Many who know me will remember that I am a big basketball fan. My office walls are lined with old Sports Illustrated covers helping me recall the past exploits of some of my favorite all-time basketball players. I have the covers of Pistol Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, and the more-recent Lebron James. Also on my wall, however is another picture of a basketball player. Only this particular photograph is a complete fake.
A few years ago as a Father’s Day present my sons took me to a theme restaurant in Orlando, Florida, called “NBA City” where I donned a Detroit Pistons uniform (some of you will remember – Grant Hill’s days with the Pistons) for a make-believe photo shoot of me playing in the NBA. This 8x10 framed shot hangs in my office and shows me dunking over the likes of Kevin Garnett in an NBA all-star game. Even casual observers of this photograph should realize that this is a “Photoshop” wonder – it was made up by a skilled graphic artist on a computer and that it’s not real. This photo (gray hair, over-weight and all) has no real place alongside the other basketball immortals like Dr. J, the Big O, and Pistol Pete.
I have had the God-given opportunity the last few months to actually make the all-star team. No, not as a basketball player, (those days are long gone, I’m afraid) but as a youth worker – as I worked alongside my good friend, Mike Calhoun, to edit and develop “The Greenhouse Project: Cultivating Students of Influence” a major anthology on the overall topic of developing students of influence.
Let me list some of the “legends” of youth ministry who collaborated with us on this book:
-Greg Steir – the well-known president of “Dare2Share” and the author of “Ministry Mutiny”
-Alvin Reid – professor and author of “Raising the Bar: Ministry to Youth in the New Millennium”
-Alex McFarland – well-known youth ministry apologetics expert
-Steve Vandergriff – youth ministry professor at Liberty University and co-author of “Timeless Youth Ministry”
-Cheryl Fawcett – youth ministry educator and the author of “I Have a Question About God”
-Tim Ahlgrim – my good friend and the national director for Vision For Youth, Inc.
-Ken Rudolph – one of the very best youth speakers I have ever heard
-Glenn Amos – another good friend and one of the nation’s leading experts on steering kids to vocational ministry
This has been an incredible privilege for me to have been involved in this project. I am absolutely convinced that the development of student leaders should be the primary focus of today’s youth ministry. Our kids are leaving church once they graduate from high school and in fact, are often checking out of participation in youth group even before they graduate.
Youth workers, it’s time to raise the bar in church youth ministry. It’s time for leadership and commitment – and this book (written by a collection of youth ministry all stars) will show you how to do it!
You can order a pre-publication copy of our book (and receive a free copy of the accompaning student guide) from Word of Life at:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wolstore.org%2Fp-1144-pre-orderthe-greenhouse-project-by-mike-calhoun-comes-with-a-free-student-guide.aspx&h=52d163b0e405b45971f6471296553e06
A few years ago as a Father’s Day present my sons took me to a theme restaurant in Orlando, Florida, called “NBA City” where I donned a Detroit Pistons uniform (some of you will remember – Grant Hill’s days with the Pistons) for a make-believe photo shoot of me playing in the NBA. This 8x10 framed shot hangs in my office and shows me dunking over the likes of Kevin Garnett in an NBA all-star game. Even casual observers of this photograph should realize that this is a “Photoshop” wonder – it was made up by a skilled graphic artist on a computer and that it’s not real. This photo (gray hair, over-weight and all) has no real place alongside the other basketball immortals like Dr. J, the Big O, and Pistol Pete.
I have had the God-given opportunity the last few months to actually make the all-star team. No, not as a basketball player, (those days are long gone, I’m afraid) but as a youth worker – as I worked alongside my good friend, Mike Calhoun, to edit and develop “The Greenhouse Project: Cultivating Students of Influence” a major anthology on the overall topic of developing students of influence.
Let me list some of the “legends” of youth ministry who collaborated with us on this book:
-Greg Steir – the well-known president of “Dare2Share” and the author of “Ministry Mutiny”
-Alvin Reid – professor and author of “Raising the Bar: Ministry to Youth in the New Millennium”
-Alex McFarland – well-known youth ministry apologetics expert
-Steve Vandergriff – youth ministry professor at Liberty University and co-author of “Timeless Youth Ministry”
-Cheryl Fawcett – youth ministry educator and the author of “I Have a Question About God”
-Tim Ahlgrim – my good friend and the national director for Vision For Youth, Inc.
-Ken Rudolph – one of the very best youth speakers I have ever heard
-Glenn Amos – another good friend and one of the nation’s leading experts on steering kids to vocational ministry
This has been an incredible privilege for me to have been involved in this project. I am absolutely convinced that the development of student leaders should be the primary focus of today’s youth ministry. Our kids are leaving church once they graduate from high school and in fact, are often checking out of participation in youth group even before they graduate.
Youth workers, it’s time to raise the bar in church youth ministry. It’s time for leadership and commitment – and this book (written by a collection of youth ministry all stars) will show you how to do it!
You can order a pre-publication copy of our book (and receive a free copy of the accompaning student guide) from Word of Life at:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wolstore.org%2Fp-1144-pre-orderthe-greenhouse-project-by-mike-calhoun-comes-with-a-free-student-guide.aspx&h=52d163b0e405b45971f6471296553e06
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