I was on Notre Dame’s sideline watching #52 warm up a week ago. #52 is Braxton Cave, an amazing young man whom I’m so very proud of. I’m not gonna lie, it’s kind of fun to be able to say that kid was in my middle school youth group when his whole body was about the size of his current bicep.…
There’s a man in my church who won’t look me in the eye. He won’t say hi to me; he won’t shake my hand. For whatever reason, this guy seems to not like me very much. For a youth pastor, that’s hard.…
There are all kinds of transitions. This isn’t necessarily about a new church; it could be moving into a new position in the church you are in, transitioning your programming, a new boss, or maybe you are in transition in your personal life.…
Christ, in the Gospel of John chapter 15, makes his final “I am” statement. He calls himself the “true vine” and God the Father the “vine dresser.” In the analogy, we, the followers of Christ, are the branches that come off of the vine.…
I’ve finally fulfilled my New Year’s resolution. It’s only taken me 11 months and 10 days, but I finally signed up for a gym membership. I decided to sign up for someone to show me around. I needed some direction, some pushing, and a personal trainer to guide me in this new territory called “getting in shape.”…
Rated PG I remember, when I was a kid, being endlessly addicted to watching Nickelodeon. I loved it. Everything from Sharon, Lois, and Bram’s Elephant Show and David the Gnome to Double Dare and GUTS (I’m not sure why that one was always in all caps).…
My wife got one of those food sealer contraptions. You know, the ones you can vacuum seal everything from chickpeas to chicken. It really is quite a thing. As soon as I saw it, my mind went to youth ministry. I started thinking about incorporating a bit in our programming called “Will it seal?”…
Whether you’ve been in youth ministry for three years or 30 years, you quickly learn that coffee (or caffeine for that matter) is a staple. You can take joy in the fact that at any time you can press a button and have a beautiful beverage.…
It seems that a lot of pastors and ministers use the early church as the ultimate model of what the church should be today. And honestly, I’m one of those pastors. What did it look like in its purest form? But I’m also the guy who thinks that the church of today has brought some great additions to the table.…
