Chasing Small Fish! I recently heard someone say that we spend too much time chasing small fish. Small fish are those ever-elusive people who we try to get into our corner but never seem to be content. It’s funny how we spend so much time in our ministry trying to chase these small fish, but no matter how much we try we’ll never get them to change their minds, agree with our perspectives, or ever buy into our vision.…
A while back, our student ministry team met to plan out our winter retreat. I was a little hesitant to share what was really on my heart. Truth be told, I had been mulling over some different thematic approaches to teaching students some basic spiritual disciplines.…
“You sinned again. You call yourself a Christian?” “You think God loves you? Give up.” “You’re totally guilty. You know what you did.” “Why bother reading the Bible? You never get anything out of it.” In Ephesians 6:16, Paul warns us about the “the flaming arrows of the evil one.”…
To put it plainly, this is the most ADD generation we’ve probably ever seen. Attention spans range from 3-5 seconds, and if they’re not entertained, they’ll leave you in an instant. How should that affect our youth group meetings? Apparently there’s a “greater” debate out there between whether today’s teens are the smartest or the dummest generation America has ever seen.…
For some reason as I was reading Scott’s article, every time he said the phrase “Flash back” my mind went to “Flash Dance”! Maybe that’s because when I did his little exercise, that dumb movie was the first thing I “flashed back” to!…
The Facebook phenomenon continues to draw in younger and younger people these days. (Am I the only one with students who “exaggerate their age” on FB?) But at the same time, older and older people are increasingly finding their way to this online network.…
Over the years, death has impacted our student ministry several times. Recently, Tim (not his real name), one of the students who had been in my group on a Mexico trip, was killed in a car accident. After his death, I joined in the effort to reach out to his friends.…
January 20, 2009. A historical day for the nation as our first African American President took the oath of office. I love inauguration day. I’m always amazed at the spectacle that plays out when we witness the peaceful transfer of power.…
Teenagers today meet, interact, and converse in an ever-increasing digital manner. It seems like overnight, they’ve gone from a dial-up generation to a digital logon generation. We are living in a time when parents can no longer chaperone their teenager in every conversation with their friends, accompany them at every social event or outing, or police their daily activities.…
MTV’s popular America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC) features street dance crews from across the United States. Described by some as a cross between America Idol and Dancing With the Stars, ABDC gives viewers a glimpse of the best dance crews on the scene as they pour out their hearts and souls competing for a shot at the $100,000 prize money and for a coveted spot on the ABDC Tour.…
