As the BBC reports, this year - January to be precise - marks the centenary of what many consider to be the effective start of the war on drugs. Drugs is something we all know a fair bit about. Perhaps, even, it's an area in which we think we know a lot more than we actually do.

Personally, I think that we won't win the war on drugs until we take the fight to the places where drugs are being grown and produced. It's a foreign policy, perhaps even military, matter far more than it is a border control matter or a matter for local communities. But that's just my, very lay, view.

Wherever the solution lies though, the fact remains that it's always going to be an issue for communities to deal with, and it's always going to be an issue for youth workers.

Personally, I'm really blase about drugs education. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I just think that young people have heard it all before. Drugs education is very thorough and yet many young people will still give it a go. I am starting to think that there isn't anywhere near as much of a correlation as we think between the amount of drug education they receive and the likelihood that they will turn it down when it's inevitably offered to them.

But that probably doesn't mean that we shouldn't make drugs education part of our programmes, and it certainly doesn't mean that we should still maintain an active awareness of how to spot the signs of drug abuse and addiction.

If you want to do some drugs education with your group, by the way, talk to your local community police officer, who will be only too happy to turn up and do some really good input.

I think that a big part of keeping young people away from drugs lies in helping them to be happy, productive people with a lot of positive things in their lives. Not to mention, people with a strong faith in God. In other words, the stuff we should be doing as youth ministers anyway.

[image hotlinked from BBC News]

YouthLeadersAcademy.com has a great post about the essential elements of a training programme. As with all their stuff, it's worth a look.

Training is something I get involved with quite a lot and it always strikes me that there is a lot of fat that needs to be cut off, so to speak, in many cases. I have been involved in so many training programmes in which the participants have been put through everything except for the stuff that they actually need to know.

Training need the right balance between spiritual formation, team bonding and practical training. And practical training needs the right balance between principles, skills and resources.

Anyway, go read the article. They probably put it far better than I can!

The Wall Street Journal (yeah, I dunno why either!) has an article asking what's wrong with the teenage mind? A question which has no doubt baffled youth ministers, teachers and parents alike for a good few years.

Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with the teenage mind as such. It's just still developing and trying to find it's way in the world. It's nervous, it makes a few mistakes, and it has a few more hang ups than the rest of us.

In fact, I have often felt that part of the trick to youth ministry is in realising that in fact young people aren't really that different to adults.

Anyway, go read the article and see what you think. You may agree or disagree. As ever, all thoughts welcome...

ChurchLeaders.com has an interesting article on those times when people just lost interest in what we are doing.

We've all been in situations where we've had a great idea, but it just hasn't struck a chord with young people. Or where a previously succesful initiative has started to flag.

The Church is clearly in decline in many parts of the west in terms of numbers. It's not in decline everywhere, that's for sure, but in many places it is, and youth ministry is feeling the effects of this as much as anything else.

One of the key principles of Catholic Youth Ministry, for me, is not to accept that this decline is inevitable and that there's nothing we can do about it. The key to success is to believe that we can turn it around, and a big part of this is in being able to quickly identify why something isn't working and fix it.

So if something falls a bit flat you need to ask a few questions. Is it just a temporary lull or is the initiative basically dead? Do you need to change the initiative or replace it with something else altogether? What initiatives have you seen that do work with the same sort of group?

All other thoughts welcome...

The news about UK Catholics being given cards to carry, which we reported on yesterday is making news all round the world. Like here in the US and in Australia.

Last week, to mark World Communications Day, the editor of Independent Catholic News (a great site from which we get a load of stuff!) issued a short message about the site and about future developments.

Those in the US will be interested to know that Lifeteen has a new events page.

Pope Benedict features in a new illustrated children's book.

A teenager from Tottenham has been the first person in the UK to be charged with the offence of 'riot' following his part in last summer's disturbances. We wrote about young people involved in the riots and the consequences they have to face a few months back.

Katie Prejean has a great article about a youth minister's encounter with a former student.

And, over on the CNN religion blogs there is a great piece about reclaiming Jesus' sense of humour. For me, humour (of humor, if you're American) is a great thing in ministry. It's a great thing in life. I'm not sure I could get by without it to be honest :)

[image hotlinked from Flickr user NS Newsflash]