Each week, we scour the web for great articles on youth ministry, social media, and blogging and offer the best of them to you. Here is what we have found to be good reads this week. If you find something you like, let us know what and leave them a comment on their blog.
If you have been to our Facebook page recently, you will notice a change on the “Free eBook” section. We have officially taken down our eBook from May called Effective Blogging: 50 Tips To A Successful Blog. If you are still wanting to get it, you can now purchase it from DownloadYouthMinistry.com for $8. We never intended to sell anything, but the eBook had run its course and Josh Griffin actually asked us to join on as a contributor. So look for more complete products coming out as short-time freebies and then on sale over at DYM.
Each week, we scour the web for great articles on youth ministry, social media, and blogging and offer the best of them to you. Here is what we have found to be good reads this week. If you find something you like, let us know what and leave them a comment on their blog.
This weekend’s ski retreat was the very thing that I needed. The past month has been a whirlwind of youth ministry that has been good, but not energizing for my introverted self. The ski lifts by myself, the runs that do not allow for conversation, and the view from the top of the Colorado Rockies simply filled my soul.
A green pasture with a quiet stream. Does this sound like a place of hurt and anguish? Not to me! When a teenager, or anyone for that matter, is in a place of hurt, you need to lead them to this place. What better words to lead them there than the words of the only One who can truly take us there – in Psalm 23.
Being a Biblical Hebrew nerd, I absolutely love the original language of this psalm. There is so much richness that is lost in the English translation.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” Psalm 23:2
God does not just make us lie down in this comforting place. The Hebrew verb tense means that He actually causes us to lie down! It is only through God that we truly can lie down and find rest, regardless of whether we are in a time of hurt or a time of joy in our lives. God does not just lead us beside quiet waters, but He does so intensely. The connotation of that Hebrew word is that of being led with purpose. It is not just an aimless wandering, but rather a specific, intentional direction in which He leads us. It is God’s purpose that we are near these quiet waters, again regardless of where the world is trying to lead us.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Psalm 23:4a
This valley spoken of is a place of utter darkness and gloom, and it has the shadow of death lingering over it. When others see a minor crisis in our lives, we may feel that we are in this place of utter darkness! But, we fear no evil because YOU, God, are with me, even in this place of deep despair!
“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:6a
The Hebrew word for ‘goodness’ here is the same word that God used to describe all of Creation when He looked at it and saw that it was good (Genesis 1:31). This goodness that will follow us is not just something nice but the total perfection of God’s original Creation. This form of love mentioned here is hesed in Hebrew. Hesed is a combination of love, mercy, compassion, and kindness. We don’t really have a word for that beautiful, all-encompassing emotion in the English language. When the text says that goodness and love will follow me, that’s not just a haphazard following. That verb has a meaning of pursuing someone. Anyone going through a troubling time needs to know that we have this perfection and hesed not only following us, but literally chasing after us!
“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6b
The Hebrew for this final phrase literally reads, “I will return in the house of the Lord for the length of my days.” Even when we have trouble on this earth, we know that we will have a joyous homecoming
of going to the Lord’s house for the rest of our days. Trouble is only for a short time here on earth; we will have everlasting joy forever with Jesus! While that won’t erase today’s troubles, the hope of what is to come and dwelling with our Lord forever gives a glimmer of hope through that dark valley.
Jeremy Smith of seventy8Productions talks about some of the real life challenges Youth Pastors must face while working in Youth Ministry.
Teens deal with a lot of issues in their lives, more than any other generation has had to face in their lives. Depression, drugs, break ups, teen pregnancy, cutting, abusive parents, failing grades, rape, poverty, and social rejection to name a few. With all of this turmoil, they need to find healthy ways of coping with the problems they will face. As youth workers, we have the premium opportunity to teach resiliency and healthy coping ideas to teens.
There are a lot of great ways to handle this, but almost all of these coping methods can be done wrongly and be unhealthy. Some things like cutting and underage drinking are obviously unhealthy, but its those “okay” things that people do in an unhealthy way that slip through the cracks. A teen girl looks like they are just a hard worker is actually over compensating from verbal and emotional abuse as school and so she spends all her time at the library and ignores social engagements. A guy who is a star basketball player is really covering the fact that his alcoholic dad abuses him and so he is always in the weight room or shooting hoops, just as long has he does not have to talk about his feelings. Both of these situations become unhealthy and we need to look out for them, being supportive when they become apparent.
I love how the Skit Guys address this subject in their video Baggage. We do not go through it alone. You can see it below:
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