tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382265662011-11-27T16:55:37.383-08:00YMTheology is designed to help youth workers think theologically and Biblically about how to do youth ministry.John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.comBlogger491100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-76445828847172096212009-11-02T21:13:00.000-08:002009-11-02T21:13:07.482-08:00

What does it mean to be called to ministry?  How do you know?  Charles Spurgeon gave some help to his students regarding this very question.  Over the next four to six posts I will be going over some of the criteria for understanding calling.  Why should you read these?  There are two reasons, first, to evaluate yourself in light of these things, and second, to help you determine who in your

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-54356099973890460172009-11-02T21:00:00.000-08:002009-11-02T21:00:08.979-08:00

                There are all kinds of transitions.  This isn’t necessarily about a new church, it could be moving into a new position in the church you are in, transitioning your programming, perhaps you have a new boss, or maybe you are in transition in your personal life.  Transitions are always difficult to navigate, but they can also have a huge impact on you and your ministry.  This is not

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-10849192507038662792009-08-03T10:45:00.000-07:002009-08-03T10:45:47.641-07:00

                I recently took some college/career types along with some High School Students on a trip to San Francisco for a mission trip with CSM (They did a great job).  The trip was really good.  You can read about it at the Theology, Lockers, and Life blog if you are interested.  When I arrived home I was faced with a tore up basement (it flooded while I was gone, thanks to one of our

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-21325348252854903162009-08-03T09:55:00.000-07:002009-08-03T10:03:13.112-07:00

I had an interesting conversation with one of my High School Students about the influence teenagers have on culture.  It was her belief that teenagers set the standards for culture.  They have more influence on culture than any other age group.  Certainly when it comes to pop culture there is some truth to what she thinks.  It is also true that pop culture has some influence on culture overall,

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-9790021279601337052009-07-16T10:26:00.000-07:002009-07-16T10:26:04.787-07:00

                Recently my family and I took a much needed vacation which is why it has been a little longer since the last newsletter.  You know how everyone comes back from vacation tired and speaks of needing a vacation from the vacation.  Well, we actually made that part of our plan.  We came back a little early to relax and get some things done around the house before it’s time to go back

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-1188884257890035632009-07-16T10:14:00.000-07:002009-07-16T11:19:02.795-07:00

                I have two dogs, a Black Lab and a golden Retriever.  The lab we have had since the time it was a pup.  He now weighs close to 100lbs.  When he was a pup we had to lay down some boundaries.  There were certain things we wanted Crash (the lab) to do and not do.  There were also certain things we wanted Crash to believe.  For instance it was important for Crash to believe that I was

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-8862766638057628942009-06-06T19:44:00.000-07:002009-06-15T10:26:39.221-07:00

I went to a wedding today that was unlike any wedding I have attended or performed. I have had the privilege of officiating for some great couples. I have attended weddings of people that will go on to have great marriages, but todays wedding was unique. The couple that got married today has been married before...to each other. Almost twenty years ago they got married. They had two kids and

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-51518053678241187352009-06-06T11:03:00.000-07:002009-06-15T10:20:46.383-07:00

I am anticipating that this blog post may get some negative reaction. Still I think it is important. This morning I watched some commentary on the "Jon & Kate Plus 8" television show. I have never watched the show and I am not sure what the actual circumstances are in that home. My purpose is not to actually talk about the family, but to commentate on the commentary. As I watched, thoughts

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-46187491407070797702009-05-31T00:39:00.000-07:002009-06-01T13:06:57.663-07:00

Prayer is one of those spiritual disciplines that most of us struggle with. This is especially true for those of us who seem to always be "plugged in". Our lives are filled with noise from our cell phones, computers, TVs, radios and so on. Over the past 15 years I have noticed a significant decline in the number of students who are capable of praying, much less praying in front of other people

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-74339428577819883982009-05-28T09:09:00.000-07:002009-06-01T13:08:51.921-07:00

Have you ever watched a video of yourself presenting a message? How about listening to yourself sing? I have, and I don't particularily enjoy either of them. I am critical and can't believe the mistakes I make. Sometimes the truth is painful, but helpful. Every person who follows Jesus has been given gifts and abilities by God. We are also expected to use those things which God has given

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-59458217624330156842009-04-29T21:11:00.000-07:002009-05-05T14:05:51.031-07:00

A lot is made of understanding our cultural context. There are magazines like Relevant and people like Walt Mueller who help us in that area. There are web sites about how to use movies, music, Facebook and other cultural phenomenons to further God's kingdom. To all of them I am thankful, and I have learned a lot from many of those sources. There is another kind of context we must consider

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-74232449390566341192009-04-17T21:09:00.000-07:002009-05-05T14:03:08.052-07:00

My Freshman year at Oak Hills Bible College in Bemidji (otherwise known as Buuurrrmidji), MN I began my paid youth ministry career. I was hired (along with the woman who is now my wife) to do youth ministry in a small town. At the age of 17 I began a quest to change the world for Jesus. I had huge dreams and a lot of energy, but I had no idea what I was doing. There were "kids" in the youth

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-72313711211307237372009-04-15T20:41:00.000-07:002009-04-16T09:31:11.657-07:00

Occasionally I try to put myself in the shoes of a non-believer who is "checking out" God and this whole "religion" thing. I wonder what goes through their mind as they drive into a parking lot full of cars at a place they at one time thought they would never go except for a wedding, funeral, or when their parents made them (Easter and sometimes Christmas). Maybe a friend invited them and

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-12165419574427970882009-04-02T22:36:00.000-07:002009-04-07T23:41:40.303-07:00

"Youth ministers have been on a long and frustrating quest of their own over the past two decades or so. Believing that a message wrapped in pop-culture packaging was the way to attract teens to their flocks, pastors watered down the religious content and boosted the entertainment. But in recent years churches have begun offering their young people a style of religious instruction grounded in

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-73085108616990475522009-03-26T18:10:00.000-07:002009-03-27T21:29:12.418-07:00

Evaluating your ministry can be difficult and there are many who would rather not evaluate at all because it feels "unspiritual". The truth is we all evaluate our ministries based on our own ministry values whether we have taken the time to write them down or not. Does it not make sense to actually write these things down and be thoughtful about how we evaluate? I am going to lay out one

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-67877483795149188832009-03-24T12:24:00.000-07:002009-03-24T14:53:24.413-07:00

I hate phone calls, I can sometimes be found in my office spewing insults at the phone. It's kind of embarrassing to be honest. Last week I took the time to make a phone call. It is not something I do all the time, but if I know a student is struggling or there is something significant going on in their life I will call, text, or Facebook them and just let them know I care. Most of you

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-6861513927887634692009-03-13T08:46:00.000-07:002009-03-13T09:11:11.875-07:00

God designed me as a coach. I have coached volleyball, basketball, and football at the high school level. My tendencies in youth ministry are to coach. It comes so naturally to me that I have to be very aware that I am not coaching in situations that require something of a different approach. One of the things I learned from my coaches in high school was to always focus on the basics.

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-54618086571761217692009-03-07T20:09:00.000-08:002009-04-20T09:38:30.576-07:00

Theology: the study of God.Youth Ministry: the act of discipling Junior and Senior High students.These definitions may not be perfect, but I think they communicate the basic premise of both theology and youth ministry. For some in the church these two things are mutually exclusive. Youth ministry for years was viewed as a stepping stone to becoming a "real" pastor. While this mentality

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-84449374835011438072009-03-05T08:04:00.000-08:002009-03-09T21:43:05.574-07:00

I hear it all the time and I'm sure you hear it too. I think I've even said it in an attempt to convince myself. Numbers aren't that important. I've even had people try to tell me that Jesus wasn't concerned about numbers and the Bible really doesn't seem to care much about numbers. Unfortunately this simply isn't the case. Does God care about numbers?Yes, God not only cares about numbers,

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-36570837020728372622009-03-04T10:19:00.000-08:002009-03-21T21:16:37.580-07:00

Fourteen years ago I was the half time youth pastor at a small church in Harris, MN. I was going to college full time and trying to support my wife. I remember trying to figure out how to do youth ministry. I hadn't really had any training, so I was just winging things. I had no idea what I was doing, I just loved kids and loved God. Three weeks ago I received a tweet (www.twitter.com) for

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-45236743120488535292009-02-10T09:49:00.000-08:002009-02-12T12:37:50.634-08:00

I love students, I love God, and I love to teach and preach. I am not an organizer, or a detail oriented person. My guess is you may fall into this category or one similar. If you are like me you would like to have a large ministry, not for the sake of being large, but for the sake of growing the kingdom of God. No matter how large or small your group is, it is always important to build

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-15905340420289195882009-01-21T09:12:00.000-08:002009-01-21T12:57:07.294-08:00

A few months ago i received a message on Facebook. It was a message from Susie (the name has been changed). She had recently broken up with her boyfriend and things were not that great. Susie was a former student of mine. She was out of High School by a few years. The message was very disturbing. She told me things were difficult and she was asking me some theological questions. These

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-48237254153315711372009-01-08T11:40:00.000-08:002009-01-08T12:35:59.881-08:00

One of the complaints I have heard most about social networking is that it is impacting students ability to interact socially. Some of these complaints are the result of observing certain students who do appear to be socially handicapped. That said it seems to me based only on my own observations that the students who have a lot of online friends are very adept at interacting face to face. None

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-91413225622172705462008-12-29T19:26:00.000-08:002008-12-29T21:22:45.090-08:00

Relationships...what are they? We talk about relationships all the time. Sometimes it is a boyfriend or girlfriend, sometimes we are talking about friendship or various other relationships. In my conversation with some youth pastors and a youth ministry seminary professor about social networking and youth ministry dealt specifically with this issue. They were convinced that social networking

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-86641386839223821432008-12-18T15:23:00.000-08:002008-12-20T22:10:17.427-08:00

It's crazy, but when I started on facebook I needed to get to the fifty friends mark and once I did that one hundred seemed pretty doable. I made one hundred and then I realized I was just a beginner, I only had one hundred friends...what a loser. You probably get where this is going. There are more questions about facebook, myspace, twitter and the other social networking options out there

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-275423233901488452008-10-08T12:53:00.000-07:002008-10-08T13:10:42.783-07:00

Last night after youth group two students got in a car accident on the way home. Youth ministry is kind of weird. We are dealing with minors, but most likely we don't check them in and out of our programs. Even if we do there is a sense of independence, they find there own rides home, or they drive, and for the younger ones parents will pick them up. Waiting until everyone leaves to go

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-55473378611389806532008-09-29T19:24:00.000-07:002008-09-29T20:05:58.713-07:00

Everyone has them. Sometimes they are caused by some kid having a bad attitude, sometimes they are caused by me having a bad attitude. There are still other times when it isn't about an attitude at all. I had one of those day on Sunday. My aunt was in town which changed by schedule a little bit. Because of that I attended first service when I usually attend third. Student ministries meets

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-77561159838845921722008-06-23T14:21:00.000-07:002008-06-23T17:01:39.110-07:00

I have been in transition since January. The church I attempted to plant didn't take root. My future in ministry has been in limbo for about 6 months. It wasn't that I was going to quit doing ministry as much as what kind of ministry I was going to do. After a long process of thinking, praying, talking to people, sending out resumes, and interviewing it looks like I am circling for a landing.

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-42412267510504783762008-03-19T06:46:00.001-07:002008-03-19T06:46:36.926-07:00

Sometimes youth ministry is hard, some times it is thankless, and it is often exhausting. There are days when you wonder if it is worth it to keep going. I could probably think of 100 reasons, but here are ten off the top of my head:It's fun. Where else can you do cool and crazy things without people thinking you are a complete moron? Ok, they might think you are a moron for doing youth ministry,

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-84112719314219543982008-03-11T18:24:00.000-07:002008-03-11T19:22:03.777-07:00

The older I get, the older the books I read get. I am going to do something rare and recommend a book, but before I do I want to suggest something else. Read the dead guys!!So much of the time we are flooded with books to read. If I read every book recommended to me I would have to read a book every day for the rest of my life. That doesn't even count the books I see in the book store that I

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-51341118577728396132008-02-08T20:24:00.000-08:002008-02-10T07:26:55.947-08:00

When I was 11 or 12 my step dad had a 1968 Camaro SS RS. It had hidden head lights, leather interior and an amazing stereo system. To this day it is my favorite car. It was really loud too. I love loud pipes!! We only took the car out on special occasions and my mom was barely aloud to drive it.The funny thing is that car was old. Sure it was in perfect condition. It had a new paint job

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-91270358312694568352007-11-07T06:25:00.000-08:002007-11-07T06:46:07.544-08:00

What do you do with kids who are coming to your ministry programs, but do not go to church anywhere on Sunday? This can be a difficult question. In the past I had been happy with the fact that they were attending one of my programs. I thought that was my job. Over the past few years I have become less satisfied with that. There are several reasons:Students that do not become involved in the

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-23078022137489367242007-06-29T12:23:00.000-07:002007-06-29T12:47:35.198-07:00

Have you ever been told to do something you didn't want to do? How about something you didn't believe would work? I sat down with a friend recently who has been asked not only to do something they didn't want to, but something they had significant doubts about. In youth ministry this happens often. How should we respond to this kind of request?There is not one right response or one set of

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-45445484899512238682007-06-19T08:21:00.000-07:002007-06-19T08:30:40.570-07:00

I guess I can understand how we ended up in a place where missions is understood as something you do when you go to another country. Missions is perhaps the most important thing a church participates in, but it is too often misunderstood. Fortunately things are changing.Now we talk about being missional. Of course being missional is simply being a missionary wherever you are. It is about time

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-57910519350517609892007-06-01T18:53:00.000-07:002007-06-01T19:38:23.237-07:00

It just sounds wrong doesn't it? Marketing Jesus seems almost sacrilegious. I must admit this is contrary to my nature. Jesus doesn't really need me or any one else to market him, to "sell" him. There is a real sense in which we do need to market Jesus.When Jesus is mentioned people begin to have a certain perceptions about who he is and what he stands for. Mention the word church and people

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-76603906546384887002007-05-23T08:43:00.000-07:002007-05-23T09:23:47.712-07:00

Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'N Roll seem to be the things a lot of youth ministries spend their time on. Certainly there is good reason to be concerned about the kind of decisions students will make regarding these real life issues. The question is not whether we talk about these issues, but in what context. Too much of the time ministries focus on telling students what the right decisions are. We

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-41917877129043271302007-03-22T11:33:00.000-07:002007-03-29T09:50:39.450-07:00

As the parent of an 8 & 1 year old I have already begun to see many shortcomings in my parenting ability. Perhaps one of the most difficult ones to overcome is my own arrogance. Certainly my life experiences along with my years of working with youth have given me significant insight and wisdom ( I say that only somewhat fasitiously). I have 33 years of experience on this planet, some good and

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-72077568113864768822007-03-14T15:00:00.000-07:002007-03-14T15:03:47.311-07:00

The title of this post is also the title of a book I am currently reading. As the father of a 19 month old boy I recognize the importance of teaching my son how to be a man. As a result I am working on some book ideas. The above book is part of my research. Although it is dated, the ideas and thoughts in it are very helpful. This would be a great book to share with parents.The book is by

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-70949560849989292422007-02-27T08:36:00.000-08:002007-02-27T09:03:12.246-08:00

The sky is not falling, yet. The world is not coming to an end tomorrow (at least it doesn't look that way). I don't intend to cry wolf, unless I see one. Unfortunately there are many wolves in this world we live in. Are we preparing students to live in a world where Christians are persecuted for living out there faith.?In Canada it is illegal to speak out against homosexuality. In the

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-2667411692906107662007-02-19T13:31:00.000-08:002007-02-19T13:57:36.159-08:00

Driving is on of those mile markers in the life of students. Every time someone got their license or their Learners Permit I heard about it. If it wasn't the student is was the parent who told me the news. Of course I usually had some kind of smart alic remark about how people should stay off the sidewalks or the streets are no longer safe. It is amazing the amount of preparation students

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-5797416898255016172007-02-05T20:35:00.000-08:002007-02-05T21:32:29.501-08:00

This weekend I was in Ohio speaking at a retreat. I was at some old school that is being turned into a youth center(www.soncenter.org). My phone didn't work, there was no way to check my email, and it was freezing cold even inside the building. I am not complaining, it was great. Actually it was good for me not to be so "connected" all the time. Over the weekend I was reminded of several

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-64717972443277688492007-01-22T21:08:00.001-08:002007-01-22T21:10:12.685-08:00

Adolescence as it is understood today is relatively new. Of course the word "understand" may be a little presumptuous. Adolescence has changed over the centuries, especially in North America. It is not only confusing for those who are going through it, but their parents, their friends, and for youth leaders.Over the past 150 years adolescence has begun at an earlier age and ended at a later age

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-83215947091647259712007-01-15T20:44:00.000-08:002007-01-15T20:45:18.197-08:00

When I was a kid I would visit my Grandpa and Grandma in Wisconsin. My Grandpa served as the pastor of a very small church in a small town called Comstock. On Sunday mornings I would accompany my grandparents to Sunday school and church. You need to understand Sunday school consisted of pretty much the same people who attended church. There was only one class and it was not intended to be

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-88763266490966062152007-01-14T15:07:00.000-08:002007-01-22T21:07:15.012-08:00

Adolescence as it is understood today is relatively new. Of course the word "understand" may be a little presumptuous. Adolescence has changed over the centuries, especially in North America. It is not only confusing for those who are going through it, but their parents, their friends, and for youth leaders.Over the past 150 years adolescence has begun at an earlier age and ended at a later

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-63123469027449048352007-01-08T11:30:00.000-08:002007-01-08T11:54:20.779-08:00

I love the technological advances of the world we live in. As I sit here listening to my ipod while I type on my laptop that is connected to a wireless network at the local sports bar I wonder if it is all worth it. Those who know me well know how much I love techno-gadgets. I want to be able to communicate in every way possible at all times. I know, it is a little ridiculous.I wanted it all

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-25962024956120463062006-12-30T09:27:00.000-08:002007-01-02T06:35:58.417-08:00

Mark Yaconelli in his book Youth Ministry: A Contemplative Approach said, "If we are to keep young people involved in the church and if we are to renew our congregations, we first must acknowledge that many of our current forms of youth ministry are destructive"There are many difficulties when it comes to church ministry, and this is one of them. Different churches respond in different ways to

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-1167065132632254832006-12-25T08:17:00.000-08:002006-12-25T08:45:32.640-08:00

Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of youth ministry is dealing with parents. Even when I say the words, "dealing with parents" it sounds almost derogatory in nature. I certainly don't intend it that way.I wonder how many of those in youth ministry speak of parents with the tone that I have in the past. Parents love their kids more then anyone else, they want what is best for them, and they

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-1166646971358575622006-12-20T12:13:00.000-08:002007-01-15T20:44:08.887-08:00

When I was a kid I would visit my Grandpa and Grandma in Wisconsin. My Grandpa served as the pastor of a very small church in a small town called Comstock. On Sunday mornings I would accompany my grandparents to Sunday school and church. You need to understand Sunday school consisted of pretty much the same people who attended church. There was only one class and it was not intended to be

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38226566.post-1166551471851109572006-12-19T10:02:00.000-08:002006-12-19T10:38:56.770-08:00

This is the first blog on PJ's Youth Ministry Minute. This blog will be updated at least once a week usually on Monday with some challenging thoughts about youth ministry. It is not intended to proide youth ministry answers, but rather to provoke thought.I look forward to great thoughts and discussions.

John Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16309023961409597321noreply@blogger.com0