What's all this Revolution talk?

I became a professional youth worker in the days when there were no resources for youth workers. We few professionals were all super-creative pioneers trying different things and sharing our stuff with each other. I kept all my game ideas in a three-ring notebook which I protected as if it was the crown jewels.

My friend Mike Yaconelli was a Campus Life leader with his own notebook of game ideas. He and Wayne Rice came up with the idea to actually publish a resource book of ideas for youth workers and found someone crazy enough to help fund it. They came to a number of us and asked for the contents of our binders. Because they were going to publish these ideas, they wanted to share the wealth. They offered us $10 for each idea they published. In those days, ten bucks was a pretty good deal but most of all we were stoked that our crazy little idea was actually being used by others.

Those guys scratched an itch. Youth Specialties was born and the Idea Book turned into a series of books that are still sold today.

The landscape of youth work has changed much in those many decades. Virtually any church worth it's salt has hired a youth pastor; resources are plentiful; college degrees are built for youth ministers.

Much of the creative work being done today is coming from a few top pros who expect the youthworkers in the trenches to buy their latest greatest ideas. This situation, plus a publishing industry driven by marketing instead of content or need, has not always allowed those creative individuals who are coming up with great ideas that really connect with modern day kids to have a voice. (Besides, most of those people are far too busy doing real ministry to want to hit the road hawking their stuff.)

We at Unkommon Media believe that the tools are now at hand that allow youthworkers to access the wonder and depth of God-given creativity at work in the fellowship of those who spend their lives with kids. We believe that it is possible to show our appreciation to our fellow youthworkers who have come up with a hot idea, or done some serious work, to put together a teaching resource that rocks with our kids by sending them, not some publisher (or Rupert Murdock), a few bucks.