Help for Young Life Leaders NOW

I’m speaking at a junior high summer camp in a several weeks. I want a theme to tie it all together. I’m thinking Transformers (i.e. Jesus can transform people). I loved them as a kid and I think junior high students like them quite a bit too (based off conversations with some of my junior high friends).

I have a 7 talk outline already drafted, but I would love some of your ideas before I post mine (and possibly limit your unlimited collective creative potential).

Any ideas for illustrations, Bible stories, ideas to communicate sin, cross, resurrection, accepting Christ, discipleship, etc.??

MESSAGE PREP “TOP 10 LIST” by J Rinne

1. Know your subject and plan way ahead. I like to have a message done at least a week prior to the day I am gonna give it. I like to rehearse it out loud or to a few people before I give it in club. Funny but I like to lock myself in the bathroom and turn on the shower get in and rehearse the talk to the wall. This way no body will interrupt me, I am relaxed and I am not self conscious that someone will hear me and think that I am talking to myself.

2. SCRIPTURE, STORY, MAIN POINT. Start with the SCRIPTURE. This seems to be a pitfall for most people that I talk to about messages. We try to find a really funny story or a really good video clip or song that we like and then tryt to find a scripture that relates somehow and then teach kids about Jesus. I say start with the SCRIPTURE and THE MAIN POINT you want to make and then pray and look for good stories, video clips, song, ect. It seems like we should find this first because the story is usually how we gain the crowds approval and get them to listen to us. But we are about Scripture and so we should start there. Make your MAIN POINT and stick to it.

3. Pray a good deal as you prepare and have folks praying as you speak.

4. If you are not the one speaking know that your role as a prayer warrior/supporter for the person speaking is very important. DO IT!

5. I use www.crosswalk.com to help prepare my talks. There are great resources like references, commentaries and cross references to help you prepare. You can also look at all different translations. Also very helpful are the search bars… for example I can’t remember where the story about Jesus healing the blind man is so (instead of looking through the whole new testament paragraph by paragraph) in the search bar I can type “Jesus blind Man” and it will find all the references for me. I recommend it and it’s FREE.

6. Be bold. Know that kids need to hear the truths that you are talking about. Jesus is worth sharing.

7. Know your crowd. Don’t use real religious words. Speak about Jesus in a way that is simple and concise.

8. Look at the crowd, individuals and vary your tone and volume as you speak. This will keep you interesting.

9. Go up with one 3×5 note card and have all your main points written on this card. This card is ONLY if you get lost in your talk. Know your talk so well that you only need to glance at it to keep your talk flowing.

10. I am not an expert nor do I claim to have this dialed. These are just some things that help me and they might help you too. Above all be faithful to God and be faithful to what he tells you to tell your high school and jr high friends.

Thanks J!

For years I have been helping people do club talks. The main error most people make it not starting with the main point and the core scripture. I decided to put together a different approach to message preparation.

The "TalkPrep" is basically a Bible study that leads to a club talk. It forces you to start with the scripture, determine your main point, then your challenge and intro. There are also lots of helps along the way.

This is perfect for the person doing their first or second talk, and also for those who want to improve their preparation and speaking.

I’m considering making more of these, I’d love your feedback!

I had the privilege to be with all of the camp speakers this summer. As part of this time they compiled their best talk illustrations. Many of them are time-tested ones many are familiar with. There were dozens of these. There were five that really stood out to me and I want to share them with you in this series of posts. I am also trying them in my club so I know how they work. I’ve used two so far, I’ll be using more soon.

Blood Diamond - I am your father who loves you

This clip needs some setup. Blood Diamond is a movie that highlights the illegal trade of diamonds. In the midst of chaos, rebels abduct children and brainwash them to kill people. In this scene the son is supposed to shoot his father. Then the father says these words:

What are you doing?
I know they made you do bad things.
You are not a bad boy.
I am your father
Who loves you
You will come home with me and…
be my son again

I am not a crier, but this one gets me every time. The richness of those words minister to me. Our job is to translate this to our friends. This could be part of a sin message or a cross message or an appropriation message.

Next week I am doing a person of Christ message. I might do the woman caught in adultery (John 8). I’ll let you know how it goes.

So you are preparing your first club talk? Maybe you have asked this question: "Where’s that one story about Jesus? You know the one with that woman? Where he makes her feel better?

This is a word document that has many of the key Gospel stories and where they are located in the Bible.

I love to have this in front of me because it allows me to visualize themes. Stories that I wouldn’t have thought of before to hold moments of compassion or redemption.

I had the privilege to be with all of the camp speakers this summer. As part of this time they compiled their best talk illustrations. Many of them are time-tested ones many are familiar with. There were dozens of these. There were five that really stood out to me and I want to share them with you in this series of posts. I am also trying them in my club so I know how they work. I’ve used two so far, I’ll be using more soon.

TOM BRADY - “There’s got to be more than this…”

Watch this interview from 60 minutes. The last minute is the most useful.

I used a version of this video in my club talk a few weeks ago. Here was my main point…

You can do incredible things, but without Christ you will never be satisfied.

In my introduction I told a story of when I got my first birdie in golf. It was an incredible moment but there was no one around to witness it. It felt hollow, I wish someone was there to see it. It was so close yet so far from being an amazing thing.

Then I told them I wanted to describe a similar situation. I told them the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19. He went away sad because there was one thing missing in his life, giving up control.

Then I said I want to close by describing someone who is rich, young and rules in what he does every day. Then I listed his anecdotes without saying his name…

• Played in four Super Bowls, winning three of them
• Won two Super Bowl MVP awards (XXXVI and XXXVIII)
• Four Pro Bowls
• Holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a single regular season.
• Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year, in 2005.
• He also helped set the record for the longest consecutive win streak in NFL history with 21 straight wins over two season
• In 2007, he became the first quarterback to lead a team to a 16-0 regular season.
• He was named “Sportsman of the Year” by The Sporting News for the second time in his career.
• He was also named the NFL MVP in 2007
• Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press
• Dating a Brazillian super model
• Makes over $8 million dollars per year

I asked them, do you know who this is? They knew, Tom Brady. Then I played the video.

I closed by saying, look it was true for the man that Jesus encountered 2000 years ago, it is true for Tom Brady today, you can do incredible things, but without Christ you will never be satisfied.

I suspect many of you are going to be doing cross talks in the next few weeks. I want to pass on to you one of my best resources for cross talks. The document below is a harmony of the cross story that I created several years ago.

The cross is obviously an incredible event (a little bit of an understatement), yet when we approach it for club talks it is a little longer than time allows to read the entire thing. This download gives a Biblical outline of the events and their references so you can highlight the key events that you feel you want to go into more detail. Let me remind us again that it is essential to read the words of the Bible in club talks, never summarize the entire event.

Here is a tip…

Often a Gospel story will be a little too long to keep kids attention if you read the whole thing. Here are some ideas…

1. Find “break points”. These are places where you can stop to clarify what is happening in the story, any confusing terms (i.e. Pharisee, disciple, etc.), and to paraphrase it yourself. You can even draw a line in your Bible so you remember where to stop.
2. Find the key phrases and just paraphrase the rest. A great example of this is the cross story. It is simply to long to read in its entirety. Find the key phrases that you need to read out of the Bible. By the way, NEVER paraphrase the whole story, always read out of your Bible when giving a talk.
3. Read the beginning of the story early in your talk, then tell a personal story, application, etc and leave the ending for the end. This can build anticipation and draw more attention to the story. A good example of a story like this is the Woman caught in adultery. Leave them with people with rocks raised over their heads wondering what is going to happen next

I had the privilege to be with all of the camp speakers this summer. As part of this time they compiled their best talk illustrations. Many of them are time-tested ones many are familiar with. There were dozens of these. There were five that really stood out to me and I want to share them with you in this series of posts. I am also trying them in my club so I know how they work. I’ve used two so far, I’ll be using more soon.

THE LADDER

In this illustration you use a ladder to illustrate how people try to climb to the top in life or in Christianity or really anywhere. You have a ladder in your club talk. This is how I used it last Monday…

I told a story about how my dad has been absent and has a lot to make up in my life. I then transitioned into Zaccheus (Luke 19). It worked great because he was short and had to climb the tree. When I read that part I climbed the ladder and talked about how all of Zaccheus’ stealing left him with a lot work on in his life.

Then I told them how a lot of us feel like being a Christian has to do with going up and down based on our actions. I went to church this week (climb two steps up), but I cheated on my test (climb two steps down). I went on Work Crew (climb three steps up), but this weekend I was out of control (climb three steps down), and so-on, you get the point.

I then continued the story and highlighted that when Jesus wanted to eat at his house, what Jesus wanted was a relationship. I noted that Jesus didn’t immediately ask him to stop stealing. An ongoing relationship with Christ is more important than how high or low you are on the ladder.

I also took a brief moment to say that the ladder only counted when Jesus went up high on a cross (I climbed to the top) and gave up his life for ours (I spread out my arms like being on a cross).

It had the potential to be an A+ talk but for some reason I felt like I didn’t do a very good job, maybe a C+.

Let me know what you think about this…

When you are teaching scripture, it is critical to ask yourself, "What does God want them to know through this text?" We often are tempted to have an idea for a talk that we bring to the scripture rather than letting it speak for itself. Technically this is called eisegesis.

Trust me, when you get stuck trying to pick a scripture for a talk, you need to pick it early so you don’t force your idea into the scripture. You know you have done this if while doing your talk you have no idea how to transition into your challenge/main point.

Let the Bible speak for itself. Your explanation of the word should be the highlight of your talk, not your super funny intro story. Our strongest tool is a clear picture of Christ and nothing else.