This weekend I'm at the Youth Specialties National Youth Worker's Convention in Sacramento. It's been a lot of fun hanging out with youth workers; yesterday I already gave you a quick highlight of some of the people we've been seeing and talking with.

Today Brandon and I got a chance to sit down with CPYU.org 's Walt Mueller and talk youth culture. Walt is the real deal. He wakes up every morning with "the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other." I love his ministry... if you haven't checked out his youth culture website, definitely take a peek. Walt's the man!

I loved having Brandon with me when I met with Walt. Before I knew it, the two of them were talking about what books they were reading (Brandon is a READER!!!!), their favorite authors... then they got onto reformed theology. They were talking WAY over my head.

You'll be getting a little of the "goods" from those conversations soon in a podcast format and in a new thing we're going to be launching soon called "FOUR MINUTES OF MINISTRY" ... small little YouTube videos about youth ministry.

After lunch I connected with Jim Burns. Jim is an old friend (not old in age... he's just a puppy!) who has been an encouragement to me before I even started THE SOURCE FOR YOUTH MINISTRY. He even helped me get my first book published. It was a blast spending some time with Jim. I'm really excited about some of the "purity" resources he is developing to help our kids understand God's plan for them sexually.

You'll be catching a glimpse from Jim soon also in one of our upcoming "FOUR MINUTES OF MINISTRY" videos.

Tomorrow it's a busy day of more meetings, and a few last minute touches on my training workshops for Sunday.

Whew!

Sumu Wrestling Night
One of the best ways to do outreach is to host a fun event that your current students can invite their friends to...and this is a great one for that! Coming to you from our OUTREACH EVENT IDEAS page, this idea is sure to be a hit with your group.

Here's how it worked for youth worker Larry Baldwin from South Carolina: I rented Sumo Wrestling outfits and built excitement up in the middle and high schools with posters and word of mouth. The main event was the high school principal and the baseball coach. It was hilarious! The message for the night was "What do you wrestle with in life?"

"So What" Music Discussion
Do your kids know how to respond to hurt... in a healthy way? One of the most popular songs and videos our kids are watching right now shows a great example of how NOT to deal with hurt. Pink's edgy "So What" video is a great discussion starter to get kids talking.

Main Point of Discussion: Dealing with hurt... in a way that doesn't hurt more in the long run!

The Music Video: "So What"
Pink's "So What" song is #1 on iTunes this week and #2 on Billboard's hot 100. Pink performed it live at the MTV Video Music Awards last month. Most kids are familiar with the song. The question is... have they really weighed out the message that this song is communicating?

Today's youth are being taught to just react, disregarding the consequences. Their role models react this way, why should they act any different...

(CAUTION: Read our warning about using this video for a discussion starter- it's very edgy)

Sample "One Year" Youth Minister Evaluation
A few weeks ago we featured our newly revamped LOGISTICAL CRUD page, with samples of "logistical" paperwork, new person forms, permission slips, youth minister job descriptions, student leadership applications, etc. This page is a gold mine of logistical needs.

The sample "One Year" Youth Minister Evaluation goes along perfectly with our sample Youth Pastor's Job Description we provide.