no, i’m not running ads on my blog. no, i didn’t place this vonage gif on my blog because i want you to know about vonage.
this ad caught my eye this morning on another site for one reason alone: i thought it was a youth ministry ad, which surprised me on the site i was on. seriously, that guy is “the look” exactly, perfectly, for an employed male youth worker. he MUST be a youth pastor. really, he could be the poster-child for the quintessential 2007 dude youth pastor look. all he needs is a ragged baseball cap, sometimes worn backward.
the casual short hair.
the goat.
the nominally hip (at least they were four years ago when he bought them) round-ish glasses.
the slight paunch, brought on by one too many pizza nights.
this guy likely attends the national youth workers convention, or is the twin of someone who does.
judging by your criteria, i fit the profile, minus the glasses. but i’m not in youth ministry…at least, not yet. i guess i will be helping with the youth leading worship in the blossoming student ministry at my church before too long.
Is that Jason Raitz? Wow…
That is funny …
Oh BTW, the photo of you and a few of my students at CIY Anderson 2 .. looks .. um … nice smile, MarkO
patrick — clearly you are called to and destined for youth ministry.
pat — dude! i ALMOST wrote that in the post, originally, but didn’t bother. YES, it totally looks like raitz!
Yeah, if he isn’t in youth ministry, then he’s a baseball player or a record store clerk.
I shaved my goat two weeks back for an 80’s party (complete with knit tie), but started growing it back the next day. It might be fully in by next weekend when I preach in big church.
Wow! It does look like Jason! I thought the same thing.
So I as at church rally-type-thingy and Jeff Walling was speaking on parenting and he made a point that communities raising children is in the top 3 of important things…or something like that. Anyways he mentioned how important YPs are. And as a joke he started labeling what YPs looked like.
Short hair
Scruffy w/ some form of Goat
cargo pants
Random t-shirt
glasses
tattoos
Then he asked all the YPs to stand at once and wouldn’t you know it…EVERYONE looked exactly the same! Too funny. Sorry for the long comment, your story reminded me of my story.
BEST POST EVER!
Guilty as charged.
Just shaved my goat off, got tired of it. So far only one person has noticed. Plus I lost the round glasses for more rectangular ones (that are also bifocals).
Must be showing my age.
Peace
Jay
Mark,
Interesting. Aren’t there waaay more women working with youth than men?
I understand that you are commenting on the look of this guy, and it IS very typical of the men who have full-time paid positions (and a budget that sends them to conventions!) but I think that man is farrrr from the “typical” person working with those under 18 in the church.
jennifer — VERY fair push-back! i’ve changed the title and copy of the post. as to your question: our research shows there are more women working with you, yes, but still more men who are employed as youth pastors. still doesn’t excuse my generalization. i wasn’t implying that youth pastors are men — i was just thinking that it was the male youth worker look, but didn’t include the “male” part.
Mark,
I really appreciate your comments on that. Thank you!
You forgot that they have to be punks and have a good sense of humour!
Dang…I’m 27 and…
bald, bearded, wear contacts, and have more than a slight paunch…
BUT, I do attend the NYWC! I guess I’ve got one “good” quality…lol.
See ya in Nov. in the ATL, Marko!
Marko, I am deeply offended by your comment (catch the sarcasm). I sit at my computer with two days of scruff (I shaved my goat off for Easter… but never fear, I’ll have it back in a few weeks), balding with a short hair cut, rounded glasses, cargo pants on, but baseball cap off (cuz I’m inside my house and was brought up correctly), and the growing paunch isn’t because of pizza but because of all the burgers I grab while hanging with kids. As per your usual, Marko, thanks for the laugh… and for the willingness to poke fun when it is needed. Afterall, don’t we find it a bit ironic that we preach to our kids to “be different” and “not to blend in” and yet you can point out a yp from a mile away? I guess we can smell our own!
You know, I had a goat long before I was a youth pastor and in the past few years, after it was trendy for YP’s to have goats it became trendy for people to point out that lots of YP’s have goats and kinda poke fun at us for that. (I think Tony Jones did it first, not sure.) (Don’t worry, I still love Tony…and Marko.)
Anyway, I decided I wouldn’t be shamed into shaving my goat. Fortunately, I don’t have glasses and the paunch has been held at bay thus far (though it is making an aggressive push these days).
I wonder if this observation is more geographic. A small percentage of male youth workers at my church, or any I’ve really known well, actually looked like that guy. They were all slim and trim and into water sports. (I think it was also a rule at my church that they weren’t allowed to have facial hair.) I think this guy looks more like a telephone/electric/cable/satellite company service man who installs phone lines or cable all day then goes home and sits on the couch to watch TV all night and weekend with a beer in his hand. Oh, I know what it is! He’s missing that gleam of mischeiviousness in his eyes that I would attribute to a youth worker! :)
Funny…I have seen this ad before:
Funny…I have seen this ad before:
http://www.thebridgecalvarychapel.com/youthwebsite/new-vonage.jpg
all i am missing is the goat. and if having a slight gut is the measure of a youth pastor… i am twice the youth pastor any of you are gonna be!maybe literally. lol.haha.
Actually, I am a female in youth ministry (although, not a YP) but I ALSO look just like this guy. How ironic…
;)
phil, that’s funny!
Just an observation here…I can pretty much nail down the typical “male youth pastor” look too…but tell me something, what is the “look” for a FEMALE in youth ministry? Funny thing is, I don’t think we have a “look”…we are very relaxed in this sense. I think I can speak (maybe) for the most of us women in ministry by saying, “Tnank God we are not men!” No goat look needed here…we are diverse, we are growing, we are making noise…and we love students! We will not have a “look”…we will not conform!
But, I am making a shallow observation here, going by what I know and experience. If anyone out there can nail down a few common threads women share in creating a “look” seriously, I’d be interested!
Well… I am a female youth pastor paid on staff and I have apple red streaks in my hair and wear jeans with holes in them. Last week the head pastors wife told me that instead of women progressing in the church, by the looks of me, we were digressing. Nice huh!
Well yeah…that is kinda me but I am not a white boi I am a black boi but my glasses are far more hip! :-) And yeah, I too was at the NYWC.
Leah, that was cold! It’s all good sista! Your Fellow YP’s in arms feel ya!