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	Ryan's E-Update from Pastor2Youth.com

• Support Pastor2youth AND Get Great Resources at the Same Time
  

• "If It Makes You Happy"
  
  
• Pastor2youth.com Discussion Forum


• Simply All Access 2009 (LAST Chance to Become a Member!)
  
  
• Lost Password? ID? Need Help?
  
  

     Greetings Pastor2Youth.com Member/Subscriber,

     There is always new information to share about what is happening at Pastor2Youth.com. It is a joy to be able to share with all of you the exciting things happening and the new resources available to all users. I pray that you will find this information useful and will be blessed by the features and resources at Pastor2Youth.com that are intended to help you in your ministry to youth. Please allow me to share with you some news and announcements about the highlights, help, and resources at your disposal.

"If It Makes You Happy"
by Rick Lawrence

     "When Starbucks executives overextended their brand, planting what seems like a store on every block, it quickly became okay to start savaging Seattle’s caffeine gods. Likewise, after centuries of “extending our brand” into a “Christian nation,” it’s now totally acceptable to proclaim yourself a “hater of religion” in the U.S.

It’s even a badge of honor in the Christian community—former Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch is a perfect example. After exiting the group and committing his life to Christ, he wrote on his blog: “I’m not trying to drag anyone to church or shove religion down anyone’s throat. I hate religion. I love God.”

The “hate religion, love God” mantra sounds so much like something Jesus said that many assume he did—like the way people attribute Ben Franklin’s famous quote “God helps those who help themselves” to the Bible. Most Americans feel fine about describing themselves as spiritual—in fact, if you’re not a spiritual person, you don’t meet the Oprah standard for normalcy in today’s culture. But you won’t find a similar reception if you call yourself religious—it’s getting much harder to find anyone who would describe themselves that way anyway.

So it’s no surprise that researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered that kids who have strong “personal and communal aspects of spirituality” (meaning in life, and strong interpersonal relationships) are much more likely to be happy, but kids who adhere to “religious practices” don’t get the same “happiness bump.” The same study reports that while religion positively correlates with kids who are well-adjusted and well-behaved, those descriptors “are not the same...as happiness.”

If you ascribe to “diabolical intent”—that we have an enemy whose mission is to “kill, steal, and destroy” (John 10:10), then you could hardly miss the intentionality behind the slow movement away from the uncomfortably specific “religion” in favor of the comfortably vague “spirituality.” How do you remove the specificity of God from the Christian equation? Well, one great way to do it is replace the best aspects of religion—the lifestyle and practice of devotion to Christ—with a lifestyle focused on meaning and rich relationships. Presto! A chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips...."

Read the Rest of the Article HERE...

Pastor2youth Discussion Forum

     Did you know that Pastor2youth.com has a discussion forum? I am surprised at how many users have never noticed the link to the discussion forum on the homepage.

     The pastor2youth discussion forum is an excellent place to share ideas, get advice and feedback, to ask questions, to receive encouragement, and so much more! We currently have over 23,500 posts on over 2,300 different topics. In addition, there has developed an incredible "family" atmosphere on the forums, which have provided for lots of great discussions, fun, laughter, and sharing of all kinds of resources.

     I want to encourage you to stop by (click on the “Members Discussion Forum” link in the left-hand column) to share questions, encouragement, wisdom, and more with each other at Pastor2Youth.com.

     This is one of the ways in which we are working to make Pastor2Youth.com more than just resources, but a community of individuals who work with youth sharing life togethe. Be sure to visit and join in on the conversations.

     You can access the discussion forum by going HERE!!!

Simply All Access 2009 (LAST Chance to become a member!)

CLICK ON THE BANNER ABOVE TO PURCHASE "SIMPLY ALL ACCESS"

Simply All Access!!!

Our strengths as youth workers often times don’t fall in the administrative category. Sometimes it feels like we’re best at eating Chick-fil-a and hanging with kids. If this describes you too, I just might have the thing you need to be covered...

Allow Simply Youth Ministry to help with your sermon preparation, small group curriculum writing and media planning needs - all delivered on a quarterly basis. They’ve complied weeks of brand new material from Doug Fields and Kurt Johnston to keep you looking good and going strong.

SIMPLY MORE
A great way to get more of what you love from Simply Youth Ministry. Every quarter you will have access to all new Sermon Series', Small Group Curriculum, Games, and Media Specials. You will also get exclusive behind the scenes material from the people behind the resources.

SIMPLY NOW
Every quarter you will have access to all new resources before they are available to the rest of your youth worker friends. All you have to do is log in, choose the resources you would like to use, and click download. It’s that easy. All new resources will be waiting for you every quarter.

SIMPLY BETTER
Waiting for you every quarter will be all new resources that have been hand picked for Access Members. No need to go hunting for the next series to teach or what materials to use in your small groups. The best new youth ministry resources and saving time, what could be better than that?

INCLUDES
Over 25 weeks of sermons, 40 weeks of small group curriculum, media exclusives, 4 sets of 50 themed backgrounds... PLUS exclusive specials for access members only!!! (Retail Value: $439)
NOW YOURS for Only $299 for the ENTIRE YEAR!!!!

1st Quarter 2009 (2nd Quarter set to be released next week):
To kick off 2009, the following resources will get you started on Simply All Access:
* Save The Planet - Sermon Series on what God thinks about what we’re doing to His creation and to His planet.
* Homecoming - Sermon Series on "The Prodigal Son"
* Conflict (Small Group Study) - This series traces the source of conflict from the fall of humanity and looks at God’s pursuit of people in spite of our sin
* Blessed to be a Blessing (Small Group Study) - The goal of this study is to recognize how we’ve received blessings from God and how we can use those blessings to bless others.
* Motion Backgrounds
* Countdown Video
* Race This Game
* Making it Through the Minefields - Sermon Series on Dealling with Temptation.
* 50 Still Backgrounds
* MP3 of Doug Fields' Interview with the Harris brothers - authors of the book "Do Hard Things"

* AND MORE TO COME EACH QUARTER!!!

CLICK ON THE BANNER BELOW TO PURCHASE "SIMPLY ALL ACCESS"

Has it been a long time since you have been to Pastor2Youth.com? Have you forgotten or Lost your Username? Are you having troubles with your password? Don't let that keep you away. If you have forgotten or are having any problems logging in to your account at Pastor2Youth.com, just send an e-mail to Help@Pastor2Youth.com with your need and I would be more than happy to help you out.

Another reminder as well: You can personalize your password to make it easy to remember for the future. Once you log in, click on the "My Account" link in the left-hand column. Inside there, you will find a link titled "Change Your Info". If you click there, you can personalize as much of your account information as you would like, including the option at the bottom to change your password. Enter the new password twice and push save - then you don't have to worry about trying to keep track of, or remembering, that crazy automated password you received when you first registered at Pastor2Youth.com.

If I can help you out with any of this information, please don't hesitate to let me know.

     Keep an eye out for more E-Updates to come helping you make the most out of your onlline experience as you search for Youth Ministry material to help you. We are excited about some of the things in store in the near future!!!