Today we had a special treat. Tic Long, the new Executive Director of Youth Specialties, joined us to talk about what’s been going on with the organization over the past couple months and what lies ahead. It was fun! There’s a lot of be excited about.

Some of the things we talked about:

• Who YouthWorks is and what they bring to YS
• What’s in store for the NYWC, One Day, Planet Wisdom, DCLA, and other events
• How they will serve a theologically diverse community of youth workers
• The 10-year big picture vision for YS
• And a whole lot more…

You can listen to the whole conversation below or grab it in iTunes.

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Special YMATH show this Wednesday

February 24: Now that we’ve been home from Haiti for a couple days and have had some time to process it a bit, most of the YMATH team will be joining me to talk about our recent experiences in Haiti. We’ll also discuss what it could mean for you and your youth ministry.

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Today Youth Specialties makes a huge announcement and reveals its new Executive Director, Tic Long. Youth Specialties has been through a lot of major transitions throughout the past couple years, so welcoming back a familiar face like Tic is undoubedly a comfort and relief for many. Personally, I’m stoked! I appreciate Tic’s ability to appreciate the rich history of Youth Specialities’ past while still embracing the changes and risks that will always be necessary for the future.

It’s great to feel a sense of stability at Youth Specialties again now that the YouthWorks deal is finished and Tic is back on board (and, of course, that Adam McLane is still around). I’m looking forward to exciting new developments in the the field of youth ministry from YS for a long time to come.

I had the privilege of interviewing Tic in anticipation for this announcement. Here’s our discussion:

TIM: First of all, welcome back to YS! What’s been going through your mind, soul and heart during the time off?

TIC: To tell you the truth Tim the first couple months I was trying to get YS out of my system. After 32 years I had to relearn about life outside of YS. I tried to not really think too much or too soon about what was next but to enjoy my family, friends and God in a more leisurely manner. I spent a month Backpacking which did wonders for my Soul.

TIM: You could’ve taken a lot of different opportunities from a lot of different organizations. What drew you back to YS?

TIC: It was really a couple things. First I was actually surprised by that fact that in the end I had some really cool opportunities to choose from. Others said that would be the case but it still surprised me. In my time away I wrestled with the question was it time to leave youth ministry. In the end there was just nothing else that excited me as much. I think some of us are just lifers. We might be a sick group but it is home to me. There is nothing else that I am as passionate about. I wasn’t expecting this so it took a while to get my emotions around it. First I really fell in love with the YouthWorks folks. I went to Minneapolis to their HQ which is kind of dumpy. It reminded me of the early YS offices. They have had the money to build big fancy offices but to do that would mean they would not be able to give away as much money. They give serious money away to the communities they do mission trips in and that really spoke to me. They are serious about being the church to folks. There is a lot more to this part of the story but I really felt they were the perfect home for YS after I sniffed it out. I think the other thing is deep down I am just a YS guy. I love YS and I think this home can return us closer to what I dream we can be. In the end I just could not say no to YS.

TIM: Based on Youth Specialties’ past that has brought it to where it is today with YouthWorks and Zondervan, where do you see God taking YS in the future? What’s vision has God laid on your heart for YS?

TIC: It is still a little early to speak to this to a great extent extent as I just said yes to returning December 27 and have just spent a couple days with the folks here in Minneapolis and have yet to even be in the YS office since coming back. What I am feeling most strongly is returning our focus to loving, training and resourcing youth workers. These last couple seasons at YS we have had so many internal issues and financial pressures we had to focus more on ourselves than youth workers and that hindered us. YS at it’s best is playful, prophetic, inclusive, grounded, willing to take risk to help youth workers engage culture and equip their students to follow Jesus. I think our calling is to be an advocate and safe haven for those working with students, our events a place where youth workers are nourished spiritually and encouraged and at the same time challenged to take chances to meet God on the outer edge of their faith and not play it safe, go for it for the kingdom of God…. Sorry I’m rambling.

TIM: What are the biggest obstacles for YS to overcome to get there?

TIC: Being better listeners to not only what God is calling us to but to what youth workers are asking for. We have been at this for a while and have lots of ideas and approaches with many peers. We need to make sure we make room for new voices and not just stay in our own comfort zone. We need to provide platforms for the new voices God is calling to speak into the youth ministry community. It is much easier to go just with those we know well but we just can’t do that. Someone gave Yaconelli a chance, We gave Duffy Robbins, Chap Clark, Doug Fields, Les Christie and many others a platform to speak to the youth ministry community with what God placed on their heart. We need to keep doing that, to keep presenting new voices.

TIM: NYWC has been the Mecca of youth ministry conventions for decades, but recently many youth workers have become increasingly disinterested in it for a number of reasons. What changes can we look forward to specifically at NYWC?

TIC: I think the above applies here. The convention is not about us but about youth workers. I think we refine what we do best in response to what we hear from the trenches. I actually think Youth Ministry is better served with the SYM convention, Orange and others on the scene rather than the NYWC being the only game in town. It makes harder for us but better for the kingdom. I think as all our events fine tune and respond to each other and the youth ministry community the church wins.

TIM: What is your relationship with Marko? I know you were at one time the President of YS, but what makes you think you are the person to do it again?

TIC: I don’t really know how to answer that but let me start with this point because I think there is some misinformation out there. Marko and I are good, we have always been good. We are friends and had a good working relationship. We have not blamed each other or had any big weirdness throughout this wild ride. We will continue to be friends and speak into each others lives. I am not worried about my ability to lead YS (other than the fact that there is always some fear in me when handling something I think God has places in front of me). It is is my giftedness and skill set. I know YS, I know youth workers but I am not doing it alone, as always we will have a team. We have always seen YS as a gift, a sacred trust and not something we owned. I am once again a caretaker of that trust and that is humbling. I am excited and humbled at the same time, does that make sense?

TIM: What does YS need from youth workers during this transitionary time? How can we support you all?

TIC: Give us some time to catch our breath, your prayers and your voice.

TIM: Any chance you’ll be moving to my backyard here in Minnesota to be closer to YouthWorks? :-)

TIC: Ummmmmmm………NO. That would take a burning bush.

Read the official announcement about Tic’s position at YouthSpecialties.com, including this teaser video on YouTube.

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If you’ve been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer, there’s a solid team of experienced Life In Student Ministry youth workers who want to support you and invest into your ministry on a one-on-one basis! Read more on our Youth Ministry Mentors page.

Normally I don’t use my blog to voice opinions about current events, but Zondervan’s press release about releasing Mark Oestreicher from Youth Specialties is causing such a stir of emotions in youth workers that it’s getting out of control and needs to be addressed.

While I respect people’s freedom to express their feelings through blogs and Twitter, some of you are jumping to illogical conclusions based on speculation and gossip. Wait until you have the facts before before making such judgments. We all hate it when people in our churches do the same about us or our ministry when a nugget of information starts spreading and is soon taken out of context, but yet that’s what we’re doing here with Zondervan and Marko.

Granted, the manner in which Zonderan released this information is indicative of a proper, almost impersonal, business approach. Clearly they don’t quite “get” the youth ministry audience and could’ve communicated it much better than they did, but that’s not a valid reason to start bashing Zondervan because they let Tic Long go first and now Marko. Youth workers, more than anyone else, should be familiar with change and transitions. Every year we say goodbye to a graduating class while saying hello to a new incoming class, causing our ministries to be in a constant state of flux from year to year. As if that turnover wasn’t enough, youth culture and trends are constantly shifting and trying to stay on top of the communication game is often a struggle. Maybe in a youth ministry world of constant change, Marko felt like the constant we could always depend on, and when it’s gone, the loss creates deep insecurity and even wounds. If that’s the case, then I suggest we need to reevaluate Who our anchor is in ministry. (Some of the comments I see on blogs and Twitter definitely cross the line into idolatry, putting Marko on a pedestal that’s much higher than where any man man ought to be.)

But even so, Marko is not dead, he’s just transitioning. He’s not disappearing from the earth, just moving to do new things to help further the Kingdom among teenagers. Marko will be fine. Youth Specialties will be fine. For all we know, this could be the best thing for both of them.

Marko is one of the people who encouraged me to write my upcoming book that Youth Specialties will release in January 2011. He also covered expenses for my wife and I to attend the 2006 NYWC in Austin because we couldn’t afford it. And he’s been a guest on LIVE YM Talk with me, among many other email and phone conversations. I love the guy and his heart for teenagers and his investment into me personally, so it’s with no disrespect toward him that I remind us that there’s a lot of what if’s and variables in this situation that none of us know.

• What if this is the best move for Youth Specialties to be able to serve your ministry?
• What if Zondervan is taking the hit, looking like the bad guy, when there’s really many other things behind the scenes we don’t know about? (Hasn’t every youth worker been in this situation?)
• What if Marko is honestly OK with this decision and maybe even relieved by it?
• What if the two options were to let Marko go or close Youth Specialties?
• What if Zondervan has a bigger vision for Youth Specialties than YS has for themselves?
• What if Zondervan is experiencing greater loss than Youth Specialties is by releasing Marko?
• What if this frees Marko to do even more incredible things for the the world of youth ministry?
• Remember, it was Karla Yaconelli who sold YS to Zondervan in the first place, not Marko. Maybe some of her unspoken reasons for doing so impact this decision?
• What if Marko becomes the new youth pastor at Saddleback to fill Doug Field’s vacancy? :)

Although I admittedly embrace change a bit easier than most people I know, I’m actually excited to see what’s in store for Youth Specialties. I absolutely feel for Marko and have been praying for him and YS for the past couple days, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the Lord will use him to make a continued impact on youth ministry.

In the meantime, chillax. Quit the gossip and idle speech.

Two weeks ago I wrote that I was temporarily slowing down my blog postings to prepare for our first baby that’s due very soon and to give some extra attention to this season of transition in my own youth ministry.

I also mentioned that some major changes are coming to Life In Student Ministry. Much of the time I normally spend on generating content I’m using to work on that project instead.

Future vision for this site

Basically, this site will be relaunched on a new domain with a new design that will allow it to reach far more people than it currently does. More new youth workers will be able to connect to the Youth Ministry Mentorships, blessed by resources, content, videos and LIVE YM Talks. MinistryQuestions.com will receive a boost among other things, but perhaps best of all, it will no longer be branded around my name. I will remain the primary voice, but the community of youth workers who have surrounded this site over the past several years will become a bigger emphasis. I’m really excited about the possibilities of growing, learning and being challenged together!

As with most things, there’s a price tag for all of this. Life In Student Ministry has never charged for anything and it rarely asks for donations, but the vision I have in mind will cost about $8,500 (yikes!), which is why I anticipate doing it in stages as funds are available. The first stage costs $2,500 and would work best if it was reached within a week from today.

I have about $900 of personal funds to contribute (instead of buying a TV) and am more than happy to do so in order to bless you and your ministries, but I can’t do it by myself. I know your ministries can’t always get away with just giving away funds — that’s why several organizations have partnered with me to offer their products as thanks-yous for your donation to Life In Student Ministry.

$10 donation – Interlinc “Welcome to youth group” videos

Interlinc creates “drop in” videos of Christian music artists doing little promos like, “Go to camp,” or “Join the worship team.” They’re easy to drop in to PowerPoint announcements, iMovie, or burn to DVD.

For a donation of $10, Interlinc will send you

• 5 “Welcome To Youth Group” drop in videos by Christian music artists
• An article from their Youth Leader Only book titled, “An Old Guy’s Advice for Strategic Ministry”
• A great download Bible Study for a Kutless song

$25 donation – 36 Parables video from Youth Specialties

For a $25 donation, you receive both Interlinc’s gift above, plus a free download of a 36 Parables video, “The Car Lot,” from Youth Specialties.

If you like that video, check out the entire 36 Parables series!

And as an additional bonus for every Life In Student Ministry reader, regardless of if you donate or not, register for the 2009 National Youth Workers Convention, with coupon code LSMN09 to get a free convention t-shirt! The early-bird rate is good until August 14, 2009.

$50 donation – “One Month To Live” from Simply Youth Ministry

For a donation of $50, you receive Interlinc’s gift, Youth Specialties’ gift, and a free download of the 3-week sermon series, “One Month To Live,” from Simply Youth Ministry.

This series helps students identify the values that define them — while also shedding light on parts of their lives that may be holding them back from living for God. It covers topics like determining what matters most, deepening relationships, leaving a legacy.

$100 donation – 3 random ministry books

For a donation of $100 or more, you receive the 3 gifts above, plus I will mail you 3 random books from my ministry library.

(Limited to first 10 doners. 8 left.)

How to donate

Visit my ChipIn page to “chip in” and give securely online via PayPal. I will be in touch via email with links to download your gifts.

Contact me privately if you prefer to donate with a check instead of online.

Other donations

Any size gift is appreciated, whether it’s $10 or $1,000. Thank you!

Other ways to contribute

If you’re unable to donate or would like to contribute in a different way, consider building a website for your ministry through MinistryWebsites.biz or completing a referral for a free iPod Touch, iPhone, Xbox 360, Macbook, and more.

Yesterday in our LIVE Youth Ministry Conversation Adam McLane, Online Community-meister guy for Youth Specialties, talked with us about using online teen hangouts for our advantage in enhancing community at youth group. Not only did he give a lot of helpful insights and ideas for how these tools work in youth ministry, but many resources were recommended by the participants, both in the conversations and in the chat, for other ideas and ways to communicate and interact with teeangers online.

Plus, Adam offered a 30% discount on anything in the Youth Specialties store for LIVE YM Talk participants and podcast listeners. Listen to the recording to find out how to take advantage of that special offer, valid for one week only.

Listen to the whole conversation below or grab it in iTunes.

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Next Topic: Dealing with the demands of extra-curricular activities and how it effects our youth ministries

October 3rd: Brian Ford recently wrote a blog post that circulated to several youth ministry sites called, Are high school sports interfering with teens growing deep? He’ll be our featured guest next week to talk about the frustration we all have with teenagers: sports, jobs and almost anything else being a higher priority than youth group.

Join our next LIVE Youth Ministry Conversation!