This weekend we are having a “Youth Takeover” service. This is where our youth serve in all the areas of the service from the band, ushers, greeters, etc… Also, Mark our youth Pastor, will be teaching. What’s fun about someone filling in for me is that we have this ritual where we have the speaker for the weekend give his message to our staff. This is totally brutal because we share honestly about the message, but it’s also very helpful because we are able to offer insights that always make the message better. While I don’t do this every week, I do this at times when I’m speaking at a conference or retreat and want some extra input. The guys find teaching the message to a few of us harder than to a few hundred people, but the benefits outweigh the awkwardness.

So here’s a question: How do you develop the other speakers in your church?