Owner: The Over-Educated Youth Pastor URL:http://michaelferber.authorweblog.com Join Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:06:15 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The Over-Educated Youth Pastor discusses topics important to youth ministers from the perspective of an author who triples as a Youth Minister, Adjunct Professor of Geography, and Lecturer on Urban and Regional Planning.
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Participatory Planning for Youth Ministry 2007-09-28 12:34:59 We've already reviewed some of the disasters that can happen in youth ministry when planning is absent. Now, let's look at how effective strategic planning can transform and guide a youth ministry toward tremendous fruit and success. For the next few months we'll look at
1) Exist... Read more:Ministry
Part 2 - Picturing Unplanned Youth Ministry 2007-09-21 16:16:12 It has been fun reflecting upon past failures, and allowing seasons of my life that were painful and even embarrassing to become teachable moments. While I am far from perfect now, I have learned some significant life lessons from these misadventures, and have picked up quite a few skills that have ... Read more:Ministry
1) The Worst Planned and Executed Backpacking Trip in History 2007-09-14 09:15:22 I leave today for my first weekend retreat with my new youth group at First United Methodist. This is a timely moment to reflect on my most pathetic attempt at leadership.
In the fall of 1995 - only a couple of months into my first youth ministry position - one of my youth staff encour... Read more:Executed
, Backpacking
, History
2) How not to Offend an Entire Congregation 2007-09-09 14:51:02 The second to the worst blunder I've made as a youth pastor happened just a couple weeks into my first paid youth ministry position. I was serving a Southern Baptist church in a very rural community in central Kentucky between Harrodsburg and Versailles called Salvisa. If you've been to this part of... Read more:Congregation
3) How not to do wilderness-based pre-marital counseling 2007-09-06 23:00:01 Just two years ago I had the privilege of marrying a previous student to his fiancee. Both of them claimed to be lovers of the outdoors and, since I always require some degree of pre-marital counseling, we decided it would be a great idea to do the pre-stuff in the Dolly Sods wilderness.&...
4) How not to begin a youth trip 2007-09-02 23:43:08 It's time for the next installment of the "How not to do youth
ministry" series. My fourth to the worst true scenario happened just a few years ago. I have a real heart for tough to reach kids, and had managed to work my way into a network of local teens that were deeply troubl... Read more:begin
A Name for the Blog: The Over-Educated Youth Pastor 2007-08-31 07:29:50 I am going to interrupt my series of true worst case scenarios on youth trips (the next episode will involve police, parents, and frosties!) to claim a name for my blog. My personal name just wasn't cutting it as a title since it is relatively unknown. I have made a name for my... Read more:Educated
, Pastor
5) How Not To Prepare a Rite of Passage Trip 2007-08-28 09:17:33 This morning I woke up around 4am, spent some time reading and reflecting, then went out for a jog. As I left the house I discovered two neighbors sitting on a porch staring up at the sky. I looked up to see a brilliant lunar eclipse - something I have not personally viewed in years.&nbs...
How Not to Do Youth Ministry 2007-08-26 21:37:36 Since I have been preparing my return to youth ministry, I have been reflecting upon some of the best and worst moments in my previous career. When I stepped out of the role two years ago, I had come to the conclusion that I was as much an expert in how "not"... Read more:Ministry
Chapter Endings 2007-08-24 06:58:39 I tend to be reading three or four books at any one time. I have one in the bedroom, one in the office, and one in each bathroom. I think this is reflective of my multi-tasking nature in general. In my life I also tend to have a few major chapters of my life being written at the sa... Read more:Chapter
Youth Ministry Stakeholders 2007-10-02 10:27:43 (Picture: Mission Trip to Orlando with EC Church in 2005.)
The Rethinking Youth Ministry
blog recently polled their readers to discover who participated in their long-range program planning. They found out that 60% do all of their long range planning on their own. The second highes...
Existing Conditions: Getting to Know your Soil 2007-09-30 16:29:29 Picture: Hiking NorthFork Mountain yesterday with Travis and Matthew.
After fifteen years of youth ministry in three different denominations, I am convinced that it is critical to understand the particular soil of a congregation and its context before ministry can be truly effective. I s...
Logic Models, part 1 2007-10-13 18:00:00 Today I’d like to get away from local and national controversies and back to strategic planning in youth ministry. My next few posts will be about an effective tool for strategic planning called a “logic model”. I learned about logic models while working with World Vision Appalachi... Read more:Logic
Tone, Debate and Conflict in the Church 2007-10-12 18:26:35 I have been re-thinking some things I said in this morning’s post and pondering the value of it in general. In addition to posting the questions I had here, I also dropped it into the Relevant Forum to see what the folks over there had to say. In that forum a couple of posts mentioned that I h... Read more:Debate
, Conflict
, Church
Sorry, No Pictures Here! 2007-10-12 09:46:29 I am in my first healthy youth ministry debate in my new setting, and could use some philosophical encouragement and support from my fellow peers in youth ministry. Usually my first conflicts (I believe "conflict" is a healthy term, by the way) involve the custodian due to making a mess so... Read more:Pictures
To Hell With Halo? 2007-10-11 08:01:48 I’ve tried to keep the Over-Educated Youth Pastor blog out of the standard copy and paste rhetoric that goes on in most of the blogosphere, and instead stick to all new content. However, this week there is a debate brewing over using Halo as a formal youth program in ministry – and it is...
Outcome-Oriented Youth Ministry 2007-10-09 09:20:00 Photo: Discussing ministry at FUMC with Pastor Gary Shepherd (left).
In my last post I discussed the importance of listening to youth, and at the end of the post I suggested that it might be a good idea to start listening to parents and staff first. I have come to this conclusion based on years of ... Read more:Oriented
, Ministry
Existing Conditions: Listening to Youth 2007-10-08 07:53:05 (Picture: G.T. playing "Chubby Bunny" last night before our parish World Communion Sunday event. Can "Chubby Bunny" ever fail?)
The five groups of stakeholders I believe it is critical for a youth minister to listen to include teenagers, parents, volunteer youth staff... Read more:Listening
Sabbaths 2007-10-06 23:18:55 (Photo: Looking back on our campsite during my solo hike in Dolly Sods yesterday evening)
I have discovered that I cannot remain healthy very long without a Sabbath. Throughout the summer, while I was still working working for World Vision, Sunday was my day of rest. Since my job was Mo...
Listening 2007-10-03 22:24:25 (Picture: John McKnight demonstrating that a glass is half-full).
This morning, I attended our county's monthly ministerial meeting as the representative for FUMC. I really appreciate these meetings because the local clergy use the time to minister to one another in very special ways. A... Read more:Listening
Youth Ministry Stakeholders 2007-10-02 10:27:43 (Picture: Mission Trip to Orlando with EC Church in 2005.)
The Rethinking Youth Ministry
blog recently polled their readers to discover who participated in their long-range program planning. They found out that 60% do all of their long range planning on their own. The second highes...
Existing Conditions: Getting to Know your Soil 2007-09-30 16:29:29 Picture: Hiking NorthFork Mountain yesterday with Travis and Matthew.
After fifteen years of youth ministry in three different denominations, I am convinced that it is critical to understand the particular soil of a congregation and its context before ministry can be truly effective. I s...
Logic Models in Search and Rescue 2007-10-19 15:57:12 Jake was found yesterday afternoon in Dolly Sods, and the entire state of West Virginia is celebrating along with his family. As I try to get back to my theme, I cannot help but filter the subject of planning in youth ministry through the broad lens of emergency operations planning and the specific ... Read more:Logic
, Search
, Rescue
The Search for Jake 2007-10-18 13:16:31 Yesterday I traveled to Dolly Sods to try and help find Jacob Allen, who has been lost in the wilderness since Sunday afternoon. He does not have food or water, and time is running out. "Jake," has a severe case of autism, which is described quite well in the Moose Droppings bl... Read more:Search
Search and Rescue 2007-10-16 23:41:46 I am leaving in just a couple of hours to join the rescue efforts for the autistic boy lost in the Dolly Sods Wilderness. The stories I related last month of getting lost planning a Rite of Passage trip and again doing wilderness pre-marital counseling both happened in the Sods. I can't ... Read more:Search
, Rescue
Logic Models, part 2 2007-10-15 15:02:42 The logic model worksheet above comes from the University of Wisconsin Extension Office, which has an excellent site dedicated to the subject, including many logic model templates in a number of computer applications and a free course. As you can see from the diagram, a logic model is just tha... Read more:Logic
Logic Models, part 1 2007-10-13 18:00:00 Today I’d like to get away from local and national controversies and back to strategic planning in youth ministry. My next few posts will be about an effective tool for strategic planning called a “logic model”. I learned about logic models while working with World Vision Appalachi... Read more:Logic
Tone, Debate and Conflict in the Church 2007-10-12 18:26:35 I have been re-thinking some things I said in this morning’s post and pondering the value of it in general. In addition to posting the questions I had here, I also dropped it into the Relevant Forum to see what the folks over there had to say. In that forum a couple of posts mentioned that I h... Read more:Debate
, Conflict
, Church
Sorry, No Pictures Here! 2007-10-12 09:46:29 I am in my first healthy youth ministry debate in my new setting, and could use some philosophical encouragement and support from my fellow peers in youth ministry. Usually my first conflicts (I believe "conflict" is a healthy term, by the way) involve the custodian due to making a mess so... Read more:Pictures
To Hell With Halo? 2007-10-11 08:01:48 I’ve tried to keep the Over-Educated Youth Pastor blog out of the standard copy and paste rhetoric that goes on in most of the blogosphere, and instead stick to all new content. However, this week there is a debate brewing over using Halo as a formal youth program in ministry – and it is...
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