Posts filed under ‘Leadership’
Free Audio Download: December
Each month christianaudio gives away a premium audiobook download for free. How does it work? Well, they give away one audiobook download (that they have published or that a partner has allowed them to give away) absolutely free; available only during that month and only once, ever.
Instructions: Add the download to your cart and use the coupon code DEC2009 when prompted to receive this month’s free download! You must use the code to receive the download for free.
The Brothers Karamazov (Abridged) by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s crowning life work, The Brothers Karamazov, stands among the greatest novels in world literature. His exploration of faith, doubt, morality, and the place of suffering in life are equaled in no other work of literature, save the Bible.
The book explores the possible role of four brothers in the unresolved murder of their father, Fyodor Karamazov. At the same, it carefully explores the personalities and inclinations of the brothers themselves. Their psyches together represent the full spectrum of human nature, and continuum of faith and doubt. Ultimately this novel seeks to understand the real meaning of existence and includes much beneficial philosophical and spiritual discussion that moves the reader towards faith.
This new abridgment done exclusively for Hovel Audio by Russian Studies scholar Thomas Beyer keeps the important religious themes of the novel intact. It is an excellent way for the admirer of Dostoevsky to refresh himself, or to introduce Dostoevsky to a friend who has yet to experience the joy of reading his works.
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) writes with a passion and keen insight of biblical grace like no other modern novelist. His works Crime and Punishment and The Idiot testify to his great skill. The Brothers Karamazov has been hailed by readers for over a century as one of the finest achievements in all of western literature.
Thomas R. Beyer is Professor of Russian at Middlebury College in Vermont. He holds three degrees in Slavic Literature including a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. In his decades of teaching, Tom Beyer has read The Brothers Karamazov dozens of times. His abridgment of the novel for Hovel Audio shows his thorough knowledge of his subject.
Free Audio Download
Desiring God (Unabridged) by John Piper
Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. In this paradigm-shattering classic, newly revised and expanded, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn’t truly exist: Delight is our duty. Join him as he unveils stunning, life impacting truths you saw in the Bible but never dared to believe.
Each month christianaudio gives away a premium audiobook download for free. How does it work? Well, they give away one audiobook download (that they have published or that a partner has allowed them to give away) absolutely free; available only during that month and only once, ever.
Instructions: Add the download to your cart and use the coupon code NOV2009 when prompted to receive this month’s free download! You must use the code to receive the download for free.
ht to our friends at christianaudio
$5 Ministry Training AMAZING!!!
Check out all the details on the $5 Ministry Training HERE
Brought to you by barefoot ministry
$5 Youth Ministry Training
Youth Ministry Training for only $5? Seriously!?!
What You’ll Get: Over 3 hours of focused youth ministry training by Matt Wilks (resident Canadian youth guru) and Chris Folmsbee (author of A New Kind of Youth Ministry & of course a wanna-be Canadian).
- You’ll also receive interaction with other youth workers like you
- Outlines and notes for each seminar
- Flash drive with all the content from the seminar
- Seminar Outlines for: Discipleship: Shaping Students for the Mission of God, Leadership 101: 10 Essentials for Developing Healthy Teams, Engaging Parents: Keys to Helping Students Develop an Authentic Faith (.doc and .pdf)
- Seminar Presentation Slides (.ppt, .pdf, .key)
- Barefoot Catalog with hundreds of resources
- Free Product from Barefoot Ministries including a 30 day trial to barefootministries.com
- All for only $5!
Seminars: (1) Spiritual Formation for the Mission of God, (2) Dynamics and practices of healthy volunteer teams, (3) Collaborating with parents to spiritually influence their kids
3 Truths and NO Lie!
by Clay Imoo
I had the pleasure of speaking at my home parish of St. Paul’s this past Friday night as the SPIRIT Pre-Teen Youth Ministry held its kick-off event for the year. It was also the start of SPIRIT’s 10th year of ministry, so in recognition of the impressive milestone the night featured a few special presentations among the prayer, games, and of course, good food.
Knowing I only had 3 or 4 minutes to speak (the short time-frame was intentional given both the students’ short attention span and my penchant for liking the sound of my own voice…haha), I wanted to come up with something that was easy to remember and could be referred to throughout the year.
So after a quick introduction, I shared with them these 3 truths:
1. God LOVES you. This is the one constant you can count on amidst all the chaos and changes that will happen in your life. God’s love is unconditional and is ever-lasting. As believers, you are called to love as He loves. No matter how bad things may seem, you can take solace knowing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing: God is love. He loves you, and He always will. After all, He made you in His image and likeness.
2. The Church NEEDS you. Anytime I hear someone say that the youth are the future of the church or the church of tomorrow, I politely suggest a slight revision to that statement: youth are important RIGHT NOW and you are the church of TODAY. You are just as important as the adults, the seniors, and the children. We need your voice, your energy, your gifts, and your child-like (not childish) faith. The more that our parish engages the young people, the stronger it will be. Us “older folk” can learn a lot from you!
3. The Leaders will PRAY for you. Believe that when a leader asks you what he or she can pray for, that they will! You may not fully understand right now what it means when someone says that he or she will pray for you, but it’s the most powerful and genuine thing someone can do. That’s what unites us as Christians: our belief in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and the fact that we can go to Him whenever we want to. In times of joy or in times of pain. In happiness or in sadness. In times of need or in times of thanksgiving. Never underestimate the power of prayer.
I had the young people repeat these 3 truths back to me a few times to ensure they got it. As I returned to my seat, I reflected upon these truths and realized that they apply not only to 11 and 12 year-olds, but to Christians of all ages.
But for those few minutes, the focus was on those beautiful and precious pre-teens. All of us involved in youth ministry need to continue to share with them the truth without any lies.
Jesus is the Way, the TRUTH and the Life.
And once we all know the TRUTH, the TRUTH will set us free.
Youth Ministry:Fair Trade
Do you believe that people in developing nations are no different than we are in that they desire dignity, the opportunity to work, provide for their families, and invest in their communities. They are different in that they face significant challenges socially, economically, geographically, and politically that make it impossible for them to break the cycle of poverty without strategic and respectful support and intervention.
As a youth ministry leader, you should be involved personally in fair trade but also infecting change within the youth ministry that God has blessed you to lead.
ht to ZoeAlliance
Implementing the Plan
by Tim McCoy
Youth Leaders Unite! I love the image of all youth leaders at the beginning of the ministry season, gathering together and doing the ”all hands in the circle” shout of “ON THREE, WE CAN DO IT!” Last week, I was away on a personal retreat and spent a portion of every day praying for these crucial days of implementing the plan and calendar that you’ve been anticipating all summer.
Wait…you did prepare for today last spring didn’t you? All of your volunteers are in place for the fall and winter ministry seasons, right? The ministry calendar is set and all that’s left to do is implement the plan that you’ve been praying over all summer. Ready, set, go!
I’ve suggested here that planning should be a crucial part of what you do with teenagers in ministry. I, with you, know and appreciate the challenges and struggles with finding enough people to share leadership within your ministry. That’s why I’ve been praying. And, that’s why you should, whether you’ve nailed down a calendar and plan or not, immediately invite a prayer team to be praying you through the fall and winter as you care for the spiritual and developmental needs of those you serve. So, step one, find some friends and unleash their prayers over you and your team of leaders as you gingerly nurture the lives of those with whom God has entrusted you.
