Growing up I was “picked on” notoriously. There was the kid who threatened to kill me because he didn’t like my mail box, the era of the “anonymous” messages on my answering machine telling me I was stupid, name calling and “practical jokes,” that cut deep.…
Easter is right around the corner with a whirlwind of candy, plastic eggs, and fake grass. As one of the “big two” times of year people think about church, it’s natural for it to also be a time of outreach. Some ministries will go to extremes to launch their Easter egg hunt out of a helicopter, while others will go to lengths to ensure that Sunday is one of the most inviting of the year.…
My 8th grade son has always been the king of the deep question. From the time he was little, he has woken up in the morning not only talking (Before my coffee, I send him to his Dad.) but contemplating the struggles of humanity.…
There are lots of articles out there about how to “protect” your marriage. We have heard the statistics about wandering eyes and hearts that can lead to affairs, failure and porn addiction. I read a quote on ministry burnout recently that discussed how those of us in ministry can merely “accept” the “distance” that happens in our marriages caused by the drip, drip, drip of schedules, demands and even disillusionment.…
For years, I prayed for the “right one” to come along. I can remember sitting across from my friend John and telling him about the other guys I really liked. Then somehow in the span of three years and in spite of my move to another country, we became best friends and realized how much we could just be “ourselves” with the each other.…
The Christmas season is one we associate with celebration, laughter and joy. Hands down when I ask students their favorite holiday, this is the one that bubbles to the top of the list most times. Yet, the other day I was given a great reminder.…
This morning Twitter sent me a message that instructed me how to follow football on Thanksgiving. The essence of the message said that it’s really what the holiday is all about. Sports. They seem to take over everything these days. If you had asked me just a couple of years ago if sports was the enemy of youth group, I would have screamed, “YES!”…
I can recall my first major small group fail vividly from about 17 years ago. I had been in youth ministry for a few years by then, so I thought of myself as a little bit of an up-and-coming relational expert. …
A friend of mine says that opinions are like bellybuttons: everyone has one. We have them about EVERYTHING from frivolous things like the best flavor of Jolly Ranchers (cherry of course) to very serious “issues” like politics. As Believers in Christ we have particular thoughts on which translation of the Bible is “best,” when the rapture will happen, as well as every other “grey” area of Christianity where the interpretation is subject to human observation.…
We see it emerge all the time in our students. They “forgot” to turn in their camp permission slip on time, and we “just have to” let them come anyway. There is a conflict between the Saturday mission trip fundraiser and a game for the sport they play.…
