Almost thirty years ago, Tom Peters (co)wrote In Search of Excellence and has had something to say about management ever since.

Recently, on his blog, he has been running a series of videos regarding the little big things…  that which seems minor but makes a great difference.

Here, he encourages us to develop milestones.

“Design the milestones to keep people excited, to keep them engaged. Celebrate the living dickens out of the smallest ones, as well as the biggest one.”

Ana Roca Castro, founder and CEO of Premier Social Media, recently offered eighteen ways that social media can be utilized for evangelization as past of a series of article for the National Catholic Register.

She reminds us that “Social media is all about relationships, community and content.” Some key suggestions include define your goals, develop big ears by using search functions relentlessly as well as my secret weapon Google Alerts, and remember your role in the process

Local youth minister Scott Link was recently published on the Life Teen blog with a wonderful posting of a checklist for a great retreat. 

First thing on his packing list… duct tape! Scott says: ‘Think MacGyver. Everything that needs to be hung, fixed, attached or built can be done with duct tape.  Just to be safe – bring two rolls.”

Read up on his whole checklist.

At the beginning of the month, there were quite a few comments when we pondered if we were all doing youth ministry all wrong. Kara Powell, of the Fuller Theological Seminary, suggests that our “mistake” might even go a few generations back… 

She suggests that “We realized in the 1940s that we were not offering teens enough focused attention. So what did we do? We started offering them too much. All of a sudden churches had adult pastors and youth pastors, adult worship teams and youth worship teams, adult mission trips and youth mission trips. And there’s a place for that. But we’ve ended up segregating—and I use that word intentionally—our kids from the rest of the church.

Powell goes on to theorize that “the future of youth ministry is intergenerational youth ministry. . . One thing churches can do that really makes a difference is getting kids actively involved in the life of the church before they graduate. There is a strong link between kids staying in church after they graduate and their involvement in intergenerational relationships and worship.

Read the whole Leadership Journal interview.  It’s worth it.

Greg Thompson might be short in stature but he has casts an extensive shadow in utilizing media on behalf of Catholic Youth Ministry.  He serves as the coordinator of Youth Ministry at St John’s Catholic Church in Madison, Alabama.

As part of a National Association of Catholic Youth Ministry Leadership’s OnCourse program facilitated by the Ministry Training Source, he set up his long-running on-line GregCast series to take a look at Confirmation.Some of the issues that Greg addresses include people who drag their feet in preparing for the sacraments; the need to collaborate with Catholic School, our dependence upon the Bishop’s schedule as well as the kids’ social schedules (confirmation and prom on the same night???); and not underestimating the kids who actually take it seriously. Here is part two.

We have survived four snow storms this winter… three on weekend’s this season alone.  That has meant cancellations of masses, youth groups, meetings, etc. 

Ryan Spilhaus, a local Christian pastor who served as a guest blogger on Church Marketing Sucks, advocated a pre-storm plan along with multiple methods of communication when you’ve got to cancel. 

Read the whole post before the next storm hits.

Tim Schmoyer, over at his Life in Student Ministry blog, recently identified some Signs that a youth leader is lacking maturity and healthy adult relationships.

You know the type:
> the automatic buddy who will always side with a teen over their parent(s) or another adult in the program…
> the confessional adult who too often shares TMI (too much information) inappropriately in public and with the kids
> the “ambulance chaser” ready to rescue any young person out of any situation, not matter how big or small…
> the adult volunteer who hangs much more often with the kids than the other adults…

Tim has a whole list here; check it out, then come on back with a comment regarding any signs that you think are missing.

Recently, I re-read An Open Letter to Youth Ministry Workers Planning Short-term Missions, a posting by Dave Livermore on YouthWorker.com.  In it, Livermore asks us to “imagine how humiliating it is to be on the receiving end of many of these trips.”

In our own local Justice Action Week program, the staff refers to this as “the zoo effect.”  It is what occurs when one only does drive-by service focusing more on the impact upon themselves rather then genuinely engaging in solidarity with the local community, with an individual.  Participants are encouraged not to view their experience from a safe distance.

Livermore  concludes his letter with “You’re not bringing Jesus to us. He’s already here. In fact, He’s doing some amazing things here. And we know He’s in your midst and doing amazing things among you. We have needs. You have resources. You have needs. We have resources. Let’s pursue a relationship and see how God unfolds His mission in and through us—together!”

John Rinaldo of the Diocese of San Jose recently made the argument that youth ministry coordinators should be seen as administrators.  He is calling for a shift from the perception of the youth ministry coordinator as just the youth group leader.

John is calling for a paradigm shift that Youth Ministry  is about team leadership. If we are to truly affect the lives of young people, we need to spend time equipping and empowering volunteer leaders that will allow us to more fully reach out to the youth population in our parishes. He places the priority for the youth ministry coordinator to be  equipping and empowering volunteer leaders that will allow the parish to better fulfill their mission to “the younghurch.”  Please consider reading John’s whole post.

Is social media a fad?

Or the biggest shift since the industrial revolution?

Beyond the obvious push for the Technology Procedural Recommendations (opps, snuck that one in there, didn’t I?), we all have to work harder as church about wrapping our ministry around the right side of this.

Over at Fast Company, they made some recommendations regarding Twitter, but it true as well for Facebook, blogging, and the rest. Here’s my take on ‘em:

1). Take it past a hobby. Make it more than the time-killer it can be and invest some strategy and effort into it.

2). Give more than thou receive: Seriously, everything you post does not have to be about you, does it?

3). Be undeniably genuine: Everyone can eventually detect a fake, even on-line.

4). When others show a little viral love, say thanks. It’s that easy, show a little virtual manners.

5). Keep it simple: It’s all there, just figure out what you already have available to you.  Forget the programs or the classes, invite “that kid” (you already know which one) who can help you figure it out.