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.…
Every day, news reports about tragedies, wars, and other shocking developments shake us to the core. Politics are increasingly volatile, violence seems rampant, cultural norms are tough to figure out, and even our faith systems appear to be fraying at the seams.…
From the moment I stepped through the door of “ministry” my view on the “holidays” changed. Thanksgiving became navigating phone calls of both those wanting to drop off an extra Turkey, mixed with getting them to the families who needed them.…
“Isolated in a world full of connection.” This is how a student described herself to me last week in our small group. She was sharing how she feels like all of the ways we “show ourselves” to the world just creates an illusion of perfection, and causes drama among her peers.…
I recently stopped in a specialty shop to buy a birthday present. The owner was British, and we started chatting about the differences between America and his homeland. “Americans are really busy,” he said. “Everyone has so much to accomplish all the time.…
Last week I looked into the eyes of some very apprehensive 11-year-olds. It was their last Sunday in “KidzTown.” Even though we made a big deal about “graduating them” up to youth group, still some pulled me aside and asked if they could have just “one more week” before they aged out of children’s ministry.…
The “untraditional family” has become the “traditional” family. The US Census indicates over 7 million grandparents in the US raising their grandchildren. I have found on some sites discussing the issue of “fatherlessness” that one in three children are born to a never married parent.…
Youth ministry is shifting and changing. It is morphing into something it has never been before, and I am not sure any of us know what it will become. We know that there are some students who want to be at youth group anytime the doors are open, and others that seem to fade in and out.…
Messes, I have made them in ministry. I have made incorrect choices that would make you break into a cold sweat and hives. I have made mistakes, and some big ones along the way. I have not thought out plans, and paid the price.…
The promise of a new year is also, always, the promise of a “new you.” In my life, the promise of a “new you” translates to a deep desire to be a better youth worker. I look out on the sea of perfectionistic, entrepreneurial, social-media-tethered teenagers and ask myself: How can I help them boldly live for Jesus?…
