I hate New Year’s resolutions. And I’m betting than I’m not alone in my hatred… I’m a very driven person. I succeed in many areas of life. But I typically do what many of us typically do when the calendar flips—I catalog my shortcomings and vow to do better.…
In addition to all the extra tasks and events during the Christmas season, it’s also one of the busiest times in ministry. There are Advent services, volunteer opportunities, meetings, social events, and parties. Plus it’s almost January, so we’re making sure summer camps and mission trips are booked.…
Gratitude gets wonky when we sit down at our Thanksgiving banquet table and look side to side, doesn’t it? Look to your right, and there’s your neighbor who went to school for fewer years than you, works fewer hours than you, and makes twice as much money.…
Youth ministry in the summer has always been a struggle for me. Ministry momentum slows way down because my teenagers re-focus their time on… Summer jobs Family vacations Camps Trips to grandma’s house Attendance is frustratingly inconsistent—without warning, we can go from 24 kids to 87 kids any given week.…
I could hear my heart beating in my ears. The oxygen in my lungs felt like concrete, dragging me down. I could barely breathe. Everything was riding on this, and I had only one shot. But I missed. Again. In the sun and sweat of the playground, it felt like the 40th time I’d whiffed at kickball (reality check—maybe it was really only the second or third time).…
What’s your big dream for your youth ministry this year? And can you sum it up on a T-shirt? Leadership guru Peter Drucker made the “T-shirt” challenge famous—his argument was that big goals should be so easy to understand that they fit on a T-shirt.…
From the last porch light of Halloween through the last light of the Christmas tree, our holiday schedules are packed! Cramming their way into our margins are school Christmas parties, staff get-togethers, and family dinners—and we haven’t even touched decorating, cooking, shopping, and wrapping.…
Before I launch into my confession-vomit, a few qualifiers… I love my church… I’d attend even if I didn’t work there (I know not every church staff member can say that with a straight face). I love and respect my pastor and my boss—my bullet-point confessions are not a veiled critique.…
Distractions define youth ministry because it’s a relational calling, and relationships are an engine for distraction. And if you’re like me, distractions are like catnip—three years ago a test for ADHD came back positive, though my friends could’ve told you that without a test.…
In Part 1 of this short series, we followed Julie, a 10-year youth ministry vet, as she spent some of her “fall doldrums” time reinvesting in training and strategic reflection. With a fresh wind blowing in her ministry sails, Julie left her student-pastor luncheon with Jeff Henderson, author of FOR, already planning a celebration time with her team.…
