Confession time… I once auditioned for a national commercial. The tagline of the product? “Never let them see you sweat.” These commercials were famous. The spokesperson would offer an additional summary at the end of the ad, such as “Everyone feels pressure.…
It’s that time of the year. Sometime soon, if it hasn’t happened already, people will begin to either root in or leave your church. It can wear you down… even if you attempt to see it all through a healthy metaphor.…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… A healthy relationship with your senior pastor is a core part of a healthy youth ministry. I understand this isn’t often the case, and you may wonder most days what’s happening in his or her head. …
I can’t believe how many opportunities I’ve wasted taking students on mission trips. I know I’m not the only one. Mission trips are an amazing idea…but what we tend to do with them (or not do with them) is the real issue.…
Once upon a time, I thought it would be a great idea to fill a hot tub full of milk, sardines and pigs feet. Who hasn’t, right? It was one of those crazy youth ministry program nights where our leadership team thought up absurd things we thought we could get students to do.…
“You’ll only have to volunteer for a little while.” You’ve heard that one before, right? You may have even said it. It’s not the only lie you’ll hear or tell in church. For the record, this is not meant to be a “church critique” article. …
I’d like to tell you two stories. The first story involves how bands shift players around. It’s just the way it works. It’s rare to find the original group together like they when everything started. Audio Adrenaline, a Christian rock band that rose to fame in the mid-nineties, is no exception.…
Our church’s amazing children’s director recently resigned. It’s understandable financially. We couldn’t pay her what her household needed for her to keep doing the job. It wasn’t the first time our financial team approached her over the years to explain that the money coming in simply wasn’t able to sustain her position full-time.…
It’s hard to serve those who cause you heartache. (Pause with me a moment as we each consider who that is for us.) I’m going to guess we have one thing in common with our answers. It’s the reason why youth workers and pastors who are otherwise strangers can find immediate camaraderie with each other.…
The enemy of outreach… is outreach. It seems like every church has some advocate for its “outreach.” This could be a person in an official ministry role, be it paid or volunteer. In some situations, the pastor is the primary advocate (especially if he/she has a spiritual gifting in this area).…
