Unedited Advice to Teen Guys

Posted on: 03/12/13 2:05 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m in the middle of writing a devotional filled with advice for teen guys. In search of a few ideas, I sent a text to some friends and family members asking them what they would say if they could speak freely and truthfully to today’s teenaged guys.

It was funny seeing how differently each person replied. My kids took me seriously about the “truthfully” part, and their replies were hilarious. Across the board, I received some really fun and insightful answers.

Here’s what I got from a few of them… unedited.

My 17-year-old daughter Alyssa’s REAL advice to teen guys:
– Always make sure you Continue reading “Unedited Advice to Teen Guys”

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Advice to Small Group Leaders

Posted on: 03/6/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last weekend I had a great time with Doug Fields, Mark Matlock and Megan Hutchinson training 700 youth workers at YSPalooza in Chicago!

One of the sessions I taught was “How to Lead a Small Group without Losing Your Mind.” This was a fun session where I offered 5 tools that help small group leaders (one of them was duct tape).

Before the session, I went around with my phone and filmed people in the lobby, asking them, “What advice would you give a newbie small group leader.” I synced my phone with my laptop really quick, threw the responses together using iMovie (gotta love Mac) and showed the crowd what advice they had to give to newbie small group leaders.

Here’s that video Continue reading “Advice to Small Group Leaders”

Hot Topics

Posted on: 02/27/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m really excited about the training labs I’m teaching this weekend at YSPalooza Chicago, because the two topics I’m teaching are addressing two of the biggest training needs I notice in youth ministries across the U.S.

I know that might sound a little dogmatic. Don’t get me wrong—I really don’t think I have some unique sense of what American youth ministries need. I just make a habit of listening to people on the front lines all over North America, and I have noticed some common denominators that surface when it comes to training needs. The YS leadership team looks at these as well so they know what training and resources to provide. This year, these two topics were among that rose to the top Continue reading “Hot Topics”

A Simple Little Contest

Posted on: 02/12/13 1:17 PM | by Jonathan McKee

WINNERS POSTED AT BOTTOM NOW.

I’ve got an exciting speaking schedule in the next few months, starting with the East Coast this weekend at this church in Raleigh, NC. I always like to let you know when I’m coming to your area, and I can do that more efficiently when I know where you’re from.

So here’s a quick and easy little contest for those of you in the U.S. You simply update your subscription profile information… and I will draw 3 random winners and give them a copy of one of these 3 new books from YS. So….

IF YOU ALREADY SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG: Just scroll down to the bottom of the email you receive from any one of my blog or eZine posts, and you’ll see the words “update subscription” underlined at the very bottom of the email. Click on that and you can add your name and zipcode to your subscription (zipcode is a brand new field we added, so I’ll know who has updated preferences by looking at the new zipcode entries).

IF YOU HAVEN’T YET SUBSCRIBED TO MY BLOG: Then click HERE and enter your email address, subscribing to my blog and/or our other free newsletters. Once you do this, then check your email inbox and you will receive an email with a button that says, “Yes, subscribe me to this list.” Once you click that, it will take you to a page that has an option to “Manage your preferences.” Click there. YOU MUST add your name and zipcode to those preferences to enter the contest.

That’s it. It’s that simple. I’ll randomly draw 3 winners one week from today, AND I’ll let you know if I’m ever coming to your area.

Here’s some of my upcoming trips this spring:

Raleigh, NC: If you’re within driving distance of Raleigh, NC… I’ll be flying there this weekend, speaking in the morning services at Highland Baptist Church Sunday, then teaching my Parenting the Texting Generation workshop from 2:30 to 4:30 (more details on their website here).

Then my spring calendar really starts to get crazy. See if I’m coming to a city near you:

March 1-2, 2013 (Chicago, IL)
Youth Worker Training, YS Palooza Chicago

March 10, 2013 (Hartland, WI)
Preach, Parent Workshop, Westbrook Church

March 15-16, 2013 (Des Moines, IA)
Leadership Training, IGNITE Youth Leadership Conference

March 17, 2013 (Norwalk, IA)
Preach, Parent Workshop, Fellowship Community Church

April 6, 2013 (Fridley, MN)
Connect Workshop, Grace EV FREE Church

April 7, 2013 (Fridley, MN)
Preach, Parent Workshop, Grace EV FREE Church

April 12-13, 2013 (Philadelphia, PA)
Youth Worker Training, YS Palooza Philly

April 14, 2013 (Philadelphia, PA)
Preach, Parent Workshop, Ridley Park Presbyterian Church

April 15, 2013 (Sewell, NJ)
Parent Workshop
, Gloucester County Community Church

May 5, 2013 (Kingsburg, CA)
Preach, Parent Workshop, First Baptist Church

May 12, 2013 (Carmichael, CA)
Preach- Mother’s Day, Christ Community Church

May 16-18, 2013 (Azusa, CA)
Parenting Workshops, the FAM Conference, Azusa Pacific University

June 12-14, 2013 (Irving, TX)
Youth Leadership Training, Student Leadership Conference 2013

CLICK HERE TO REQUEST TO BRING JONATHAN TO YOUR CITY

WE HAVE SOME CONTEST WINNERS:
The following three are the randomly selected winners. If this is you, use the comment feature of the blog to tell me which book, of the three books linked, that you want. It’s first come first serve, I have one of each book to give away. I’ll email you and confirm address, etc. once I see your response.

WINNERS:
Rodrigo Morales

Renee Jones
Nancy Chao

The Power of Stories

Posted on: 01/16/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This weekend I speak to hundreds of junior highers at one of my favorite camps, Timberlee in Wisconsin. Someone just asked me, “How do you keep the attention of today’s junior highers?”

“Easy. Just tell em’ a story.”

It’s amazing the impact a story can make. And story-based talks are some of the best:

  1. They’re easy to memorize. Once you hear a story, it’s pretty easy to repeat.
  2. They hold the attention of most young people, because everyone wants to hear the end of a story.
  3. It’s tapping into a technique that Jesus used all the time!

If you want a sample of what I’m talking about, I just posted a brand new story on our web site from my book MORE 10-MINUTE TALKS. The talk is simple. It’s a story, a quick explanation connecting it to the scripture, and a wrap up. I even included small group questions so that your kids can discuss it (Click here to see this ready-made talk).

IF YOU LIKE THIS TALK, GRAB A COPY OF JONATHAN’S BRAND NEW BOOK RIGHT NOW, AUTOGRAPHED BY JONATHAN AND 25% OFF!

More 10-Minute Talks

Posted on: 12/28/12 2:36 PM | by Jonathan McKee

My MORE 10-Minute Talks books just arrived from the publisher… a perk being an author… we get copies earlier than the release date.

So let me extend the perks to you. If you order the book from me, you’ll get it before anyone else, I’ll pass on a 25% discount to you, and I’ll personally autograph your book!

Doug Fields said about the book:

“Powerful! Effective! I’ll be using this practical resource in my own ministry.”

More about the book and this exclusive deal here.

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The Story Behind My Nose

Posted on: 12/19/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Thanks to all of you who participated in yesterday’s contest. Great fun trying to guess what happened to my nose! Quite a variety of responses… some good imaginations.

The short answer: new kitten

The long answer: We bought a kitten a few weeks ago and have really been enjoying her. Zazzy is a little crazy, and loves this one toy in particular that looks like a fishing pole with a feather on the end of the string (some of you can already see where this is going).

Well, my son Alec thought it would be fun to land the feather on his dad’s lap so the cat would attack… uh… my…. uh…. well you get the idea.

So after threatening Alec’s life and notifying him that I would drive him to Yosemite, duct tape him to a pole, and pour honey on him, he avoided landing it on my crotch, and instead… landed the feather on my face!!!

The rest of the story is evidenced by the picture in yesterday and today’s blog.

So, for those of you who guessed cat scratch, you are correct. And as promised, the first three get a copy of my brand new book, MORE 10-Minute Talks, which is discounted 25% and available for pre-order right now on my site, the only place where you’ll get an autographed copy.

So… erring on the side of being overgenerous, I’m going to go ahead and count Roger’s answer, “Clawed by a Hobbit cat.” Then I’ll count the three cat scratch answers to follow.

So the FOUR winners who will receive my new book are:

Roger

Susan Daggett

Kelly

Bob

To the rest of you who answered correctly… more contests are coming. So you’ll just have to buy the book this time. Besides… all the proceeds of these book sales go to feed starving children. Mine!

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When Words and Actions Collide

Posted on: 11/15/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

What is evangelism really supposed to look like today?

Feeding the poor?

Knocking on doors and sharing the Gospel?

I’m amazed how polar Christians become when discussing evangelism methodology. Half the group is passionate about sharing the Gospel with words; the other half has boarded the very popular social justice train.

Which is the correct method to point people towards Jesus? With words… or actions?

In my Real Conversations workshop at the National Youth Workers Convention this year I’m asking this question, posting each extreme point of view on opposing walls and asked people to stand in the room where they “stood” on the issue. When I did this in San Diego, people stood all over the room.

One youth worker objected. “The question is misleading!”

I smiled. Sure, we tend to favor one or the other. But the answer isn’t Continue reading “When Words and Actions Collide”

More Than Just Method

Posted on: 09/26/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Yesterday Todd sent me this and I couldn’t help but share it with you. (I love his honest “skepticism.”)

Many of you might recognize his name… Todd Pearage is a full time youth pastor and father of three, who also moonlights writing movie reviews for us, and music reviews for Interlinc. Todd always is on the lookout for practical Christian resources for youth workers.

Hey Jonathan, I can’t help but give you some feedback about your latest DVD project, Real Conversations: How to Share Youth Faith Without Being Pushy.

Remember, this is from the guy who wasn’t that excited about it when you first told me that you were working on a video-based curriculum on evangelism. Honestly, the first thought I had was, “Another evangelism curriculum?” But, over the next few weeks as you shared more and more about your vision and direction of this DVD, I started to get really excited.

Too often curriculum like this appears to be written in think tanks by people who aren’t in the trenches. Those folks might deliver solid, well-written Bible lessons. Unfortunately, it often lacks realism. The stories are far-fetched and the “problems” are out-dated or not really problems at all.

And let’s be honest Continue reading “More Than Just Method”