I just recently just finished my two year Cadre journey with Jeanne Mayo. Judy Gregory, one of Jeanne’s key staff members is convinced that Jeanne is one of the best kept secrets in youth ministry. After my experience, I would one up that and say she is one of the best kept secrets on the planet for ministry in general. The Cadre was one of the best experiences in my life

If You’re In Youth Ministry and You Don’t Take Advantage of The Cadre... You’re an Idiot!

Jeanne is the Real Deal -when you see leaders from a distance, it’s easy to question if they’re the real deal or not. Jeanne is! She has been in ministry for over forty years! She has so much wisdom, loves people more than anyone I’ve ever seen, and will literally do anything to enable you to do what God’s called you to do! I’m so grateful that I’ve gotten to get to know her and interact with her!

You Make Friendships that will Last a Lifetime -Looking back, the greatest things about the Cadre was the relationships you build. I have 5-6 guys that I know we’ll stay connected for the rest of our lives. People in other states, that don’t know your church or the people around you, who can give you perspective and encouragement to get through anything!

You will Have Life Experiences You’ll Never…I Stress Never, Forget - Jeanne is beyond intentional with creating life experiences for people. Things most people would never have the opportunity to experience. I’ll never forget my Cadre experience.

To Jeanne, Judy, Jordan, Bethany, Christina, Adam, the MC students, and everyone else who made this experience possible: Thank you so much. It’s definitely a huge mile marker in my life and ministry! You’re all such a huge blessing!

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I am so excited! I’m leaving today for Atlanta for our Cadre Advance with Jeanne Mayo.  I’ve had a few posts on this experience so far:

• Ministry Highlight: The Cadre -> A Must for Youth Pastors
• My Life Changing Trip to Atlanta
• It’s Ok to Not be Ok

Here is a picture of our Cadre this year! I love these people like family! I can’t wait to see them!

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This book was a recommendation from one of my mentors, Jeanne Mayo. She recommends it to everyone she knows, she’s read it more than any other book she’s read, and she gives this book out more than any other book. Obviously – I had to read it.

It was a great book that really focuses on getting your mind in tune with the Word of God. The book is based on Phil. 4:8 which tells you what your mind should be thinking about all the time. I found this book to be very practical. It provides a lot of questions to ask yourself and a lot of exercised to get your headed in the right direction when it comes to your thought life. We all have a battles going on in our minds – thoughts fighting for our focus and attention. This book will help you focus on the right ones. An excellent read, and a must for a leaders bookshelf.

Final Grade: 9/10     Buy it here

Some Highlights:

• All lasting change is preceded by changed thinking
• The secret conversations you hold in the privacy of your mind are shaping your destiny little by little
• Right thinking is a choice you have to make for yourself the rest of your life
• Your life here on earth is your special, unrepeatable opportunity to fulfill God’s vision for your life and to magnify the joy He has placed within you.
• Live each hour as if your full potential has already materialized
• Emotions don’t reveal the quality of your life; they reveal the quality of your thinking at any particular moment
• Do not affirm what you do not want in your life
• When you allow God’s word to permanently occupy your heart and mint, in inevitably shapes your desires and goals.
• Worry is when you trust your fears more than you trust God

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¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. -I Thess 1:11

So last week I got to go to Jeanne Mayo’s house for our 2nd Cadre Advance. It was an incredible time! I’d like to share a few things I took away from the experience.

It’s Ok to Not be Ok – One night we broke into our iron groups and shared our deepest hurts, fears, and secrets. It was definitely a bond breaking moment as well as a moment that brought the people in our groups together as a family. We then prayed for and encouraged one another. How great would it be if we did this in our homes with our closest friends? Who are you being real with? Praying for? Encouraging?

The Thing about Leaders is They are Just Like You - It is an amazing privilege and honor to be mentored by Jeanne Mayo. I love how honest, transparent, and vulnerable she makes herself in order to invest in leaders. Jeanne really helped me realize that no matter how much influence someone has or how big their name is, they have to go through life just like anyone else, they experience problems, become lonely, have struggles, etc. Once we recognize this we can take our eyes off the leader and focus them on God. This enables us to be there for the leaders, add even more value to their vision, pray for them, and encourage them.

Character is Everything - we hear it over and over again, but character is absolutely essential to accomplish and sustain what God has called us to do. Talent is able to get you to the top, but character is what keeps you there.

Excellence Matters – One thing I see at every successful church, business, family, etc. is that they do everything with excellence. Jeanne is a master at this! Literally every second we were down there was intentional and done with excellence. The outcome? A life changing experience that nobody will ever forget. Excellence will get people saved, change peoples lives, and keep people coming back. What experiences are we creating for people with our commitment to or lack of excellence?

Tokens Are the Best – Jeanne is the queen of giving tokens away. By tokens I mean items that are given to the audience to symbolize and represent a main point of a message. I.e. a paintbrush when the speaker talked about life being a painting and we’re the artists that paint the strokes. I think I have 4 or 5 tokens from Jeanne’s, and because of them, I’ll never forget the lessons she taught. I actually took home something tangible. Do you use tokens in your sermons? Camps? Retreats?

There are so many more lessons I learned on the trip… perhaps I’ll share some more tomorrow!

If you’re a youth pastor – you should seriously consider applying for The Cadre!

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What they do: A coaching ministry for youth pastors – Jeanne Mayo, who has been in youth ministry for 40 years personally mentors you along with several other youth pastors around the country through a monthly conference call and two retreats to her house in Atlanta.

What You’ll Get:http://www.youthsource.com/ylc/cadre_about.html

Website: http://www.youthleaderscoach.com/cadre.html

Apply Here: http://www.youthsource.com/ylc/cadre_requirements.html

Personal Testimony: I’ve just wrapped up my first year of being mentored by Jeanne through this program and I can definitely say it was life changing! This is such an amazing experience in so many ways – whether it’s gleaning wisdom from Jeanne’s 40+ years of experience, developing friendships with some of the greatest youth pastors in the country, or all of the surprises you get throughout the year, this will be an experience you’ll never forget. I’ve heard testimony after testimony of the principles learned through this ministry, when applied, have revolutionized youth ministries around the country. If your a youth pastor, you need to sign up for this ministry right now – it’s beyond worth the money. Get ready for a life change…

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Just got back from another incredible Cadre Retreat… I wanted to unplug at least a little so I didn’t blog at all while I was there… Here are some pics – I’ll highlight the Cadre ministry tomorrow and blog on the experience as well in the next few days… Enjoy:

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