Five Minutes with Marko

3 Nuggets this time, on reframing dissatisfaction, a silly crowd breaker, and what I want for all of youth ministry.

A final four weeks of “small plates”. This time around Marko serves up questions, mistakes, flexibility, mystery, and rest!

Marko reflects on four seemingly insignificant moments from his own teenage years that significantly impacted the trajectory of his life.

Marko reflects on four seemingly insignificant moments from his own teenage years that significantly impacted the trajectory of his life.

One of the many secret sauces in great youth ministry--having rails to run on but being responsive to the need for shifts in our plans.

This final part of the three-part subseries on hope wraps things up and makes a bunch of suggestions for youth ministry.

In this second of a three-part subseries, Marko unpacks the model he developed to understand biblical hope.

A three-parter on biblical hope, starting with the story of how Marko discovered he had (like so many Americans) wrongly made hope and optimism synonymous.

Accurate feedback loops are almost non-existent in middle school ministry, which is part of why it’s so challenging to measure success.

A bit more devotional this week, as Marko shares thoughts from a time a few years back when he realized he was ignoring his spiritual wellbeing.

Marko briefly unpacks three essential components of leadership in a post-hierarchical world.

Our American culture tells leaders that asking for help is a sign of weakness and will push people away from you; but just the opposite is true.

Marko’s friend Paul Martin wrote a blog post years ago with this episode’s title, and Marko reviews a copy of it from time to time as he thinks about the junior high small group he leads.

Ask any youth worker who has stayed at the same church for more than 10 years, and they’ll easily provide a laundry list of benefits. In this episode, Marko unpacks four mindsets that can help you achieve longevity.

Three more nuggets in this collection: on embracing your oddity, creating safety in your ministry, and a poetic prayer for rest and rejuvenation.

Four nugs this week, including a 10-part collection of sub-nuggets! Confused? It’ll all be clear when you listen.

Three nugs in this episode on being childlike, why it’s important to get guys to do stuff, and defining the best life.

Think of this as four episodes of 90 Seconds with Marko, briefly touching on belonging, failure, and how to become a youth ministry veteran.

Marko looks at how our culture has massively swung the pendulum from treating young people like little adults, to treating them like children.

What’s the relationship between “who you are” and “what you do”? Marko suggests they shouldn’t be the same but can spoon.

Marko shares the story of how he got fired from a church over unspoken expectations. Bad endings for youth workers are pretty always due to misaligned values or unspoken expectations.

Marko shares a tension he used to struggle with, between his ability to manipulate teenagers into a faith decision and still wanting to offer those opportunities. He found help in a new mindset and language.

Marko shares five prompts to get you thinking about this important question, which you can use for your own growth in self-knowledge or with a team you do ministry alongside.

Marko quickly interviews Brock Morgan, author of The Anxious Teen, about the rise of anxiety in teenagers, and what we youth workers can do. (note: this is a double-size episode!)

Considering that little, seemingly innocuous part of your ministry that could be its downfall.