TARP SURFING

This would be fun to pull off. I almost hate sharing it before I try it with some students.



h/t hypebeast

BEST MARIO BROTHERS TRIBUTE VIDEO

This is the best Super Mario Brothers tribute I have ever seen. It would be a great countdown video for sure.

I GOT IT AT ROSS!

The recession brings out the real ballers. Got at it Ross rap! Video below feed readers hit the blog if you can's see cause it's a must see!





Stuff so cheap that it's almost free!!!!!

REAL GHOSTBUSTERS

IRONNING MAN

I had to post this. Ironning Man.

H/T URLESQUE

FRENCH HIPSTER DAFT HANDS

FELLOWSHIP OF AWESOME

MASQUERADE BALL

Our high school ministry had a Masquerade Ball last night. We have had some great activities this year. I love this photo.

PONG POLO

How many times does this happen? You're hanging out with students and keeping them entertained when all of a sudden because of sheer boredom you start to mess around and invent a game. This past Sunday before we started our Deepen Service a group of about 10 of us invented some Pong Polo. 

Everyone gets a ping pong paddle. A garbage can is placed at either end of the rooms length. Two teams on teh court. Players bounce the ping pong ball on the paddle advancing it to their goal. They can pass it to another player or take awicked shot at the can. It also requires good scooping technique for when the ball is on the ground as well as some degree of checking players.  We will be playing live this Sunday night, 03/14/10 at 6pm CST. Here is our Facebook Fan Page that I started yesterday. I will be building connection with the students who play and making it sweet. Yes I made the logo. Yes, I'm looking for corporate sponsorship.

What is a game that you made up with your students that ended up being most triumphant?

THEINTERSECTION.TV INTERVIEW

I'm on a website called theintersection.tv. This is an interview for a segment called Zeigeist where we talk about culture, mediocrity, and salsa. It's a little of everything.



THEINTERSECTION.TV

By the way if you have any questions about student ministry or leading students formspring is a great way to submit your questions. I also appreciate your comments.

MEET THE STAFF INTERVIEWS

The video from above was one of many staff interviews that our internet campus pastor, Vince did for Gateway. It was fun to sit in the hot seat with Vince. Enjoy the video above.

SNUGGIE VIDEO MADE BY 1 OF MY STUDENTS

This is pretty funny. Feed readers may need to visit the blog.

formspring.me

what's the last song you were listening to?

No One, Alicia Keys.... this was also the last song I danced to with my lady

Ask me anything

THE THOUSANDTH POST

I was planning on making a big deal out of this but in the end this is pretty much all I have time for. Thanks for reading my blog and for all of my faithful followers it means a lot to me that you stop here to journey with me in leading students. I hope everything has been helpful in giving you encouragement to reach wonderful, awesome, and beautiful kids.

WHAT IT DO.

We have the best dancers. Every Wednesday when high school ends we let kids plug in their ipods and dance. Everything from hip hop to techno gets played. These kids were not prompted. This is what they do. Video below.

GROSS GAMES CLUB or EVENT

I have another sweet file from the relic Wyldlife folder I harvested from one of our old computers. This is a rundown for a Gross Games club we did. Keep in mind this is 2005. Use to your liking. Also, I always plan two more games then what I think we need in case we are running ahead of schedule. Seven games is good but not necessary. Enjoy and keep loving students.

Clubbers Hang Out Around Fire Pit while New Clubbers Register

Bring Clubbers in & Welcome

-LEADER stalls saying, “Hey everyone welcome to Wyldlife… Glad you’re here…we have a couple of things to talk about before club begins…We need everyone to turn off your cell phones (cue for music and walk on character)

-CHAD & DAVE – Jersey Boys Cleaning Crew walk in.

Game 1 Baby Food Roulette – Works like hot potato. Clubbers make a circle and start passing a paper bag with baby food in. When the music stops the clubber with the bag has to open the bag and eat the food. We will do several rounds of this for fun.

Game 2 Plexi-Glass Relay (2 Volunteers needed) A couple of strips of easy-cheese and several Oreos will placed onto a clear sheet of plexi-glass. Both clubbers must be the first to successfully consume their allotment of cheese and Oreos off the glass in front of club.

Game 3 Eat That Food – Clubbers sit scattered throughout the room. When the music starts a beach ball will be thrown into the room. Clubbers will tap it around keeping it up in the air. When the music stops the last person to hit it must come to the front of club and pick out a sealed paper bag from a group of sealed paper bag. They open the bag and whatever is in it they must eat. Game keeps going till all bags are gone.

Game 4 Hose Head (2 guys and 2 girls needed) Guys put a panty hose over their head down to their neck. The girls will be handed a banana and must feed the banana to their teammate through the hose. The first crew to eat their banana wins.

Game 5 Banana Foot Feed (2 Guys & 2 Girls) – Guys lay on their back with head placed at the feet of their girl partner. Girls sit in chairs. A Banana is placed at their feet and when the game begins the girls must peel the banana open and feed it to their male partner using only their feet.

Game 6 Ice Cream Feed (4 guys 4 girls) Guys and girls partner up and lay with backs on the ground so that they make a straight line with the tops of their heads touching. The guy is given a scoop of ice cream in a cup and a spoon. When the game begins they must scoop their ice cream and reach over their heads to their partners head and feed them the ice cream.

Game 7 Hawk A Sausage (6 clubbers needed) Clubbers are given a Vienna sausage and they must spit it as far as they can across club to see who can hawk the sausage the furthest

Big Louie and Jimmy exit and return to Jersey to pursue their professional lives.

Bryan & Justin sell the Christmas Party & the Rampage Hockey Game.

Club Songs

1. Complicated, Avril

Camp Sell

2. You & Me, Life House
3. Unwell, Matchbox 20

Club Talk

Dismiss, Hang with Kids

5 Youth Ministry Essentials

"what would you say are the 5 essentials to youth ministry, i'm talking books or things you do to prepare like prayer and so on." @theeagleeggs

I've read a lot of books, been to tons of conferences, and rubbed shoulders with the gurus. If you don't have the following five all that you've gained from the things above really don't much matter.

1. A quickened word. The old timers talk about the "quickened word." This means that from within your walk with God and your hunger for his words that your mouth becomes ready to speak from the reservoir of truth you already know. Work toward this as it does not come through a feed reader or tweet.

2. An Accountability Group. You need to be in a group of 3-4 people that you have invited into your life to ask you hard questions. You need to meet weekly and be as active in making them closer to Jesus as you hope they will help you stay close to him. They have a right to ask you about what you see, think, say, feel, and do with every aspect of your life. Confess your sin to them and be completely transparent.

3. Reason. You need to know why you're doing youth ministry and find ways to constantly remind yourself of those reasons. You will seldom and I mean seldom be thanked, acknowledged, invited, prompted, and included because of whom you work with. Many assumptions will be made about you that keep you socially, emotionally, relationally, and professionally distanced from the people for whom you need the most support from. If you lose your reason for obedience you will look for a reason from others and you're not going to find that satisfaction from them. Your reason will push you through those seasons of loneliness.

4. Hunger. Our profession needs people who want to see students come to Jesus so badly that they will not allow anything to keep them from change, growth, thinking, or creating both energy and movement in order to obey God with the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

5. Friends. You need people that you can be with and that your wife and kids can be with that don't want to talk about programming, small groups, or activities. Don't get me wrong those things are good things but you got to have a break and a place where people don't care about that as much as they do you and what interests you besides your vocation.

"If" I started a church...

On a weekly basis I will pass by a Bennigan's, Macaroni Grill, or some other kind of restaurant that has closed it's doors. Inside all the tables and chairs, kitchen, host stand, bar, decor, etc. remain. Then I think about how impacted I've been by an accountability partner, small group, or conversation with a friend over food. Friends get together, family has "the" conversation, and things happen over a warm plate and a favorite drink.

Isn't that the kind of community we want? Isn't that when we are best on mission? Conversations. Connectivity. Why do we meet in a huge building with conversation being predominately one way?

If I started a church I would want to lease that restaurant, book local artists to play throughout the weeknights for our guests, hang local artist's works on the wall, serve food and drink, let the waitstaff serve and shepherd, and use the kitchen to feed the homeless as well.

At a Sunday service you come and go as you please. Worship is organic led by a rich vocalists with an acoustic guitar piped throughout the house. The message is meant to be more food for conversation and is delivered every hour with no more than fifteen minutes of content. If you want more thought and teaching for food, go online to our house website and get a second helping. I don't care if your baby cries or your children are standing up in the booth.

Yes we'll get together your children and teens for events and gatherings as well but we don't need the auditorium for that now so why would we want that in my scenario?

Assimilation happens on line or at kiosk's at the front. We'll host your reception and celebrate your marriage. We'll weekly share suggested theology and stir you missionaly to go into the world. This actually would be harder work in my mind than running a traditional north American church.

At the end of the day if I want to love you and build a relationship with you I'm gonna meet you for a meal to start the journey.

P.S. That is not me in the picture. It's my dream church's student pastor getting ready to meet with some kids from the local high school. ha. ha!

Get to Know Your Leader Christmas Party Questions

So if you have leaders from different areas that you're bringing together for a Christmas party and they need some time to get to know each other, you can use these mission statements to help them along. It's easy simply have them write the names of leaders in the room next to each statement that is true about them.

Find someone...

who is traveling for the holidays.
with a weird family Christmas tradition.
who doesn't eat turkey for Christmas.
who has never been ice skating.
who has never played with snow.
who has a pickle ornament on their tree.
who has found a lump of coal in their stocking.
who has never seen miracle on 34th street.
who can name all the reindeer.
who has recently been kissed due to mistletoe.
who is a grinch and avoids family at the holidays.
who opens their presents on Christmas Eve.
who still leaves cookies out for Santa.
you have never met before.
who has a train going around their Christmas tree.
who starred in a Christmas play as a child and the name of their play.

h/t cat and cameron

Swing Dancing for the Leaders at the Christmas Party

Last night we had dinner at the Macaroni Grill for our team. At the end I gave them a map to get to their next location and surprise. When they got to the Fed Building in downtown Austin they entered the ballroom to where we had arranged swing dance lessons for them. It was a great night of fun for us and I know the memory will stay for a long time.