Will Return, July 10

Hello, friends. Like most of you, we’re about to hit our busiest stretch of the year. Joel is at Jr. High Summer Camp, Sara’s going to be in Africa for three weeks and I leave a week from today for a 12-day stint in Bolivia.

In light of our crazy schedules, we’re taking a two-week break from the show. We’ll be back on July 10th with another great (though Sara-less) show. See you then!

Youth Hacks Podcast, Episode 23

This week welcome Tim Schmoyer to the show as we catch up after a week off, talk about documenting your summer events and how to handle firings in youth ministry.

Picks of the Week:
* Tim – Video Box
* Sara – Compassion Corner and Flannel
* Joel – The Hodges Harbrace Handbook, 2009 MLA Update Edition
* Josh – Open DNS

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Youth Hacks Podcast, Episode Null

Hello, friends. We’re all pretty busy this weekend, so we weren’t able to record at our regular time. We’re gonna try to record early next week, but there’s a chance you just may have to go a week without the YH podcast. Hey, give us a break, it’s free!

Thanks for your patience!

Youth Hacks Podcast, Episode 22

This week we welcome Josh Rice to discuss what it means to be a pentecostal youth worker.

Picks of the Week:

• Josh R. – Cadences of Home: Preaching Among Exiles
• Sara – Touch: Pressing Against the Wounds of a Broken World
• Joel – Love Is an Orientation
• Josh C. – Help! I’m a Junior High Youth Worker!

Got input? Feel free to leave a comment or email us youthhacks@gmail.com.

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Links for May 29, 2009

• A Song to Discuss – Jonathan shares some reservations about “How He Loves”, a song I’m sure many of you are singing with your teens. I’ve considered playing it in our services, but I’m a bit hesitant. What do you think?
• Copyright Misconceptions – Ever wonder if you’re violating copyright law by showing film clips at your church? This article is a must-read.
• Don’t – This fantastic New Yorker editorial highlights the ability to defer satisfaction as an indicator of success. Is this something we should teach our students?
• New in Highrise: Twitter Integration – My favorite web app gets a little bit better. This could be especially useful if students in your ministry are using Twitter.
• Youth Ministry: If I were to do it again – Chris Folmsbee shares how he might do things differently if he took a second shot at youth ministry.

Youth Hacks Podcast, Episode 21

This week we talk about the end of ysmarko, killing your summer programming and books that shape your thinking on youth ministry.

Picks of the Week:

• Josh – Tough Topics, Ministry Questions, Animoto (non-profit link)
• Joel – Ministry Threads, J. Staton Designs

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Talking about Highrise with Tim Schmoyer

After our interview last weekend, Tim and I chatted a little bit about how our church is using Highrise to keep in touch with our seniors.  Enjoy!

Youth Hacks Podcast, Episode 20

This week our good friend David Grant joins us to discuss a timely issue: how to we keep this year’s graduates from leaving the church?

No picks this week, friends. We’ll make up for it next time!

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Youth Hacks on the Amazon Kindle

You can now subscribe to Youth Hacks on your Amazon Kindle.  It costs $0.99 a month and includes a 14-day trial period. We’ve sold more more Kindle ebooks than dead-tree books through our affiliate accounts, so we know we’ve got some Kindle-owning readers!

Subscribe here.

Books that Shape Our Thinking on Youth Ministry

A few days ago (in what I suppose will be one of his last posts) Marko posted a list of books that have shaped the way he thinks about youth ministry.

I’ll echo his choice of the Primal Teen.  My list would also include Doug Fields’ “Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry” and, more recently, Jeanne Stevens’ “Soul School“.

What books have shaped the way you think about youth ministry? Let us know in the comments!