Life is a process of becoming. A caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. A maggot mutates into a fly. A teen morphs into adulthood. Creation is in a process of transforming, mutating, morphing—becoming. This becoming, however, is harder than it seems, especially for young leaders in the church.…
In my teen years, I was the epitome of being a hearer only and not DOING what the Word said (James 1:22). I was a believer, but because I believed lies and had little accountability, I lived a double-life. I see compartmentalized teenage Christians everywhere, everyday.…
Should the “youth” in our youth ministry be our primary focus? Wherever we go these days, we’re introduced as guys who really have a heart for today’s generation of young people. And of course we do. We love teenagers, are quick to defend them, and are passionate about understanding them.…
I know…I’ve got it bad. So bad, in fact, that I check the Broncos Web site almost daily. I like to keep up with the running pre-season stories and see which underdogs are going to make the team. Given that this is the last week of the pre-season, all of those “on the bubble” players are going to be cut.…
I can still remember the surprising question a senior pastor asked me during my first youth ministry job interview: “What will you do if one of the girls from the youth group tells you that she’s pregnant?” I didn’t see this one coming and had no idea how to respond.…
About a month ago God performed a “celebrity smack-down” on me. He was the celebrity, I was the smack-ee. My overlapping responsibilities as editor of GROUP and creator of GROUP Magazine Live (www.group.com/reignite), combined with some chronic health problems in my family, had sucked the life out of me.…
Had a bummer of an experience yesterday evening at Lone Star Steakhouse. We ordered up 3 big meals for the adults and there was plenty of food to share with the kids to save a few bucks and not buy kids meals, and just get them drinks.…
This summer I got so tired of hearing and seeing the results of sin at our summer camp that I wanted to quit everything. One night I actually cried myself to sleep from a combination of tiredness and my hatred for sin.…
Mike Yaconelli died suddenly. He was one of my youth ministry heroes but more importantly, a personal friend. I went to the family funeral last week and it’s still difficult to believe that Mike is gone. My friendship with Mike started 17 years ago with a practical joke and ended with Mike praying for me a week before he died.…
I always ask permission before I share with you an e-mail from a fellow youth worker and I’m thankful that I can share this with you. It’s real, it’s raw, and it’s a great reminder to know your priorities and manage your time.…
