Somehow, it’s working… For the past 10 months we’ve been trying to nurture a “community within a community” inside our youth ministry. We call it Squad, and it’s changing how we do everything. It began a year ago, when a few adult leaders and I talked about getting more of our teenagers serving in leadership roles.…
After 40 years, we’re finally learning Han Solo’s backstory—and it’s a big deal, because our backstories help others know us more deeply. And that’s exactly why it’s important to learn as much as we can about Jesus’ backstory… We got a lot of backstory about Luke and Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. …
How much of your last year of high school do you really remember? My clearest memory is the beach party I had with friends the morning after my graduation. We’d spent the evening and early morning hours having clean fun all night in Chicago, somehow ending up on Lake Michigan at sunrise. …
It’s the most emotionally intense, violent, and curse-ridden film of the Marvel cinematic universe so far… and everyone’s buying a ticket to see it. Avengers: Infinity War goes places other superhero films don’t. Embedded among the snarky jabs and insider humor, the film explores provocative questions about faith.…
The trip was doomed from the start, and it was my fault. Mike and Matt were twins who barely got along. Ryan was an introvert who wanted to play it safe all week. Lena was home-schooled, and this was her first overnighter trip away.…
By my calculations, I’ve stolen around 14 minutes of face time with Pastor Bill Hybels. That number adds up to the time I attended Willow Creek Community Church as a teenager, interned there as a young adult, considered a key ministry role with them a decade ago, and randomly spoke with Bill at conferences.…
Jesus takes great pleasure in upending the status quo. Extreme hate is overcome by humble love. Selfish sin is transformed by selfless sacrifice. The greatest persecutor of the early church became the greatest evangelist of the entire world. The new movie Paul, Apostle of Christ illustrates this in a way we haven’t seen before. …
If hindsight is 20/20, what piece of advice would you give your past self? I used to hope that my ministry experiences would help me feel more mature. In reality, every year I grow more aware of my immaturity. Perhaps both create “growth,” but I’ve definitely felt the pain of embarrassment more than the joy of getting it right.…
Good. Evil. Wonder. Hate. Love. Philosophy. But no Jesus. That would be “A Wrinkle in Time.” Based on author Madeleine L’Engle’s book, this movie adaptation is overwhelming in intent yet underwhelming in delivery. Audiences of all ages have been waiting to see how well the novel would translate to the screen only to end up sorely disappointed.…
Recently, three students met with me (and another leader) to share, for the first time, that they’d made a decision to embrace their transgender identity. Let that sink in—instead of running from the church at a moment like this, all three felt safe enough to open up about their journey and seek out a closer relationship with Jesus, wherever that might lead them. …
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