January 2016 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Recruiting Volunteers… in Hawaii?

Posted on: 01/28/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Lori and I are celebrating our 25^th wedding anniversary this week, and that’s why I was pretty excited when the county of Maui booked my dad and I to teach a workshop on the island this Friday on mobilizing the power and passion of a New Breed of volunteers (we’ll be teaching this same workshop to church leaders in Colorado late September at Group Publishing).

I love teaching workshops on this subject with my dad based on our book, The New Breed. My dad talks about harnessing the power and passion of Baby Boomers, and I talk about understanding and mobilizing the younger generation Continue reading “Recruiting Volunteers… in Hawaii?”

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CONNECT with Smartphone Obsessed Kids

Posted on: 01/20/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Remember when cell phones looked like this?

This little baby came out in 1983 for $3,999, had a 30-minute talk time, and took 10 hours to charge.

The crazy thing is… today most parents probably wish their kids just owned one of these old brick cell phones instead of a smartphone!!! Think how much easier it would be!

Can I hear an Amen?!!

I’m really excited about my brand new parenting workshop, CONNECT with Your Smartphone Obsessed Kids.

The book comes out this summer, and both the book and the workshop help parents discover everyday settings where their kids put their mobile devices aside and engage in good ol’ face-to-face conversation.

I don’t know many parents who aren’t struggling with this reality– their kids distancing themselves with technology. I have definitely experienced this firsthand as a parent and a youth worker. And I’m not alone noting some growing concerns. The good news is… it’s not too late! Today’s kids crave interaction and Mom and Dad can still provide that.

If you’d like to bring this workshop to your church or community, contact me and let’s get it in my calendar for 2016/2017!

Posted in Books, Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Speaking/Training | | Leave A Comment

Top Books of 2015

Posted on: 01/7/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

We’ve been looking back at the best of 2015 for the last few weeks, with a peek at last year’s music, then the top blog posts.

I always find it interesting to see which of our books people resonate with each year. This year was intriguing.

I’ve written 18 books, all available on this page. 11 are youth ministry books, 4 specifically for parents, and 3 for teenagers. I’ve partnered with others for 4 of these books: Doug Fields, David R. Smith and my dad.

Two of these Continue reading “Top Books of 2015”

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Top 5 Blog Posts of 2015

Posted on: 01/5/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s always fun to see what posts resonate with readers each year, as well as which ones draw traffic from the search engines (this 2011 post titled, “Dad, Can I Go to the Homecoming Dance” still draws significant traffic).

Looking back at 2015, here are the top 5 posts from my blog that drew the most traffic from my readers this year.

Click on each title to read the entire post:

From SnapChat to Tappy
Posted on January 20, 2015

It’s called Tappy. It’s the newest app acquired by Tinder, and the buzz is that it’s Continue reading “Top 5 Blog Posts of 2015”

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