others are living out a life that is dependent on the Holy Spirit.  It’s also great to see an author/pastor to use people from his own church as examples.

A few statements that stood out to me:

• The church becomes irrelevant when it becomes purely a human creation.
• When we are referring to God, balance is a huge mistake.  I have yet to meet anyone with too much Holy Spirit.
• The problem is much of what we believe is often based more on comfort or our culture’s tradition than on the Bible.
• There is much more to God and following  in the Way of Jesus than getting a bunch of talented people together to hold a church service.
• Regardless of your background, are you willing to set it aside and just respond to biblical truth?
• What would your church (and the worldwide church) look like if everyone was as committed as you are?
• You only need the Holy Spirit’s guidance and help if you truly want to follow the Way of Jesus Christ.

You can purchase Forgotten God by clicking here.

I’ve served in a variety of different size churches.  A church that averaged about 100 & one that averages about 2500.  Lots of differences beyond the # of people.  Each having its on strengths & weaknesses.

One common statement I’ve heard in smaller churches is something like “I like a smaller church because I know everyone.” I think that people in each size church know the same # of people.  In the small church it’s just a higher percentage of the regular attendees.

Seth Godin says

Dunbar postulated that the typical human being can only have 150 friends. One hundred fifty people in the tribe. After that, we just aren’t cognitively organized to handle and track new people easily. That’s why, without external forces, human tribes tend to split in two after they reach this size. It’s why WL Gore limits the size of their offices to 150 (when they grow, they build a whole new building).

To read Seth’s complete blog entry click here.  Click here for the wikipedia article on Dunbar’s #.

It’s interesting topic to me.  Especially, that I’m in a youth ministry that has a weekly attendance of about 250 teens & 350+ that attend at least once per month.  I’m learning how to do ministry where I may not be able to know every teen, parent & youth worker.

No jr high boys read this blog, but they should just for this bit of info.

Visit Indexed.

Our Student Ministry is hosting a youth ministry conference the weekend of February 5-6, 2010.  It’s an event that’s been in the works for several months.  We  have had 10 other youth ministers helping us develop the conference.  You can learn more by checking out the Krave Conference website.

The early bird rate is $40 (goes up to $50 beginning January 9th).

You can follow Krave on facebook & twitter.

Email me if you have questions

Posted in Uncategorized ]]> http://neiltullos.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/krave-conference/feed/ 0 ntullos http://neiltullos.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/directions/ http://neiltullos.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/directions/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:00:06 +0000 Neil http://neiltullos.wordpress.com/?p=3057 ]]>

A couple of Saturdays ago while I was working in our front yard I noticed a car that was driving as if it didn’t know the location of its destination.  As the older lady (that’s in no way a reference to lady drivers not being good drivers or good w/ directions) approached my home I paused from my yardwork & approached the street.  She rolled down (isn’t it funny that we still use that phrase even though we haven’t rolled down the window in years) her  window to ask for directions.

She was looking for our neighborhood’s clubhouse (by the gift in the front seat I gathered that she had a child’s birthday party to attend).  I gave her the directions (go to the stop sign, turn left).  She paused.  Then replied that she’d tried that already & asked again for directions.

I gave the same simple directions.  She once again said she’d tried that & the clubhouse wasn’t there.  She continued by describing the clubhouse’s appearance & the playground, walking trail, & tennis courts that surround it.  I’m quite familiar w/ our clubhouse.  I have a clear view of it from my back porch.

From where she was parked she could see between my home & my neighbors & see the clubhouse.  I pointed this out to her & once again told her to go to the end of the street & take a left & the street will end at the clubhouse’s doorstep.  She looked.  Saw. And finally agreed w/ me on the clubhouse’s location.

Aren’t we funny.  We ask others for directions/help/advice.  Then tell them why they are wrong or don’t understand.

Isaiah 55:8-9
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We arrived home this afternoon to find that our water had been turned off.  Turns out our city’s public works dept. hadn’t been receiving our online banking payment for the past couple of months.  Thanks to their quick after hours response of quickly realizing the mixup & having our water turned back on.

I (you?) never realize how much we need/use something until it’s not available.  In the 2 hours we didn’t have h2o we continually attempted to turn on the water facet.  If I had a nickel for each time we tried to turn on the water on I’d be approximately $0.45 richer.

This article made me sad.

How can we be followers of Jesus & only give away 2.56% of our $?

Amanda & I spent the night @ Hillcrest’s Homecoming.  1 of my Parkway teens was in the homecoming court & I had the honor of driving her in the parade.  It was fun to get to reunite w/ several families & teens.

It wasn’t much of a football game, but Hillcrest consistently has the best concession stand food.

How could the church apply this to reaching men?

1. Make A Decision by Seth
2. You Should Only Hire 2 Types of People
3. Mark says that God sometimes leads us to the last place that we want to be
4. The Plot-lines of Sermons by Ben
5. Michael breaks down the different speaking styles from day 1 of Catalyst

I’ve been fortunate to be able to go to many college football games.  I once had a lengthy streak of consecutive home MS State football games.  I’ve been able to visit the majority of the SEC stadiums (still missing GA, TN, AR, UK, & Vandy).

The Oklahoma vs Texas game this weekend has me thinking about the college football games that I want to witness.

• Alabma vs Auburn – lots of passion & hate make for good entertainment
• Florida vs Georgia – neutral site game, long-time rivalry, tickets split evenly between the 2 teams
• Oklahoma vs Texas – same as above
• Texas A&M – any home game; love their traditions
• Army vs Navy – not always great football, but a great tradition
• Notre Dame – I’d cheer heartily against them, but I’d love to go to one of their home games

Any college game that you’d like to attend?