The above picture was taken last night, the first gathering of a brand new small group of awesomely awkward 7th grade guys. See me leaning in on the right? The smile on my face masks a ton of anxiety about the year ahead.…
Andy Stanley recently said something to the effect of, “The church should be the safest place to talk about anything.” I’m no Andy Stanley, but the other day while talking to one of our interns I said something that I thought was equally brilliant: “Always make extending the conversation one of your goals.”.…
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.…
As a parent, you will find yourself wearing multiple hats, playing a variety of roles in the life of your child(ren). I’d like to list a few of the more prominent hats you will wear as you raise your kids. This list is both linear, in that there is a sort of progression through these roles as your children grow, and completely non-linear in that you will also find yourself constantly jumping between roles, wearing multiple hats at one time, etc.…
My daughter, Kayla, is 19 and a sophomore in college. She has become a big fan of the writing and speaking ministry of Bill Hybels’ daughter, Shauna Niequist. So I really wasn’t surprised to see her mention and link to one of her recent blog posts.…
First off, I realize this title may be the most obvious declaration in the history of column-writing. But I need constant reminding of this simple truth: Junior high ministry is about junior highers, not about me. Let me paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, who said, “When I write a speech, I spend 75 percent of my time thinking about what the audience wants to hear and 25 percent thinking about what I want to say.”…
In the interest of full disclosure, let me say this: I’m a fan of virtually every organization, event and effort that exists to minister to junior highers! If young teens are the focus of somebody’s efforts, then I’m probably a fan.…
I’m a FFB rookie; this is my first year “owning” a team. And I realize there are some undefeated teams out there, but I’m feeling pretty good (and lucky) about being 6-3 and tied for first. Here are a few comparisons I’ve noticed… – Week to week, you’re never sure what you’re going to get from your key players.…
We’ve all had conversations that we wish we didn’t have to have. The reason tough conversations are so tough is because they are awkward, unpredictable and we want to be liked by all and happy. So Kurt and I give two tips each on how to navigate these types of conversations.…
We went to the email bag with this topic. Remember email us at talkaboutym@gmail.com with your questions or topic suggestions. This is a topic that needs more attention and dialog. We decided to talk about it in the context of our on ministry. …
