If You Feed Them, They Will Come
My three daughters love animals. So it was no surprise recently when my oldest daughter asked if we could put up a bird feeder. I agreed to put up the feeder, but in the back of my mind I had my doubts.…
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince–A Review
I’m willing to forgive much in movies based on books, such as the Harry Potter franchise. The actors are looking much older than their bookish counterparts—that’s understandable and unavoidable. And there simply has to be some cutting of threads and plots from the books—particularly from the middle of the series when the books were bloated, 800-page behemoths.…
Help…I’m Overwhelmed
Everyone in youth ministry knows the pressures of feeling like you have too much to do and not enough time to do it. So with that in mind I’ll get right to it. You need help. I need help. Money is scarce and volunteers are our only option.…
Long-Haul Love
I’ve counseled kids through almost every imaginable problem and cried through almost every type of tragedy. Solomon was right: There’s nothing new under the sun. So how do you keep your love for teenagers real? Back in college, I was on a bus returning from a ministry tour.…
Above Reproach
Researcher Dr. Leonard Sax, author of Why Gender Matters, says gender differences are hard-wired: “There do appear to be distinct differences that influence how boys and girls experience the typical school classroom; how they understand instructions to clean the room; and how they respond to emotionally arousing situations.”…
True Confessions of a Musical Idiot
I have a confession: I’m a youth a pastor who’s a musical idiot. I like music. I’m just horrible at all of it. I can’t sing a note. I don’t know jack about youth culture music. I stink at name that tune.…
Youth Ministry Minute: Twitter & the End of the World As We Know It
The other day I was carefully observing the speed limit as I raced past a highway on-ramp-and that’s when something…organic…caught my eye. There, not 20 feet from rush-hour traffic, I saw two adult geese-one in front, one behind, with five little goslings sandwiched between them-waddle-parading their way up the center of the on-ramp into certain carnage.…
Righteous Youth Ministry
Proverbs 21:2-3“All the ways of a man seem right to him, but the Lord evaluates the motives. Doing what is righteous and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” “But I’m doing youth ministry the way it should be done.”…
The Proposal
Rated PG-13 One of my favorite questions to ask people is what movie they’ve seen the most times in theaters. I think if you’re going to spend your money to see a movie multiple times, what you choose to see says a lot about you.…
Confidence
As I’ve been watching students developed into leaders, I’ve noticed that their leadership skills grow in direct proportion to their growth in confidence. So how do we as youth leaders help our students grow in confidence? What are the intentional actions we need to take to help students believing in themselves?…