What Matters Most: When NO Is Better Than YES
By Doug Fields
5/5
()
About this ebook
Doug Fields
Doug Fields has been a leader in youth ministry for over 30 years. In addition to being a youth pastor at two churches for 11 and 20 years, Doug is the founder of Simply Youth Ministry, the co-founder of Downloadyouthministry.com, the author of more than 50 books, and is currently working with Youth Specialties & Azusa Pacific University (HomeWord’s Center for Youth/Family). More information about Doug is available at www.dougfields.com.
Read more from Doug Fields
Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry: A Personal and Practical Guide to Starting Right Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/57 Ways to Be Her Hero: The One Your Wife Has Been Waiting For Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Purpose Driven Youth Ministry: 9 Essential Foundations for Healthy Growth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Help! I'm a Student Leader: Practical Ideas and Guidance on Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Getting Ready for Marriage Workbook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Getting Ready for Marriage: A Practical Road Map for Your Journey Together Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Congratulations … You're Gifted!: Discovering Your God-Given Shape to Make a Difference in the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRefuel: An Uncomplicated Guide to Connecting with God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fresh Start: God's Invitation to a Great Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChiseled: A Young Man's Guide to Shaping Character, True Toughness and a Life That Matters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpontaneous Melodramas: 24 Impromptu Skits That Bring Bible Stories to Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpontaneous Melodramas 2: 24 More Impromptu Skits That Bring Bible Stories to Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First Few Years of Marriage: 8 Ways to Strengthen Your “I Do” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMore Would You Rather…?: Four Hundred and Sixty-Five More Provocative Questions to Get Teenagers Talking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHCSB One Minute Bible for Students Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSoul School: Enrolling in a Soulful Lifestyle for Youth Ministry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to What Matters Most
Related ebooks
The Core Realities of Youth Ministry: Nine Biblical Principles That Mark Healthy Youth Ministries Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A New Kind of Youth Ministry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Your Pastor Wishes You Knew Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMiddle Space Youth Work: A New Model For Youth Ministry and Outreach Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSoul School: Enrolling in a Soulful Lifestyle for Youth Ministry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTogether: Adults and Teenagers Transforming the Church Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Follow Me: Learning to Be a Disciple of Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mental Pastor: Understanding Mental Illness of the Clergy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGetting Students to Show Up: Practical Ideas for Any Outreach Event---from 10 to 10,000 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStorytelling The Disciple Making Path: Connecting Your Story to Jesus' Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod Nods: Discover the Greatest Treasure at Work Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSo Everyone Can Hear: Communicating Church In A Digital Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Performance Trap: And How The Gospel Sets Us Free Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRebooted: Reclaiming Youth Ministry For The Long Haul - A Biblical Framework Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tale of Two Youth Workers: A Youth Ministry Fable Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Making a Good Church Great: Becoming a Community God Calls Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommunication Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeep Ministry in a Shallow World: Not-So-Secret Findings about Youth Ministry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRelational Children's Ministry: Turning Kid-Influencers Into Lifelong Disciple Makers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTogether: A Guide for Couples Doing Ministry Together Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLive It. BE It. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Faith in Children Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adoptive Church (Youth, Family, and Culture): Creating an Environment Where Emerging Generations Belong Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrowing in the Life of Faith, Second Edition: Education and Christian Practices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Our Way: Reclaiming the First-Century Church in the Twenty-First Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLearn Before You Leap: 101 Case Studies for Youth Pastors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Christianity For You
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind... Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reflections on the Psalms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind Workbook: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God's Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Less Fret, More Faith: An 11-Week Action Plan to Overcome Anxiety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for What Matters Most
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Best reminder not only for the youth group but for every volunteer out there.
Book preview
What Matters Most - Doug Fields
ZONDERVAN
What Matters Most
Copyright © 2006 by Doug Fields
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.
ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-83494-6
Youth Specialties products, 300 South Pierce Street, El Cajon, CA 92020, are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.
ISBN-10: 0-310-27327-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-27327-1
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other (except for brief quotations in printed reviews)—without the prior permission of the publisher.
Web site addresses listed in this book were current at the time of publication. Please contact Youth Specialties via e-mail (YS@YouthSpecialties.com) to report URLs that are no longer operational and provide replacement URLs if available.
Creative Team: Dave Urbanski, Ty Mattson, Laura Gross, Janie Wilkerson, Heather Haggerty, and Mark Novelli
Cover design by Ty Mattson
Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook
Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my friend Matt McGill, who has served me faithfully as a coworker and friend for many years and helped me discover what matters most.
I also want to dedicate this book to my youth ministry friends (known and unknown) who serve God so faithfully and struggle with pace, balance, and busyness. I know you can win the battle—this book is a friendly letter to cheer you on
!
Thanks to my friends who read this manuscript and offered me both advice and encouragement. It’s so good to have people in my life like you—thanks Duffy Robbins, Marv Penner, Rick Lawrence, Jim Burns, Buddy Owens, Brian Bird, Jeff Brazil, Lance Witt, and Jana Sarti.
I do very few things of worth that my family isn’t somehow connected to, and they are the ones who have helped me really see what matters most. Cathy, Torie, Cody, and Cassie—you have ignited this message within me to help others discover what I’ve been looking for. Thanks for living life so well and being so much fun that I can’t ever stop thinking about how much I love you.
CONTENTS
01 I Had No Idea…
02 …Saying No Would Be So Difficult
03 My Long Journey from Yes to No
04 The Ministry Crash & Burn: Why It Happens
05 Avoiding a Personal Crash & Burn
06 There Must Be a Better Way!
07 Take Action…Because You Can
About the Publisher