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Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry Tuesday, July 22, 2003
July 22, 2003 Ever messed up? I have. Ever made a decision, forgot a detail, or neglected a concern that you lived to regret? I have. Did you learn from it? I did. Let's pass some of this knowledge on. For example. I'll never forget the time that I sent two kids home from camp without contacting their parents. I lived to regret that one! Two kids had violated one of my big SEND HOME RULES. It was as clear as day that they were to be sent home. But it was late, and after I sent them on their way with one of my staff members . . . I forgot to call their parents. I realized it the next day as we were traveling home. I tried to call them, but didn't get a hold of them. Monday morning I received a call from the school. The school? Why was I getting a call from the school? I had been trying to gain access to the local jr. high campus for a year and was finally gaining ground with the principal . . . until now. The principal called me and asked me what happened over the weekend. I didn't know what he was talking about. So he got more specific. "What happened this weekend with the two kids that were almost killed on your trip?" Okay, I was awake now. "What kids?" 15 minutes later I was up to date. My staff guy had been pretty tired on the way home and was struggling to stay awake. The two kids noted that. When my staff guy finally got to their houses, he just dropped them off and didn't talk with the parents. He assumed I did. The students had their exaggerated story down the next morning. "We were unjustly accused, we almost died 3 times on the way home. Please don't make us go on another one of those awful trips!" The mother called the principal, the local newspaper . . . heck, she probably tried the White House! The principal backed off from all communication with us and we had to do serious damage control with the mad mother! MORE MISTAKES We've all made mistakes in our ministry- things that we wish someone would have clued us in on the possible consequences before we did them. I could tell you stories about the time that I accidently left a kid in Disneyland because my staff member counted wrong, the time we were reported to the police because one of my staff was trying to catch air in a full 15 passenger van over speed bumps, or the time we didn't watch a kid take his medication and he pocketed his pills for 3 days, going Sybil on us in the middle of an amusement park! All of these things bring back memories of hard lessons learned. (I won't tell you which one had me crying like a baby either.) Last month I spoke at a camp where the youth leader shared with me the reason that several of his main students weren't able to attend the camp. At his last event, a service project, he left some students with a young staff person at a work site. Bored, the students rigged up a teeter totter catapult device made out of a large extension ladder balancing on a bunch of boxes. They convinced a small kid to sit on one end while a 300 pound kid jumped off the roof onto the other end of the ladder. I probably don't have to tell you the end of the story, it involved a broken leg and a bunch of irate parents. As I talked with him about past mistakes, I couldn't help but wish that someone had clued me in about the possible consequences from some of these decision BEFORE HAND! YOUR RESPONSES Let's learn from the mistakes of others. We asked EZINE subscribers what their worst ministry mistakes were, and the consequences. Let's look at some of the responses:
If you've been by our web site lately, you might have noticed that we are sporting a new web address. Don't worry, the old one still works, but everything is going to be pointing to our new URL: www.TheSource4YM.com If you link us or have use bookmarked- note the new URL. If you have any other youth ministry ideas you want to share, please email me at jon@thesource4ym.com Jonathan speaks at schools, camps, and youth events all over the U.S. He also trains youth workers and student leaders at national conferences and seminars. Check out Jonathan's speaker page and who's recommending him! Thanks for being an EZINE subscriber. Enjoy the free resource . . . and you know where to find even more free resources at www.TheSource4YM.com KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! God Bless, Jonathan R. McKee THE SOURCE for Youth Ministry www.TheSource4YM.com |
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