what a week this is. tomorrow, i start a two day meeting with the san diego cohort of my youth ministry coaching program. it’s only my second meeting with this cohort, so we’re all still getting to know each other. i can’t wait — it will be a particularly great time, i’m sure. when we met last, one of the (many) things we did was brainstorm a list of topics they would like to discuss at some point throughout the year. two of the top subjects (we voted), were “balancing family and ministry” and “handling criticism.” well, it just so happens that my good friend and youth pastor (who also happens to be the youth pastor at the church we meet at, and a YMCP graduate himself), brian berry, has done a bunch of thinking on those two subjects. he’s done seminars on them at the NYWC and SYMC, and is writing books on both of them. so, brian is joining my cohort one morning to lead discussions on those two themes.
thursday, i head to atlanta for the national youth workers convention. i’m leading three things while i’m there:
– a panel on ‘the future of youth ministry.’ i’m moderating, but the amazing panel includes: brooklyn lindsay, steve argue, brock morgan, and andy tilly. friday, 4 – 5:30.
– a learning lab on ‘how teens think.’ sunday morning (yawn!), 8 – 9:30.
– a learning lecture called ‘toward a ministry of belonging.’ sunday afternoon, 1:30 – 2:30.
i have a crazy full schedule during the rest of the event — current and potential client meetings for The Youth Cartel, old and new friends, publishers and partners. in short: a blast.
then: monday: the extended adolescence symposium. yup, i’ve been blogging about this one for a while, and it’s finally here. two leading thinkers and a brilliant moderator, helping us understand the strange phenomena that is extended adolescence. it’s just a one day dealio — 8am – 3pm. and it will be nicely intimate (probably about a hundred of us); so lots of opportunity for conversation and questions. there’s still room, btw.
but here’s a cool thing (if you’re still reading this blog post all the way down here!). my good friend luke macdonald believes in this event. luke and i, by the way, shouldn’t be friends, my many peoples’ estimation. he’s in a very conservative, reformed church of the stripe that usually doesn’t trust me. but luke took a gutsy risk and joined the youth ministry coaching program last year. in the midst, i came to greatly respect, trust, and enjoy him.
anyhow: luke believes in the extended adolescence symposium, and wants to support it, even though he can’t attend. so luke texted me and told me he wants to pay for two tickets, and that i can give them away to anyone who can’t afford them. first person to comment telling me you want to come but can’t afford it gets them. let me know if you want one or both tickets.
I’d like to nominate my friends Chris and Joanna Cummings. They are both students at the Center for Youth Ministry training, which means that they are great ministers who are broke as they pursue a seminary education. CYMT is taking all its students to NYWC but they can’t afford to take the students to the Extended Adolescence Symposium. If you can give them tickets, I will cover their hotel room for the extra night and figure out any transportation issues they may face to get back home to Nashville.
awesome — if chris and joanna want the tix, they’re theirs.
“a learning lab on ‘how teens think.’ sunday morning (yawn!), 8 – 9:30.”
was the “yawn” a
– statement about your topic/content (all of us who have heard you know that’s not true)
– commentary on what/how teens think (possible if it’s their thoughts on certain subjects; doubtful if it’s your opinion of their thought process, you like them too much)
– reaction to the 8am Sunday morning timeslot
I know it’s just a reaction to the time but it is comically placed
If I could get myself to Atlanta I’d be all over this, but I’ve broken my travel budget for the year, and then some (but it was all worth it!). Any chance of the ebook or notes from the symposium being available at a later date?
pbj — ha! yeah, it was the time slot. :)
THANKS JASON, MARKO, and LUKE! Joanna and I are so excited!
Will the extended symposium be accessible online (either live or via video post-conference)? As a ‘young adult’ pastor, I’d love to be able to hear from the experts. Thanks!
Just saw Coops comment. Oops. At least I second it!
coop and austin — sorry, guys. we promoted an mp3 and ebook for weeks (i OVER posted about it!) that were only available to people who supported the event on kickstarter during our round of fundraising. i don’t have permission from the speakers to give the mp3 or ebook to anyone other than those who supported the event during that time.
I remember those posts, and wishing I had the money to commit to the kickstarter project (I’m a poor college student!). I’m working on a personal project of sorts that deals with adolescence and how the definition has changed since it was first defined.
I wish I could be in Atlanta to hear you and the symposium. What you said to us at the Bridges Conference about re-thinking adolescence was excellent. I enjoyed talking with you afterwards about your time at Wheaton with Brent Knipper. Have fun pushing on Arnett and Epstein.
i too would have really liked to see an ebook/downloads of this info after the event. I’ll fully admit that in the time-suck that is pursuing my neccessary “bivocational” other field of employment; i barely saw much about this event till it was fully funded; and didn’t read through enough of the kickstarter material to realize that i could get resources even if i didn’t go.