the church report, on online source of info for church workers, publishes a top 20 youth ministers list each year, along with other ministry areas. while lists like this have no real benefit or usefullness, this one is particularly frustrating in that it’s just a random list of mega-church youth workers. and, to take it somewhere humorous, the 2006 list and the 2007 list are identical. oh, and it’s only american youth workers. geez — this list frustrates me on so many levels.
three of the people who attend our junior high pastors summit made the list, so there’s been a massive amount of sarcastic smack-talk in emails circulating amongst that group in the last couple days.
two great responses:
kurt johnston, my friend and co-author, has garnered the #1 spot on the list two years in a row. kurt is a wonderfully humble guy, and i’m sure he cringes when he sees that silly list. he has posted a great response to the whole thing here, on his blog.
another friend of mine, who will remain anonymous here, has posted a wonderfully sarcastic alternative list of the top 10 parachurch youth workers. there are some insider jokes there, but it’s pretty dang funny.
That list makes me sick. It’s not that the people on the list are evil or anything, I’m sure they love students as much as anyone else, but what about the 80 year-old widow at a church of 100 people who knows all of the kids by name and prays for them every day? I hate what the list implies. It basically implies that all other youth workers are a but inferior to these people.
Ooops! I guess I’m not doing a good job as a youth worker according to this magazine. I only have 20 kids in my youth group. I better get on the ball and get another couple thousand.
I just want to say congratulations to those who did NOT make the list! You are just as important and a critical part of your community. Rest assured, your name is on a list somewhere, but in a more important eternal place: the very heart of God.
For all our Catholic friends, we are just going to have to work harder to see if we might even be able to crack the top 200 next year!
Did you see the website that this list is on? Check out the blog. This guy is ridiculous.
So you think it’s identical, huh. How about “cut and paste.” Unless of course number nine has something he needs to tell us about????
Seriously, CR has about as much real credibility as the National Enquirer.
Sean! Super Important Blog is very real! How dare you! Though…I will agree though with Becky…that guy is RIDICULOUS. I mean…who in their right mind would create a list with super important para church youth leaders and not include Bibleman.
This list is a joke. Did anyone else notice that Ted Haggard is still working at that little church in Colorado. I thought he resigned. This report has no jouralistic integrity. It sucks on so many levels!
Here is how it should look…
1. Jesus
That’s it for this year folks!
best part about the list is that it lists our childrens minister as one of the top youth ministers… karen never even steps foot in the student ministries offices