Lessons Learned part 1

Yesterday I told you about this awesome book I was reading called Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields (www.dougfields.com) and as I said yesterday I highly and completely recommend it to anyone and everyone in Youth Ministry in a paid position or as a volunteer leader, as someone who is just starting or been doing this for awhile it will help all of you. The more I was thinking about it the more I realized that I need to talk more about the valuable information in the book in the hopes that you will pick it up.

One of the most important lessons I have learned so far came from chapter 1, and I will go into it deeper over the next couple of days. I just think this information is so beneficial that I really want to share this with all of you whether you are in youth ministry, ministry in general or starting a small group these principles will help you. Doug Fields calls these the Top 10 Youth Ministry Commitments.

1. I will move slowly.
This is one of my major issues, I want it all and I want it NOW! The reference used in the book and in the Bible is that of a marathon runner vs. a sprinter. Are you in it for the long haul or just a 100m dash? What kind of impact will you have if you quit after 3 months, how will the youth/or the members of your small group react if you shut everything down just when the group starts to feel comfortable with each other. Can we say trust issues.

2. I will regularly check my motives and evaluate my heart.
Working with small groups I find a lot of issues come up when this principle is forgotten. Pride can set in or the sense that "I" did this by myself. This is mine and therefore it will be done my way! Dude unless your Frank Sinatra "My Way" may not be the best way! ALWAYS remember as Max Lucado wrote in his book: "It's NOT About Me". So before making decisions that can and will impact the whole group check your motives and evaluate your heart.

I think this is enough for now, so I will go into another 2 or 3 principles tomorrow. Please remember that these have been taken from the book (YFTYYM) and I want to make sure that you do not think that I stole the idea these are not my principles/commitments. They were written by Doug Fields and he deserves all the credit so that is why I encourage you to pick up the book to get the complete definitions of each point. Hopefully I will give you enough information to peak your interest and maybe you didn't know where to look so I wanted to guide you in the right direction.

Talk at you later

Marty