Resource Review - Getting Fired for the Glory of God

Getting Fired for the Glory of God: Collected Words of Mike Yaconnelli for Youth Workers By: Mike Yaconelli 139 pages Published by Zondervan/Youth Specialties

OVERALL - I have to be upfront about this review. I love Mike Yaconelli. We're talking total man crush here. I'd read his shopping list. I actually got to meet and shake Mike's hand once at a youth event. It's one of the highlights of my youth ministry life. In his voice I have heard the voice of God. His writing and speaking have had a profound impact on my life and ministry. Mike left us way too early.

So you've probably got a pretty good idea how this review is going to turn out.

These are collected essays that Mike wrote on a variety of youth ministry subjects. But they all have one thing in common. They're about youth ministers. 26 short essays or columns or whatever plus a DVD with two videos of Mike being Mike and a couple audio files of the same.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? It's about what it means to be a youth minister. It's about the challenges that face us in trying to serve Jesus, care for young people and keep the church off our backs. It's about us and who we are and why we follow this call. They are love letters, letters of reprimand, letters of hope. They are satires and tirades. They are comforting and challenging. You may not agree with what Mike says. He'd be the first to cheer you on. The idea is to think about what we do right and what we do wrong and what we might be able to do better.

It's an inspirational book. Inspiring us to think, pray, laugh, cry and dance. And just like the Gospels it's a very dangerous book. Dangerous to complacency of all kinds.

RESERVATIONS I'm so totally nonobjective here. Mike is going to make you jazzed up and impatient with what you see around you in youth ministry. It's almost inevitable you're going to get into trouble because of this book. But than that was the idea. Just don't say I didn't warn you!

RECOMMENDATION Buy the book. Read the book. Buy "Messy Spirituality" and "Dangerous Wonder", neither of which are youth ministry books. Don't try reading any of them before you go to bed. Buy extra copies because you're going to want to share this book but you're not going to want to share YOUR book.

I wanna be Mike Yaconelli when I grow up.