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.…
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.…
Let’s be honest… evangelism weirds most Christians out. We fear doing “bad evangelism” to the point that we do the worst kind of evangelism… we say nothing. We’re afraid of becoming a stereotype. Perhaps that’s why I was so inspired by a street preacher I recently encountered while driving by his spot on a local corner.…
I’d advertised the opportunity well. “You’re invited to join our Student Leadership Team.” It was my second week at the church, and the students didn’t know me or what to expect from this invite. All they knew was that whomever was on this team would become point leaders in our youth group.…
Camp problems. I’m talking bugs coming into the bed… and no hot water all weekend. Not the usual stuff you might deal with on a weekend away with students. Normal camp problems usually involve wondering “Is this a tan, or just dirt?”…
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.…
So… what do you think of this sign? Apologies. I’m actually asking you the wrong question. It reminds me of how someone recently asked me, “Does the idea of the ‘church’ even work anymore?” That’s also not the right question.…
I had no idea I lived next door to a softball rockstar. Courtney and her family moved into the neighborhood during her sophomore year. We found out they were Christians, which they displayed over and over through tangible acts of service.…
For some teenagers, the weight of the world keeps them focused on their overwhelming problems, resulting in varying degrees of sadness and discouragement. The destructive power of depression results in loneliness and isolation. Much of what we wrote about this week will also apply when ministering to a student struggling with depression: engage and be present, listen well, and connect/refer them to professional help if the problem is serious.…
Pick a poison: there are so many crazy things in our world which can ensnare human desire. The destructive power of addiction is a dominating force of control. For most people, addiction a hopeless place filled with patterns that feel unbreakable.…
