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.…
Sometimes the movement of history feels glacial; sometimes it turns on a dime. And sometimes, today for instance, history shoves us off the subway platform onto the tracks. Now we must learn how to “live and breathe and move” in a world where “pandemic” is no longer a plot device in a film but a present reality.…
It’s helpful to look at things we already think we know well through a new filter. That’s how we jettison ourselves from ruts and cure ourselves of blindness. So, what if we sampled some standard youth ministry “givens” and looked at them through a doctor’s filter?…
The last time I saw Aaron, he was learning about life skills at a training session for at-risk teenagers. At the time, he was close to the cliff’s edge—where kids who are drug-addicted and homeless slip into oblivion. His parents didn’t know or care where he was.…
If you are you have been in youth ministry for more than a few years, you’re likely familiar with the term “Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism” (MTD)—a descriptor invented by Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist-Denton in their groundbreaking report on the National Study of Youth and Religion (Soul Searching).…
Money doesn’t have to be difficult, so why do we make it that way? When you really boil good money management down to the basics, it’s all about four things: working, giving, saving and spending. That’s it. So when you teach young kids about money, all you really need to do is show them a simple version of what you are (hopefully) doing already. …
We are living in a connection driven world. Every day it seems technology is advancing to help us better stay in touch with those we love. The upside of this is that those high school reunions are way less awkward now that we can deal with all the drama before we ever get there.…
I remember asking my supervisor for budget approval to purchase a new video camera. I was ready for him to tell me I was asking for too much money. I presented my request, and there was no discussion. It was a resounding “yes.”…
Salvations, re-commitments, powerful worship, blood on the wall leading into the sanctuary, a busted eye leading to a parent picking up a student to go get stitches, and a trail of blood on the sanctuary carpet… Yes, each of those happened at my recent Back2School Lock-In.…
I have never been able to pull together much of a routine in any area of my life. This includes reading my Bible. That doesn’t mean I don’t get into the Word every day—it just means I don’t interact with my Bible the same way, every day.…
