August 2016 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

An Interview with Doug Fields & Josh Griffin

Posted on: 08/25/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Effectively Resourcing Today’s Youth Workers
An Interview with Doug Fields & Josh Griffin

Both Doug and Josh have served on the front lines of youth ministry for literally decades. They are two of the leading thought-leaders in our profession and know incredibly well what it takes to equip teams of volunteers with the tools they need to effectively reach today’s young people with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. I was excited to sit down with them recently to talk a little bit about serving youth workers and running my favorite youth ministry resource organization: DownloadYouthMinistry.com (DYM).

* Be sure to peek at the freebie they are giving away to my readers at the bottom of this post… no strings attached!

JONATHAN: What are some of the resources each of you found yourselves on the hunt for in your own ministries decades ago?

JOSH: When Doug started, way back during the middle of the Civil War, there weren’t Continue reading “An Interview with Doug Fields & Josh Griffin”

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Top 5 Impactful Christian Music Artists in the 80’s

Posted on: 08/22/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Did you grow up in the 80’s?

Did you listen to Christian music in the 80’s?

My wife Lori was playing Amy Grant’s Straight Ahead album in the car the other day and my girls began complaining. Lori and I both defended the album because it was nostalgic for each of us. In a time where there wasn’t a lot of good Christian music options, Amy delivered something that resonated with young believers.

Amy wasn’t the only one. In fact, I recall 5 Christian artists that really made an impact on Continue reading “Top 5 Impactful Christian Music Artists in the 80’s”

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Contemplating “Suicide Squad”

Posted on: 08/18/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“Outside you’re amazing, but inside you’re ugly.”

“We all are.” (Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad)

Imperfection isn’t anything to celebrate. But awareness of your own flaws is a step in the right direction.

That’s probably why I enjoyed DC Film’s Suicide Squad so much. It’s the story of a band of notorious criminals given a second chance to use their strengths to do good, and in the process, they discover a sense of comradery and purpose. It’s a story of redemption.

Don’t get me wrong. This movie is far from an afterschool special you’d show your kids (although today’s parents seemed to miss that memo—the theatre was packed with kids). Like most Hollywood heroes today, the characters are gritty and flawed. At times the Continue reading “Contemplating “Suicide Squad””

Posted in Entertainment Media, Movies, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

The Volunteer from Hell: Part III

Posted on: 08/16/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

You’ve discovered an amazing potential volunteer… but you don’t want to mess anything up!

You’ve taken the advice of experts and dedicated actual time out of your schedule each week for recruiting and keeping volunteers. Then you took the next step and actually asked them to serve in a small way, a one-time opportunity that was easy for them to say “yes” to, and that gave them a taste of your ministry. After that, you’ve met with them several times and they seem like a perfect fit…

But how can you make sure they don’t turn into the Volunteer from Hell?

Continue reading “The Volunteer from Hell: Part III”

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The Volunteer from Hell: Part II

Posted on: 08/11/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This week I began a 3 post series in my blog about those ministry volunteers who make our lives miserable. How can we avoid getting ourselves in this mess in the first place?

Great question.

Let’s continue with our 3 effective ways to screen volunteers so you avoid ‘The Volunteer from Hell.’

In the first post, I addressed the importance of actually calling references. Not just asking for references… but using them. (How many of you have skipped this step?)

Today, let’s talk about the second way to avoid ‘The Volunteer from Hell’… Continue reading “The Volunteer from Hell: Part II”

Posted in Leadership, Speaking/Training | Tags: background checks, leading volunteers, recruiting volunteers, volunteers | Leave A Comment

The Volunteer from Hell

Posted on: 08/9/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Whenever my dad and I teach a workshop about recruiting, retaining, training… and even firing today’s New Breed of volunteers (based on our book on the subject), we can guarantee we’ll get questions about ‘The Volunteer from Hell.’

You know the one I’m talking about. That one volunteer that you either inherited or recruited without thinking. We’ve all had them. I had one. She was terrifying.

The question most people ask is, “How do I get rid of this volunteer?” (Garlic and a cross?)

Allow me to ask a much better question: “How do I make sure I never recruit this volunteer?”

Continue reading “The Volunteer from Hell”

Posted in Leadership, Speaking/Training | Tags: bad volunteers, recruiting volunteers, volunteer management, volunteers | Leave A Comment

Behind the Writing

Posted on: 08/2/16 9:11 AM | by Jonathan McKee

We just made a funny little graphic for my blog’s new book store with a picture of all my books… and it had 20 covers. That made me pause.

Twenty! Wow. It doesn’t even feel like twenty.

If you asked me about each one of them I could probably tell you the story of writing it, where I was (The New Breed I pounded out the majority of my half in one weekend, The Guy’s Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket… I wrote on my back patio, 52 Ways to Connect with Your Smartphone Obsessed Kid… on a LazyBoy)… it’s fun to reflect. But it just doesn’t seem like Continue reading “Behind the Writing”

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