It’s About Time!

Posted on: 12/23/09 1:02 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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It’s been a long haul… but my new book is finally in stock!

Those of you who have been my blog subscribers for a while now have been following the progress of my new book about engaging in one-on-one conversations with kids, a book titled CONNECT. Well… it’s finally released! I just got copies yesterday, and those of you that pre-ordered the books… they are in the mail.

CONNECT is my 7th book. It’s all about mentoring kids in one-on-one relationships. It deals with everything from how to talk with kids when you first meet them, how to engage them in spiritual conversations, and how to disciple believers. The book also provides a training exercise that youth ministry leadership teams can do together to take a spiritual inventory of their youth ministry and keep their leaders accountable to connecting with kids.

After teaching this material at a training workshop for a couple years now, I’ve decided to make my ppt training available to anyone who buys the book uniquely from us (click here for more about this).

I’m really excited to see this book finally arrive. If you missed the excitement, you’ll want to read my earlier blog about what happened with the first printing of the book. Well… we have copies of the book in stock now… a great gift for all the adult leaders on your youth ministry team!  🙂

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Whooops! Wrong CONNECT

Posted on: 12/8/09 11:21 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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This is a funny story… although it probably wasn’t too funny for the person that hit the wrong key on the keyboard, resulting in thousands of newly printed books being pulled. Whooops!

Most of you know that my brand new book CONNECT is due on the shelves in January, but I’m supposed to get copies this month (hundreds of you have already pre-ordered those copies and already received the free ppt training we’re giving away to anyone who buys the book from us).

For weeks now, the question has been… when this month? For those with a short attention span- the answer is- probably around Christmas. You’ll just never guess as to why…

I never tell people the exact release dates in case of a mess-up. We just have been telling people a nice broad DECEMBER. Well… let me let you in on a huge whoops that is being corrected as we speak.

My publisher was actually going to get those books to me the day before Thanksgiving. I was thrilled, because then I would have been shipping them to you all and you probably would have had them in your hands right now! But, when the books were finished being printed, Fed-ex couldn’t deliver the 1,000-plus books I ordered before Thanksgiving, so we scheduled the delivery for the Monday after Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, my publisher overnighted one copy- hot off the press- and I received that two days before Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving day I’m hanging out with my family and my dad is thumbing through the book (the book that my publisher has already printed thousands of). My dad asks me, “What is this weird punctuation I keep seeing in the indented sections?”

Now, let me put this in perspective. I have proofed this book probably four times in the last three months. My publisher has editors, those editors even have proofers, then they send it to me for my two cents… then I send it back to them if I have any changes, etc. etc. The thing gets read and tweaked about 20 times in the last few months. When I got the copy off the press, I browsed through it quickly, but I didn’t look in detail. My dad, however, was reading through an entire chapter.

Apparently someone hit the wrong button when the final draft got sent to the printer. I don’t know how it happened… but every indented section in the book (every quote, every indented example, etc.) was somehow coded wrong and has some bizarre punctuation that makes it look like Spanish punctuation or something. Take a peek at this pic I snapped of one of the indented sections:

Those errors are throughout the whole book on that initial printing.

So on Thanksgiving day I’m emailing my publisher, “I’ve got some REALLY bad news.”

Long story short, thousands of books were recalled, and now they are being reprinted (within the next week, I think). We’ve all been waiting for a new date. Just today, they have told me that I will see the new “error free” copies, early in the week of Christmas.

So those of you who pre-order, you will still get them from me before you get them from anywhere else (because they are rushing me the first copies). And, those that order from our web site will not only get them first, they will also get the free ppt training we are giving away to anyone who purchases from us.

So what’s the date? If I am shipping them the week of Christmas… those who choose PRIORITY MAIL will get them just a few days later, but those who choose the cheap media mail won’t get them till closer to New Years.

Nice.

In defense of my publisher Zondervan… they’ve never made a mistake like this before with me, and they have been amazing through this process. They have promised to rush me my pre-order copies and are making every effort to help. Much thanks to all of them at Z!

And thanks to all of you who are being patient as well. I know, I know… we’ve said December all along. But usually I wouldn’t have pushed it this close to January. So thanks for your patience!

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A Book Alec Enjoyed

Posted on: 11/26/09 2:27 PM | by Jonathan McKee

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My son is a pretty good reader; he also likes video games, and Anime… that’s why I thought he might enjoy Mark Olmos’ new book, Age of the Fallen.

Age of the Fallen is a piece of Christian fiction about Japanese teenagers who fight against enemies from an unseen world, demons who are pushing desperate and confused teens to suicide every day. The book’s characters are real and believable. I could see something like this becoming a graphic novel.

When I read the first few chapters and saw the Japanese themes, the video games, etc…. I thought, “Alec (my 16 year old) would love this!” I gave it to him and he devoured it. Here’s his comments:

As a Christian have you ever wondered about the unseen spiritual war that goes on around you every day? What would you do if you could actually see into the spiritual realm and physically fight against fallen angels with spiritual swords of truth? For the main characters in Mark Olmos’s book, Age of the Fallen, this is an every-day reality.

The setting takes place in modern day Japan, where a group of young Christian teens live and fight against the temptations and challenges of everyday life. From the minute you begin reading till you turn the last page; the novel is creative and shocking. The author gives you an entertaining plot and at the same time describes the intense reality of spiritual warfare with masterful clarity. 

After reading this novel you will not only be very entertained, but you will perceive the world around you differently. And the next time you are tempted to do something bad you might consider that it’s not just a random thought that pops into your head, but a demon whispering in your ear.    

If this is your cup of tea, I encourage you to check it out yourself and post a comment.

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Connecting With Kids Free Training

Posted on: 11/16/09 11:23 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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This weekend I’m going to show youth leaders how to train their own adult leaders to connect with students… and I’m going to do this training using the exact same free ppt that we’re giving away on our website (we’re giving away a free ppt training to anyone who pre-orders my new book, CONNECT, from our web site.) I’m doing this at the Youth Specialties National Youth Worker’s Convention in Atlanta.

For those youth workers who haven’t been to this CONNECT workshop and can’t attend in Atlanta… no worries. You can still get the training. I provide the entire training exercise in my new book in chapter 14, and the free ppt we are giving away corresponds exactly with that training.

I’m really excited about this CONNECT seminar at the convention this weekend—it’s a fun workshop. After teaching everyone about the six types of kids we’ll encounter, I hand each adult leader a pile of sticky-notes and have them write the names of the kids they want to connect with, one name per sticky note. Then I have each person come place the sticky note on my “Six Types of Students” chart on the wall. This “spiritual inventory” exercise is always eye-opening and lays the groundwork for spiritual growth in ministries. I’m looking forward to the workshop! Fun stuff!

The timing of the workshop is a little bizarre in relation to the corresponding book release. Allow me to vent for a quick moment: I’m teaching this workshop this coming Sunday. Literally, as I teach this seminar, my CONNECT books will be being printed (by Zondervan/Youth Specialties) and will probably be shipped to me just days after we get back from this Youth Specialties event. I don’t want to criticize my publisher now… but I’m not sure they were thinking too clearly on this one. They could have printed the books one week earlier and had it available at the event… an event that historically brings out about 5,000 youth workers.

Regardless… I’ll be getting the books in just a couple weeks now, so those of you that pre-order them will be seeing them early December (a month earlier than you’ll get them anywhere else) in addition to the free Powerpoint training we are giving away.

I always enjoy teaching at the National Youth Workers Convention. This year I’ll be teaching two workshops:

Hope to see some of you there!

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Cover Design

Posted on: 11/9/09 1:59 PM | by Jonathan McKee

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Last week I shared with you a little about my new book CONNECT, a book that I think will be a great tool helping anyone who is connecting with today’s teenagers (many of you have already pre-ordered it- you’ll get it early December).

Today in the mail I received some glossy prints of my full cover design– the people at Zondervan did a great job with this one! The back cover looks great (I’ve seen the front for a while now). They added some of the endorsements from guys who’ve read the book and are plugging it: Dan Kimball, Walt Mueller, Jim Burns, Dare 2 Share’s Greg Stier and Young Life’s Dan Jessup. Check it out:

 

I also like how they added the “six types of kids” that we need to connect with to the back cover. Good stuff.

On the front- I’m excited that they kept my little “chain link” icon that I’ve been using for my CONNECT seminar for the past few years. They incorporated it nicely into the front cover design. Those of you who saw the cover before might also notice a small change on the front. They added Dr. Dave Rahn’s quote on the front– great quote.

Click here to get our special deal on this book. We’ve got the lowest price, we’re shipping it early December (everyone else is in January), and we’re giving away a free ppt. training that corresponds with the book- one that you youth workers can use to train your leaders how to connect with students.

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Socially Isolated… or Are We?

Posted on: 11/4/09 12:40 PM | by Jonathan McKee

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The Pew Internet & American Life Project just came out with a fascinating new report today about Social Isolation and New Technology. The gist of the report seems to contend: Yes, technology does lead some people to become more socially isolated, but not as much as some have argued.

For example:

  • The average size of American’s core discussion networks has declined since 1985; the mean network size has dropped by about one-third or a loss of approximately one confidant.
  • Users of social networking services at 26% less likely to use their neighbors as a source of companionship.
  • Internet Users are 40% less likely to rely on neighbors for help in caring for themselves or a family member.

And I found this little fact interesting as well…

  • Internet users are 38% less likely to rely exclusively on their spouses/partners as discussion confidants. 

(I’ll let you decide if that’s good or bad.)   🙂

I was very curious about this report, because I’ve done a lot of research on the subject for two of my recent books.

1. In my book, THE NEW BREED, about recruiting and training this “new breed” of 21st Century volunteers, my dad and I shared several studies about the growing trend toward social isolation. We quoted some studies showing that people have lost at least one core confidant. Funny… this new report shares the exact same thing. Apparently some reports inflate this. 

2. In my book about adults connecting with kids that comes out next month (CONNECT), I spent a little bit of time discussing how kids isolate themselves socially, hiding in front of a “screen” of some kind, instead of “face-to-face” communication. I find this Pew Internet report fascinating, because it conveys that technology isn’t isolating people as much as we might think. This made me happy with a decision I made in writing my CONNECT book… I opted to not devote a lot of time to mere “virtual” communication (some people seemed to think we should “put all our cards in this basket.” I disagreed.) I basically concluded that students were isolating themselves more and more, and that face to face communication was becoming difficult for some kids at first. So I recommended becoming familiar with technology and even using it as a stepping stone, but not as a replacement for face-to-face communication. Here’s a snippet:

This increase in social isolation is creating a relational void in the lives of students today. We have an incredible opportunity to meet this need with something real, face-to-face relationships.

Even though teens might be more comfortable with us connecting with them through cell phones and computers, I see these digital mediums only as stepping-stones for youth workers to engage in face-to-face communication. This is not just because of the obvious value of face-to-face conversations, but also because of the increasing dangers emerging with technology. Legislation is changing regarding appropriate digital communication between adult mentors and students. (I’ll touch on this in greater detail in chapter 13 when I talk about the boundaries and precautions we should consider with relational ministry.)

As we make connecting one-on-one a priority in our ministry, we may often utilize technology as a tool to transition toward more face-to-face conversations. In relational ministry, technology should be used as a tool, not a crutch.

(We are offering a great deal on the pre-sale of this book right now on our website, where you can get it from us about a month before anyone else, along with a free ppt training we’re giving away).

I encourage you to check out this Pew Internet report. I fully agree with their results.

 

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Connecting With Today’s Teenagers

Posted on: 11/2/09 11:37 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Many of you have been asking about my newest book, due on the shelves this January. The book is called CONNECT: Real Relationships in a World of Isolation… and I just talked with Zondervan… it looks like I’m going to be able to get copies in your hands in about a month- early December- if you pre-order through our website (we’re giving away a free powerpoint to anyone who orders from us as well– a tool to equip your adult leaders how to connect with your kids).

I’m really excited about this book, more excited than anything I’ve ever written about. This book is a result of years of interacting with youth workers across the country and observing the same thing again and again– adults need to learn not only the importance of connecting with students, but how to do it!

I’ve got some great feedback so far about the book from ministry friends like Dan Kimball, Walt Mueller, Greg Stier, Les Christie, etc. I’ll spare you all of their comments about the book right now, for time’s sake, and just share one. Here’s what Dr. Dave Rahn said about it (Dave is the Director of the MA in Youth Ministry Leadership at Huntington University and also part of Youth for Christ’s national office)…

Jonathan,

The Zondervan folks just sent me your manuscript this week with a cover letter asking for an endorsement.  I curled up with it last night and this morning.

Wow.

Really, really good work, Jonathan.  I will give my copy to our national Campus Life director, Dave Ramseyer, when I’m with him next week (only b/c the Z folks will send me a free copy later!).  It may be the most helpful single book on the market to push out for training adults in relational ministry.  I will do far more than endorse this book…I will push it…

Seriously.  This book will help us help our YFC folks get it.  And it will also broaden what we care most about: that loving adults come alongside kids to be used by God for their transformation.  I’ll write the endorsement now.  Thanks for using your gifts, experiences and passion so well for the Kingdom.

Dave

Here’s his official endorsement.

Connect needs to be in the hands of everyone–paid or unpaid–who works with kids for the cause of Christ. It is so easy to read and so full of practical tips and stories that it succeeds in becoming the kind of rare book that both inspires and instructs, a stand alone coaching resource I urge our YFC family to use with all of our adult volunteers. By drilling deeply into one of youth ministry’s most significant pressure points I hope that Jonathan will lead readers to “tap out” and surrender to the challenge of making one-on-one relationships with every type of young person their priority.
 
Dr. Dave Rahn
Youth for Christ/USA Chief Ministry Officer and Huntington University Director of MA in Youth Ministry Leadership

I’ll post more comments later.

I just wanted to give you all a chance at getting this book through our pre-order. We’re offering a better price than anywhere else, we’ll get it to you earlier, and we’re throwing in the free ppt training- because that’s what we like to do!

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Connect

Posted on: 09/18/09 5:14 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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I’m in the airport on the way to Houston to teach my CONNECT workshop to youth workers from a group of area churches in Galveston, TX. I love doing this training workshop, equipping youth workers to connect with kids, specifically one-on-one for evangelism and discipleship.

It’s funny. I don’t remember a single talk my youth pastor gave when I was in high school. But I remember him picking me up from school and taking me to lunch. I remember early morning coffees with him.

Connecting makes an impact.

I finally have put my research on this subject into print. My book CONNECT is actually due to hit the shelves this December. YS/Zondervan finished up the cover- check it out! (If you’re going to buy the book, we’ll offer a special deal on this book on our site soon- we’ll throw in something free like always)

I’ll be teaching this workshop (the 2 hour version) at the YS National Youthworkers Conventions as well. Those going to Los Angeles for that convention… I’ll see ya there next week. I’ll also be teaching in the Atlanta one in November.

One of the best parts of this training is a little exercise we do with sticky-notes. I provide youth workers with a tool that helps them be pro-active about connecting with kids for spiritual growth. I give every leader a bunch of sticky notes, then I ask them to write down the names of individual kids on each sticky note and stick it to a chart where they think that kid is spiritually (a spiritual inventory). This tool helps most youth leaders realize several things: 1. They don’t know their kids as well as they thought they did (where is Morgan spiritually? I’m not sure!) 2. It helps them realize the needs these students have.

I love this training. It’s a lot of fun seeing adults get excited about connecting with kids!

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Decline in Family Time

Posted on: 06/17/09 12:21 PM | by Jonathan McKee

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My dad and I are about to drive North this afternoon, preparing for a workshop we teach tomorrow. As we were updating some of our research, my dad sent me the following article about the rapid decrease in family time (one of our “Seismic Shifts” we teach from our book is the shift from “community to individualism”).

Whether it’s around the dinner table or just in front of the TV, U.S. families say they are spending less time together.

The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame.

The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. That’s nearly triple the 11 percent who said that in 2006.

These people did not report spending less time with their friends, however.

Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the center, said people report spending less time with family members just as social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are booming, along with the importance people place on them.

Click here for the entire article.

Interesting article. Although we’ve found more and more research that people are actually spending less “face to face” time with friends too. They’re trying to replace that void with cyber relationships… and coming up empty.

The above article goes on to talk of the rising concern about how much time kids spend online. I’ll be blogging about this a lot this year. I spend quite a bit of time talking about these shifts in my book coming out this December, CONNECT.

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Volunteering Stinks!

Posted on: 04/23/09 1:10 PM | by Jonathan McKee

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Yeah… I said it. There are times that it stinks to be a volunteer! (You probably didn’t foresee that coming from a guy who wrote a book about volunteering!)

I volunteer for my daughter’s jr. high track team. Since it’s only jr. high, it’s actually through our local ‘park and rec’ (don’t ask me to explain why. This is California. It probably doesn’t make sense).

Here’s where it gets weird. Since it’s a school track team, I went and got fingerprinted, filled out paperwork at the district, got a background check, etc. No big deal… I expect that as part of volunteering (I just talked about the importance of this in my blog last week about the killer “Sunday School Teacher”). But two weeks into the volunteering… the head coach emails me this email:

I just was notified that park and rec needs you to fill out their paperwork and get fingerprinted for them too. Please take care of this.

Hmmmmmm.

Do you wonder why we have trouble getting volunteers? (Maybe that’s why I’m the only parent out there!)

The volunteer recruiting principal violated here is what I called the “Oh, by the way” jab, in chapter 2 of my book, THE NEW BREED. We shouldn’t bring on volunteers, only to spring all kinds of, “Oh, by the way, I need you to…” obligations on them later.

“2 separate fingerprintings!” Hilarious!

So today I filled out my 8th form, got fingerprinted a second time… and I’m off to track practice!

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