After more than two decades in youth ministry, I’m honestly still trying to figure out my job on a daily basis. That isn’t insecurity speaking; it’s a youth pastor admitting I’ll never be perfect at my job-slash-ministry. Pair that with today’s ever-changing culture, and just when I start getting good at something, it changes or becomes obsolete.…
People love clarity. When youth workers are confident in their direction, clarity truly helps them and their entire leadership team move forward. When we know where we’re heading and can clearly communicate that to people serving in our ministries, everyone can serve more confidently and effectively.…
You can’t save the world alone. But do you even feel like saving the world at this point in your life? Those deep concepts are at play in the new movie Justice League. Months after Superman’s death, the world has become a thoroughly dark, depressed place.…
The van-ride home from a retreat or trip alternates between chaos and peace as kids relive highlights from the week. The caffeine is finally wearing off, and the exhaustion is setting in. If you’re like me, when I pull the van into the church parking lot I have two emotions sweep over me: relief that we made it home, and a kind of sadness that the experience is over.…
Summer was in full swing. Katie was seven months pregnant—due the second week in August. And me? I was “pregnant” with three camps, a mission trip, a fall planning retreat, and our annual VBS week. All packed back-to-back through June and July, leading right up to Katie’s due date. …
The pace of youth ministry in the summer can be fierce. Once the train leaves the station, trying to get rest and refuel while the train is in motion can be a real challenge. It’s rarely convenient or possible to carve out a week or even a couple of days to recharge your batteries following summer youth events.…
I looked over the crowd of students as they stared at me blankly. My hope had been for a reaction filled with excitement and wonderment, and that overwhelming number of students would raise their hands when we asked who would want to sign up for a local service opportunity to help our community.…
I’ve worked with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) youth as a youth pastor and counselor for the last 15 years. Because I’ve listened to their stories for years, I know the world looks alienating at best and hostile at worst to them.…
There is a big difference between privacy and secrecy—once again, we’ve been reminded of that difference in the most painful of ways. This week the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News published an in-depth investigative report on the widespread and systematic sexual abuse of minors in Southern Baptist churches over the last 20 years.…
Like many of you, I’ve got ministry friends all over. When the rumblings of a quarantine first started, I reached out to a few of my closest friends to mine their perspective on what might happen. When reality set in, I reached back out to see what student ministry would look like inside our new reality.…
