Meetings
Not sure if ministry means more meetings than other jobs, but you sure get to be part of lots of dreary sessions (and a few good too)! (I mean here businessy type planning meetings rather than "worship gatherings", although maybe part of the problem is separating the two).

Anyway simple stuff is always worth reminding ourselves of, so I appreciated this podcasted guide to "avoiding death by meeting". (You can get it via Itunes as well).
Like I say, nothing radical, but a reminder to keep focus, that we can learn a lot from!
And Baptist church members meetings often need some of these lessons too...

Youth Evangelism
Tim linked to this fascinating post about is evangelism child abuse?
It raises some good questions about the ethics of our mission and work with children and young people.

He has followed up with some reflections of his own about evangelism among young people and schools work. These are key issues as we work out how to do youth ministry post-christendom. It strikes me that so much of what we do is built on assumptions of both the knowledge of those we are trying to "reach", and of our position. I wonder if even our language of "us" and "them" needs questioning, yet I am cautious of those who seem to end up with all journey and no destination!

This paper from the National Youth Agency is also helpful in terms of ethics in youth work.

Valiant Men
Been reflecting on a 1 Samuel 10:26. Saul has been anointed king and it says in the NIV he went home "accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched".
I deliberately didn't put a picture with this post, because it would have set the tone (probably with a stereotype) about what a "man of valour" would look like.

Different translations render this phrase quite differently, from "young men" to "men" to "brave".
But I think the key is the 2nd part "whose hearts God had touched".

Anyway it got me reflecting personally about my heart. But also about all that "church is too feminine" stuff that you hear recycled around and (in my opinion) the awful "wild at heart" stuff (that I posted about back in 2005). How do we raise up "valiant men" without pandering to sexist, machismo type models?