Manic Monday Minute is a serious mind-dump that will probably take you one minute to read. Here are some thoughts going through my head right now...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
- Sorry for the sparse blogging. It's been a bit crazy in my world...
- I'll make it up to you.... promise.
- Been traveling this weekend to SC and back...
- Got to see my family, which was much needed! We had a great time.
- Spoke at a wonderful church while in South Carolina and had a grand ole time.
- Listened to some Chuck Swindoll on this roadtrip. Love to hear him speak.
- Got some lovely STORY promo cards in the mail. More on that later.
- My AC has been down in my house since last Thursday. Thank goodness my roadtrip to SC offered a little relief. But it'll be a hot one in the house tonight.
- I asked my cousin's little boy if I was his favorite uncle. He said "no." I said "why not?" He said "because you don't drive a truck." Ha. Out of the mouth of babes.
- I'm trying the new Spicy Chicken Sandwich tomorrow at Chickfila.
- So Burger King is now serving BBQ Ribs?
- Like! my page on Facebook [here]
- So, I was wrong about Crystal. Apparently Lee captured more hearts.
- Click the "donate" icon in the right sidebar to help a brotha out.
- I think this may be one of the first weeks this year that Justin Bieber is not a top trending topic on twitter.
- I created a new newsletter for my friends. If you want to be included, go [here]
- Wow. Saw a commercial for a glass company that secured the phone number 867-5309.
- If you didn't get that you don't know music.
- Watched this clip earlier of a heckler interrupting a 700-club Live broadcast. Time to step up security in the Va Beach studio.
- I love Donald Miller's writings. Really enjoying A Million Miles right now.
- You can save time & money and subscribe to my feed [here]
- Let me take a moment to say if it weren't for our men & women in the military I wouldn't have the freedom to post this.
- Thank you to those who have faithfully (and sacrificially) served our country.
Labels: Manic Monday Minute
Years ago I created a personal newsletter and used it frequently to communicate news & prayer requests that I might not otherwise broadcast via my site. The list has grown to the hundreds over the years but has been in desperate need of some clean-up and a relaunch. I decided to bite the bullet and act now... so I now present to you "LifeLine."
If you'd like to sign-up to receive personal news from yours truly, click [here]
Labels: Personal
Manic Monday Minute is a serious mind-dump that will probably take you one minute to read. Here are some thoughts going through my head right now...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
- I wish there were a conference once a week, locally. I'm such a sucker for them...
- To say that I enjoyed #WiBo would be a gross understatement.
- I'll be sharing notes from my moleskin throughout the week.
- I nearly got arrested on Friday evening. It was a case of justice gone wild. I plan to tell the story later this week on the blog, but basically a cop pulled me over and said I did something wreckless and then tried to run from him. It was all untrue.
- I'm still reeling from the entire experience. I'm talking this week with law enforcement & lawyers about the charges.
- Hosted a great concert on Sunday evening for students. We brought in a local band and they did a great job for us. It was a benefit concert to help us raise funds for a mission trip this summer.
- I got Papa John's to donate pizzas for the event. Thank you Papa.
- Like! me on Facebook [here]
- A good friend gave me a copy of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I can't wait to read.
- I'm hoping to get a copy of Linchpin soon. I'm dying to read that!
- Enjoyed hearing this guy lead worship at #WiBo. Then my sister txt'd me and said he did a great job leading worship on Sunday at her church (in SC). It was cool that we both had the Whittaker experience in the same weekend.
- Want to make a donation to this site and keep the resources coming? Click on the "donate" icon in the right sidebar.
- I'm loving this weather!!!
- Google really outdid themselves this week with the interactive game on their homepage in honor of Pacman. I thought it was GENIUS.
- I haven't been glued to my TV screen during this season of American Idol like I thought I would; however, my prediction from day one was that Crystal Bowersox would win. =)
- I'm a little addicted to this song right now. JT is one of the greatest artists of our time.
- Heading to SC this weekend to visit family. I'm stoked...
- I'll be speaking at a church on Sunday. Got to pull out the shirt & tie for this one.
- I'm so use to wearing t-shirts to church. In fact, we just got t-shirts printed and the message on the back says "these are my church clothes." =)
- Subscribe to my feed [here] friends.
- Thanks for reading. See you here tomorrow.
Labels: Manic Monday Minute
I'll be sharing my notes from #WiBo all this week on the blog. The first I'd like to share is highlights from James MacDonald's talk:
No more bait & switch! Ministry is hard - but its worth it.
No more bait & switch when it comes to telling people about the gospel. Ministry is hard... but its so worth it. 2 Timothy 4:9
It's lonely to lead. We struggle with loneliness, discomfort, conflict and rejection in ministry. People often reap the benefits of who you are ... and then lament your weaknesses. v. 17 - No one came to his defense but the Lord strengthened him so that the message might be fully proclaimed. Pastors are professional (or should be) forgivers.
(( Hand-sketched notes by Joshua Blankenship))
No more bait & switch! Ministry is hard - but its worth it.
(( Hand-sketched notes by Joshua Blankenship))Labels: Conferences, Resources, the whiteboard sessions
Manic Monday Minute is a serious mind-dump that will probably take you one minute to read. Here are some thoughts going through my head right now...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
- The weekend goes by entirely too fast. Whose up for a 4-day?
- Had a baptism celebration at the beach on Sunday. Nothing beats it.
- Sunday evening we had our worship gathering for students. It was one of the most meaningful ones I can ever remember.
- The voting for my alma mater's alumni leadership council just opened. looky who was nominated. =)
- I just saw someone make a grilled cheese sandwich on network television. The chef actually explained how to make it. Seriously?
- Saw on twitter that their making a Big Momma's House 3. I'm a fan of Big Momma.
- Like! me on Facebook [here] This cracked me up.
- God gave me this scripture passage 5 years ago. He's given it to me again.
- Really enjoyed my last giveaway. On Thursday I announced the big winner. I was excited to inform a youth worker in Richmond, VA that she had won free hotel accommodations and a free conference registration to Whiteboard here in Virginia Beach.
- I recently toured the hotel & conference center that gave me the free accommodations. All I'm saying is that I'd stay in their presidential suite any day of the week! Wowzers.
- Can't wait until Whiteboard this Friday. Look forward to seeing some old friends and being challenged & inspired all day long.
- I have a friend that lives in the Netherlands. I was scared for his life when I saw this video of what bicycle rush hour is like.
- Want to make a donation to this site and keep the resources coming? Click on the "donate" icon in the right sidebar.
- The Census folks came knocking at my door today.
- My friends at LifeChurch wanted me to tell you about their Porn Event.
- My neighbors probably hate me. The car alarm went off early yesterday morning at 4am.
- Was sad to hear of a NewSpring staff member's passing. I found [his video story] deeply inspiring.
- Have you subscribed to my feed yet? If not, you can do that [here]
- Thanks for reading. See you here tomorrow.
Labels: Manic Monday Minute
Last week our staff attended an innovative network meeting in Richmond, VA. The theme was "Miserable Ministry." Specifically, miserable ministry jobs. The speaker at the meeting was discussing Patrick Lencioni's book "Three Signs of a Miserable Job" and helped us evaluate the working environments we are responsible for.
Here are the 3 signs of a miserable job mentioned in the book that he highlighted during his presentation:
- Anonymity - Your staff may get this feeling if they feel that you don't care about them. Do you show an interest in your staff members? Do you know what their hobbies are? Their aspirations or interest? I can really relate to this. I've had several managers over the years that I felt did not take an interest in me at all. I often found myself working half-heartedly for them, which ended up making the environment miserable for all parties.
- Irrelevance - It is important for your staff to see that the work they do is making a difference in the lives of others. Are you helping them see the connection? Whether it is a custodian or the frontman for your worship band, every staff member should see how the work they do directly impacts others. The speaker (a pastor) told us he shared a story with the parking lot attendant of how someone came to Christ in their ministry and how he reminded the staffer (the attendant) that if they weren't helping guests find parking spots the person might not have made a decision that day.
- Immeasurement - Every employee should have the ability to assess for themselves their contribution or success. If your staffer has no way of measuring how well they are doing on a given day or week, they must rely on the subjective opinion of others, usually their manager, to gauge their progress or contribution. Measuring success purely by the numbers is a big #FAIL. A good manager must help his\her staff measure the little things that make the difference. From counting smiles to positive feedback comments on surveys, leaders should be looking for ways to help staffers measure improvement & ultimately knowing when their job is well done.
This presentation was really valuable to me and will help me become a better leader. If you want to check the book out on Amazon, go [here].
Labels: Books, Church, Issues, Leadership, Personal
Manic Monday Minute is a serious mind-dump that will probably take you one minute to read. Here are some thoughts going through my head right now...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
- You'll have to excuse me... my neighborhood is full of smoke.
- The forest (behind my house) is on fire. It's been burning for hours now... but I think the crews have nearly extinguished it.
- Spent the weekend in Kansas City, MO.
- Enjoyed doing some consulting and brainstorming about the future of youth ministry.
- Enjoyed getting to hang with friends Chris Folmsbee and Tim Schmoyer again.
- Had a great time touring the Nazarene Publishing House, dining at Jack Stack and making new friends.
- Barely made my second plane because the TSA dude wanted to rescan my hair gel.
- Arrived home from KC but just before pulling into my neighborhood my tire blew out.
- I can't seem to get a break.
- Got to meet the producer of a new motion picture this weekend. His film is due out next fall.
- Enjoyed an iced white mocha today. By the way, did you know that this week Starbucks is celebrating the new frappuccino with a happy hour, 3-5pm? We're talking half-price frappuccinos.
- The voting for my alma mater's alumni leadership council just opened. looky who was nominated. =)
- Got word the CIU library caught on fire and did 1.5 million in damages.
- Do you ever ReTweet my tweets? If so, you could be a winner. I'll be giving away some FREE resources and winner(s) will be chosen (at random). The only way to win is to make sure you are following my tweets and retweet as many of my tweets as you like. Winner(s) names (and links to their twitter accounts) will be posted here on my blog. =)
- The little twitter bug killed everyone today.
- Caught Betty White on SNL this weekend. Let me just say she was a superstar... best ratings in 18 months ... and I'll never look at muffins quite the same way again.
- If you haven't entered my contest for the Whiteboard ticket giveaway, go [here].
- I am dying to read Seth Godin's Linchpin.
- Click [here]
- Let's make plans for tomorrow. Right here.
Labels: Manic Monday Minute
Tim Schmoyer has one of the best blogs about youth ministry that you'll likely find on the internet. He & I have been friends for several years and have been fortunate enough to hang out a few times over the years even though he resides with his wife (Dana) and daughter (Hannah) in Alexandria, Minnesota -- which I think he's mayor of. (Ha. Thats for all you foursquare folks). Make sure you check out his blog at StudentMinistry.org.
10 Summer Youth Group Events for Under $10
10 Summer Youth Group Events for Under $10
1. Water fights with water balloons, super soakers and hoses. This can be a great way to bond and have fun! Once we even gave everyone white t-shirts and used water colored with dye to spray "tie-dye" shirts onto each other. (Shower caps and goggles protect the hair and face and a dark shirt underneath keeps it modest)
2. Photo and video scavenger hunts. There are plenty of lists around the internet of ideas for taking pictures and short video clips around town and your community to compete against other teams, to earn the most amount of points. Afterwards, look at all the pictures and video clips together, determine a winner, and go out for ice cream together. The losing team buys for the winning team.
3. Movie night. You can either hang a sheet on the side of your house, set up a sound system, and project a movie while everyone sits outside, or pile inside your living room and just chill.
4. Picnic or BBQ in the park. Stop by Subway and grab sandwiches or pack a lunch at home. Meet up at a local park, have lunch and then throw a frisbee around or play some volleyball.
5. Camp out overnight in someone's back yard. This can be a great bonding experience! Pitch a couple of tents, bring a sleeping bag, and sleep outside. If you can do a campfire, great. If not, try cooking smores over a little stove. It's not quite the same, but it's still fun.
6. See who can buy the most number of different things in the mall with $2. If your group is large enough, split up into a couple teams and see who can meet back at a designated time with the most different items for their $2. Require receipts for each item to prove that it was not given to them for free. They'll get creative, like buying a single gummy bear from the ice cream stand, or a small screw for eye glasses, or a foot of wire from the hardware store. When it's all over, buy ice cream for the winning team in the food court.
7. Group bike ride. It sounds corny, but our kids love it! A couple of times each summer a bunch of us spontaneously meet up at a parking lot and ride on a bike trail for an afternoon.
8. Department store reverse scavenger hunt. Form teams at the store and give each team a shopping basket. Give them no more than 5 minutes to select 10 items from the store and meet back at the designated place. Then switch baskets and be the first team to return the other team's items back to their original place. First team to finish wins. (It may be a good idea to check with the store manager first. They're usually cooperative if you talk with them first.)
9. Game night at someone's house. Plan out a "playlist" or games for the evening, like Four On A Couch, King Frog, and Twister. Find other good game ideas at egadideas.com
10. Mow and clean up your Sr. Pastor's yard. Of course you'll want to get permission from your pastor first, but do it just to bless them and thank them for their service to the Lord and their support for the youth ministry. But don't stop there - also serve other people in your church in whatever ways will bless them most.
Labels: guest bloggers, Resources, Youth Pastors
PROMOTION EXTENDED! We're extending this promotion until this Thursday, May 13th. Why did we extend the promotion you ask? [Go here to find out]
The Whiteboard Sessions is just days away, and I'm giving away one, FREE registration to one lucky person right here on the blog on Thursday, May 13th! Additionally, the recipient will get FREE hotel accommodations good for a two-night stay at the Holiday Inn Virginia Beach Norfolk Hotel & Conference Center!
The winner of this promotion will also receive a free copy of Carlos Whittaker's new album, Tony Morgan's book Killing Cockroaches and a copy of Innovate Church -- which has a host of contributors, including Jonathan Falwell - one of the speakers at WiBo.
All you have to do is (a) follow me on twitter, (b) TWEET about this contest (with a link to this post) and (c) leave a comment in this post with a link to your tweet. It's just that simple. We'll be choosing a winner at random, using Random.org, on Thursday, May 13th at 5.00PM eastern.
Don't forget to check back on this Thursday to see if you've won!
*Please note the guidelines before entering.
Official Guidelines:
*The sponsor of this promotion\contest is TerraceCrawford.com
*The promotion will begin immediately and will end at 5:00pm Eastern on Thursday, May 13th, 2010
* The winner is responsible for contacting the sponsor (Terrace Crawford) after promotion ends and the winner is announced within 7 days to claim prize.
*To enter the promotion, the entrant must have a valid twitter account and follow @terracecrawford. The entrant must also tweet about the contest (or promotion) at least once and must comment here on the blog with a link to their tweet.
*One winner will be chosen by the sponsor at random (using Random.org). Sponsor will post the winner's name to this post. If the winner does not respond within seven(7) days, he or she will forfeit the prize.
*No purchase is necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Employees of Sponsor and family members of such employees are not eligible to enter. By participating in this promotion, entrants agree to release and hold harmless sponsor(s) from any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the promotion.
We appreciate any tweeting about this contest! Good luck to all who enter.
Here's a sample tweet: @terracecrawford is giving away a FREE ticket to #WiBo but that's not all! click here: http://bit.ly/aQdlDz
More info on The Whiteboard Sessions [here]
Is Your Name on the Bloggers @ the Beach list? [here]
Labels: Conferences, Resources, WhiteBoard Sessions
Facebook Will Crush You Like a Little Grape.
2 Comments Published by Terrace Crawford on at 2:49 PM.
Facebook trumps all other social networking platforms according to a research
study from Business Insider. The platform still crushes Twitter and MySpace, with over 350 million users saying they visit the page at least once a month.
Perhaps the success could be pinned on the Farmville community as we learned this week that the creator is now worth 4 billion dollars? Or maybe its chaulked up to all the ministries that now rely on it for their communication. I recently conducted a poll among youth workers across the US and 90% of them said that Facebook was their primary means of communication with their students.
So what's your preferred platform?
study from Business Insider. The platform still crushes Twitter and MySpace, with over 350 million users saying they visit the page at least once a month.
Perhaps the success could be pinned on the Farmville community as we learned this week that the creator is now worth 4 billion dollars? Or maybe its chaulked up to all the ministries that now rely on it for their communication. I recently conducted a poll among youth workers across the US and 90% of them said that Facebook was their primary means of communication with their students.So what's your preferred platform?
Labels: communication, Culture, Media, social media, Technology, Youth Pastors
The Whiteboard Sessions is only 16 days away, and I'm giving away a FREE registration right here on the blog tomorrow. But... that's not all I'm giving away. =) Tune in tomorrow to find out.More info on The Whiteboard Sessions [here]
Is Your Name on the Bloggers @ the Beach list? [here]
Labels: Conferences, Resources, WhiteBoard Sessions
Iron Man 2 may be hitting theatres this Friday, May 7th but I think it'll pale in comparison to Ironing Man. Check it...
Labels: Movies, Straight Up Funny, Videos
Manic Monday Minute is a serious mind-dump that will probably take you one minute to read. Here are some thoughts going through my head right now...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
This is the Manic Monday Minute...
- Whew. The weekend was a blur...
- Our church had an exhibit at the NN children's festival on Saturday. We got to meet hundreds of people and had a blast!
- I met Miss Virginia at the festival this weekend.
- Got to speak in the weekend services @ Crossroads this past Sunday. I love speaking...
- We started a new series called ReNew. It's a series about spiritual renewal and environmental stewardship.
- I heard the producer of a motion picture was in the audience this weekend. I'm disappointed I didn't get to meet him. I've heard about his talent, the fact that he raised over 7 million dollars by himself for the film and that its due out next fall. I can't wait to see the finished product.
- My gosh... God is doing some ah-maze-zing things among my students. I'm not kidding. I literally have a different youth group than I did just 3 weeks ago. Would you say a prayer for them?
- Do you ever ReTweet my tweets? If so, you could be a winner. I'll be giving away some FREE resources and winner(s) will be chosen (at random). The only way to win is to make sure you are following my tweets and retweet as many of my tweets as you like. Winner(s) names (and links to their twitter accounts) will be posted here on my blog. =)
- Our media is jacked up. I've seen no news coverage of the flooding in TN.
- Make sure you visit this blog on Thursday. I'm giving away a free ticket to Whiteboard.
- I watched Dinners, Drive-ins & Dives on the Food Network this evening. Guy was in Lexington, SC - just minutes from where I use to live! Love that show.
- Watched the 60 minutes interview with CoCo online late last night. I think Conan was deeply hurt by NBC... and they should be ashamed at how they handled everything.
- I've got to admit I'm stoked about Betty White hosting SNL this weekend.
- My friend Tim has relaunched his site and its pretty slick. Tim's blog is a must-read if you are in youth min.
- Ok, so... I came home just the other day and there were papers on my doorstep.
- Apparently a baby's daddy was served papers to appear in court and the sheriff thought that I was said baby's daddy. This ain't the case. Last time I checked my name wasn't Patrick. Patrick, you're in a heap of trouble dude.
- Shoutout to Jason Slaughter who reads the Manic Monday Minute. Booyah!
- Click [here] for some free curriculum.
- See you back here tomorrow peeps.
Labels: Manic Monday Minute
