Professional sports is brimming with mid-numbing clichés, but every once-in-a-turquoise-moon an athlete says something that makes you think. On my drive home the other day I took a break from the depress-athon of world news to give my soul a little breathing room on sports-talk radio.…
Almost every day, I use these [tweet_dis]10 gadgets to enhance or simplify my youth ministry[/tweet_dis]: 1. AirPort Express ($99; apple.com/airport-express)—In addition to providing Wi-Fi in our youth room, this also offers support for Apple’s AirPlay. AirPlay lets me send music wirelessly to our soundboard by connecting it to my AirPort Express with an audio cable.…
One surprising privilege we enjoy as baptized followers of Jesus is our unique ability to commit heresy. I mean, only a believer can say or do something heretical, by definition. You have to believe in something before you turn it into a twisted belief.…
Researchers now say the key to happiness is wanting less. If you don’t want much, the theory goes, you won’t be disappointed. According to Barry Schwartz in The Paradox of Choice, the abundance of choices today leaves us feeling less satisfied overall.…
Editor’s Note: The Shack is the bestselling work of Christian fiction in history—it was written by a first-time author named William Paul Young, who made 15 copies of the manuscript to give to family and friends, and never expected it to be published.…
Job interviews are so stressful that they can cause pain. We think through every word, over-analyze the questions, and beg God to tip the scales for us. And I’m describing what employers like me, not just applicants like you, must endure… In almost 20 years as a pastor (and a veteran of youth ministry myself), I’ve interviewed a lot of potential youth pastors.…
A single text from T.J., my oldest son, instantly sent me down a dark path of despair. “NO!” I yelled, pounding my desk so loudly that coworkers came running. My greatest fear as a dad had just rushed from a locked cabinet inside my brain to the small screen in front of me.…
Over the past several years, one of the hottest topics in the youth ministry world has been faith abandonment—specifically, when kids “graduate” from youth group. It’s an important conversation to have, for sure. Experts have identified lots of culprits that cause young people to fall away.…
I’ve been leading and influencing young people for a long time, both in a church setting and also as a public-school coach. And threaded through the thousands of conversations I’ve had with students is one overriding need—to belong to something bigger than themselves.…
Editor’s Note: Any youth pastor who’s been through the trauma of getting fired (or a “forced resignation”) will tell you that it’s only a matter of time before it happens to you. So, what should you do if the axe falls?…
