How I Use an iPad for Preaching or Teaching

A lot of youth pastors are fond of technology, particularly iPads or Kindle Fires. We love to find new ways to utilize the apps and functions in order to help us share God's Word.

While there are a number of different ways to use an iPad for preaching, this is the method I use when I am preparing my sermon or youth group lesson.

1. Type your sermon transcript or notes in a word processing program. I personally use Microsoft Word for this step. I type out word-for-word what I am going to say. I then use the various tools to highlight and accent different areas of my transcript to help me know what sections are what.
2. Make a PDF of your document. I have a plug-in on my laptop called CutePDF. This allows you to "print" your document and save it as a PDF, color and all. Just make sure to save your original document in case you need to make changes to it later.
3. Upload your PDF to Evernote. Saving your PDF to Evernote is vital. It keeps you from the losing the file. I would also recommend uploading the Word document as well. After uploading the documents, be sure to sync your device to Evernote. This will ensure that your uploaded document can be accessed on your iPad. You should also open the PDF so that you are able to access it, even without WiFi.
4. Open the PDF in the Kindle app. This final step is optional, but it is the one I prefer. I read a lot on both my Kindle Fire and the Kindle app on iPad. I like the side-to-side scrolling from page to page instead of the top to bottom way that Evernote does it. This works best for me.

I realize this may be somewhat cumbersome, but I do it so often that the steps have become second nature to me. I hope that some of this technique can help you as well.

What tools or apps do you utilize when teaching or preaching from an iPad or other tablet?

Three Lessons I Learned from Losing My Position

I think one of the sad realities of being a youth pastor is that we are most likely not going to have a lot of job security. I realize that this is not the case in every situation, but a number of us will be fired from a church at some point in their career.

Here are a few lessons I learned from losing my job at a church.

• Don't Get Bitter. When you lose your job, it is very likely that you will have some anger. This is perfectly natural. Be angry, but do not sin. Be careful not to say anything ugly or hateful and please do not post anything on the internet. You cannot take those things back. Whatever anger you have, you need to release it. There were three people that I blame for me losing my job. I don't know what role they played in it, but I blamed them. Here's the thing, though: my anger did not affect them. It hurt me. It hurt my family and my friends, but the three that I was angry at were not affected. They probably didn't even know I was angry at them. I had to let the anger go and not get bitter. Bitterness does nothing.
• Move On. After you are no longer at a church, you cannot have any say in what happens at the church. All of the programs and plans you had made may or may not continue. There is nothing you can do about it and worrying about it isn't going to help. My wife and I found out that some of the activities we were responsible for at the church fell apart the first weekend we were not there. It made my wife upset, but we were not responsible for them any longer. Anything that happened for that point on was not on us and we needed to let it go.
• Be Prepared For a Range of Emotions. I went through an entire range of emotions. At first, I couldn't believe that it had happened. Then I got very angry, both at the pastor and the three individuals that I held responsible. I got depressed and upset, not knowing what I was going to do next. I even tried to convince myself that there was a chance that things could change. Only recently have I come to accept the fact that that particular chapter of my life is over. If you aren't prepared for the roller coaster you are about to experience, it can really shake your faith.

Losing your job or getting fired from a church really sucks. It is painful and it might feel like the world is ending. Here's what you have to hold on to: if God called you to ministry, there will be other opportunities. Keep trusting Him and He will direct your paths.

Book Review - Flimsy Ministry by Brian Seidel

If someone was to ask you to describe a youth pastor, how would you do it? Would you describe him as the goofy guy who wears his hat backward and whose office is a disaster? Would you describe him as the staff member who is most likely to destroy the church van?

This is often the way that most youth pastors are described and thought of. In Flimsy Ministry, Brian Seidel describes the common view of the youth pastor as the "paradigm" and he seeks to overcome that view. Describing the common view of youth ministry as a house of cards, Brian describes each card in the house and offers a plan to help pull that card from the house.

Perhaps the strongest part of the book is the inclusion of many personal stories, both his own and those of others. Perhaps the most encouraging, and devastating, one was that of a youth pastor who was nearly destroyed by his job and was able to live to tell about it.

Seidel looks at many of the issues with youth ministry, examines the common thoughts about that particular issue, then offers ways to overcome that particular issue. The one that resonated the most with me was the idea of using youth ministry as a stepping stone to another ministry. I have been accused of this in the past and it was hurtful. I appreciated the mindset that he encourages of being a youth pastor until God takes me somewhere else. More youth pastors should have this thought.

My only complaint about the book was the formatting. I do not believe this to be the fault of Seidel, but it was not properly formatted in the Kindle format. This takes nothing away from the content, but does make it a bit difficult to read at times.

Flimsy Ministry is a much needed book. I would recommend that youth pastors read it and share it with their senior pastors. There is much to be discussed in the book.

Stuff Youth Pastors Like: Hoping For a dc Talk Reunion

The album that changed my life was Jesus Freak by dc Talk. It absolutely blew my mind. Every song was incredible and I wore out my copy. The tour to support the album was incredible as well. I've been to a bunch of concerts and, outside of Dave Matthews Band in Charlottesville, it is still the best show I've been to.

A few years later, the guys from dc Talk released solo albums and they were really good. It was my hope that this was just a temporary bump, but then the hiatus started and continued indefinitely. Toby Mac released a bunch of albums and gets unlimited airplay on Christian radio. Michael Tait released two albums and then became a part of the Newsboys. Kevin Max released a number of independent records, made a movie where he did drugs and cheated on his wife before getting saved, and recently joined Audio Adrenaline.

With all of this moving and shaking in the music industry, youth pastors keep holding out hope that dc Talk will get back together. If they were to release a new album, it would certainly be the top-selling album...of all time.

So, here's my plan: stop buying Toby Mac's music. Honestly, it isn't that good anyway (just kidding). Don't buy the Newsboys (they are good, but seriously, can Michael Tait ever really pull of "Breakfast" or "Shine"?). And, whatever you do, no matter how good the new Audio Adrenaline single is, don't buy their new album. Boycott all non-dc Talk music. This will cause record sales to slide and they will be forced to get the group back together.

This could seriously work.

Recommended Music

Stuff Youth Pastors Like - Lecrae

There is a crazy trend among youth pastors. It involves their love for rap music, particularly rap music created by the new scene of Christian rappers. These rappers include Propaganda, Tedashii, Trip Lee, and the king of them all, Lecrae.

Lecrae has blown up all over the place. His music has been endorsed by Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow. His album, Gravity, was named one of the top hip hop albums of 2012. It's pretty sweet, by the way.

Lecrae has appeared at conferences around the country. He has done songs with a number of Christian artists, including the David Crowder Band. Lecrae might be the first rapper that I have ever seen to be endorsed by John Piper.

Despite all of his success, Lecrae is one of the most humble guys I have ever seen. He is not about promoting himself or selling his own records. Every time I have seen him perform, Lecrae's goal is to point others to Jesus. He realizes that he is a crooked stick, a tool in the hands of the Maker. Wow!

As a youth pastor, you are legally obligated to own at least one Lecrae album. I own four of them, making me cooler than anyone who doesn't have any. Start with Gravity. It will blow your mind. Rebel is one of my favorites as well.

Here is a video of Lecrae's performance at Passion 2013.

So, how many Lecrae songs do you know?

Stuff Youth Pastors Like: Getting to Preach in "Big Church"

For most youth pastors, we felt the call to ministry because of preaching. We love to stand up and deliver a message from God's Word. It is an incredible and humbling task, one that is very exciting and deeply draining. We are standing in front of the congregation as the spokesperson of God.

But, for most of us, that happens very rarely. I am the youth pastor. My ministry is to the teenagers and the children. Most Sundays, I am in Children's Church, dancing and jumping and playing games. But then, it happens! I get the nod from the pastor, like a big league call up from the minors. I get to preach in Big Church!

When I get to preach in Big Church, I pull out the big guns. I use my best illustrations and go for broke on the text. Of course, as a youth pastor, I am legally obligated to preach from 1 Timothy 4:12 at least once a year. I think it is in the church bylaws.

My next opportunity to preach in Big Church will be December 30, 2012. I've already started working on my sermon and my Logos Bible Software is getting a workout, helping me get some great stuff.

How often do you get to preach in Big Church?

Here is a video of me preaching in Big Church. This is not at my current church, but it is me preaching, so I'm pretty sure it fits.

Stuff Youth Pastors Like: Greg Stier

Have you ever met Greg Stier? He is one of the nicest guys I have ever met, but he has this intensity about him that makes me think he is going to rip my arm off at any moment. Greg is the president of Dare2Share Ministries, an organization in Colorado designed to train teenagers (and youth pastors) in the fine art of evangelism. Greg has a passion for seeing young people share their faith and he has a passion for seeing folks come to Christ.

I have had the opportunity to speak with Greg once, at a youth pastor training luncheon that Dare2Share hosted. We have developed a pseudo-relationship through Twitter and it was very exciting for me that he vaguely knew who I was.

Greg is the author of a number of books, but the one that I recommend is Outbreak. This was the book that introduced me to him and Dare2Share and it is one of the texts from the Youth Ministry course at Liberty University.

If you don't know who I am talking about, get to know him. Greg is a great dude and one who loves Jesus deeply. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregstier or read his blog at GregStier.org.

Greg Stier loves Jesus. Greg Stier loves evangelism. Greg Stier loves teenagers. Greg Stier loves youth pastors. And that, my friends, is why youth pastors like Greg Stier.

Stuff Youth Pastors Like: T-Shirts

Everyone loves a comfortable t-shirt, but youth pastors go crazy for them. We practically build our entire wardrobe around t-shirts. If it weren't for Sunday morning services and my day job as a teacher, I'm pretty sure I would never wear a collared shirt.

Youth pastors collect shirts from everywhere. We have our youth group shirts, we have band shirts, we have shirts from conferences. We even have random shirts we found at Kohls and bought just because they were awesome.

Here are some of the awesome t-shirts I currently own. Trust me, my collection is growing.

This is my youth group's shirt.

This is my ridiculously awesome Charles Spurgeon shirt from Missional Wear.com

My Relient K t-shirt. This shirt got me in some hot water.

Chick-fil-a is seriously the best place to eat in the country.

I have many more shirts to share with you, but that's just a start. Remember, youth pastors like t-shirts and they will always love to receive more. Their wives may not appreciate it, but only because they do the laundry.

Coming Soon: Stuff Youth Pastors Like

I know, I know, the whole "Stuff (Fill in the blank) Like) has been done to death. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Stuff Youth Pastors Like has been done already (feel free to Google it and let me know). However, I'm of the belief that you can never have too much of a good thing. Hence, my list.

I came up with a list of things that I like and, since I am a youth pastor, I hope that it will resonate with others as well. I will try my best to be humorous, but really the list is just designed to make you smile and nod your head in agreement.

I currently have about 20 items on my list and will add more as I come up with them. I will post a new item every couple of days just so I don't overburden you with goofy things.

I hope that this list will make you appreciate the youth pastor in your life all the more. Enjoy!

What Kind of Youth Pastor Can't Play Guitar?

I really need to play my guitar more. I used to love playing guitar. My best friend, Terry, taught me to play a few chords and we jammed together all the time. Terry is quite talented, so it was awfully kind of him to tolerate my shortcomings musically. He even let me borrow his guitar when I went back to college so that I could continue to learn and practice.

Over the years, I learned to play a number of songs, including a few songs by the Foo Fighters, Soul Asylum, and Oasis. I also really enjoyed playing MxPx and Huntingtons songs, but they sounded funny on an acoustic.

Then, for some reason, I just stopped playing. I still have the guitar in my room, but it is covered with dust. I sold my first guitar, then my electric guitar, but I kept the good one. I really need to pick it back up and get busy.

Maybe it is because I can't sing that well that I don't play. Maybe it is the fact that four kids makes finding time to play a bit difficult. Whatever the excuse, I need to start playing again. Maybe I'll do that next year.

I have to fulfill that stereotype, right?