I just finished reading “Platform” by Michael Hyatt. It’s a book about “getting noticed in a noisy world”, and it mostly includes tips about how to improve a blog, work on social media outlets, and other things.
Little Things Count
The other day I read an article about the drug use of Mexican young people, and I shared it on my Spanish twitter account. I didn’t know it was going to have the impact that it did. I simply wrote, “Mexican teenagers lead the way in the use of drugs.” I also included the link to an article supporting that headline.
A few minutes later, Mike, a youth pastor in Monterrey responded, “Impressive and alarming. Can we do something?”
I responded that we have to do something, and I left it at that. But Mike started working on an idea.
Live the Adventure – Part 1
We Live because of Mercy
During the last quarter of the Seminary year, the graduating Seniors preach their last sermon as students. It’s always a special time in which they share the things they have learned during their time here. Today it was Josue’s turn to preach in chapel.
He shared about this verse: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13
He said something that I thought was very good. “We often think that by hiding our sins we will prosper, but the reality is the exact opposite.” He also said that we let fear, pride, and shame get in the way of confessing our sins to each other.
The Greatest Show on Earth in Mexico
The Circus is in town, and a college friend of mine works for the entertainment company who runs it. So he got us tickets to go to yesterday’s opening performance of “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
We wanted to surprise the kids, so we didn’t tell them we were going to go. I was more excited than they were.
We left early for two reasons: So we could find the place (the arena is in a part of town we’ve never been to) and so we could see the pre-show. Of course, the typical happened: we got lost. But the good news is that we found the Arena and arrived an hour before the show. That is right when the pre-show is supposed to start.
Super Course at the Summit
I’m no Superman, but I was invited to teach a “Super-Course” at the Youth Specialties Summit this past weekend.
A Super Course is a two hour class that sort of takes place before the whole conference begins. The title of my course was: “Reinventing Success in Youth Ministry.”
I taught about how youth leaders in Mexico have an advantage: We can learn from 60 (or more) years of youth ministry success and failure in the USA. I based my course on research I did while studying my Master’s degree at Columbia International University, and we arrived at some conclusions about where youth ministry in Mexico should go to avoid some of the mistakes we have seen in the USA and to use some of the success stories that have also taken place.
National Youth Leader’s Summit 2012
