Like many of you, we’ve been walking with this year’s senior class through the heartbreaking loss of their final high school semester. The conversations are raw, varied, and emotional. These teenagers are grieving, and their struggle is similar to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.…
So, yes, I watched about half of the just-completed season of The Bachelor. My embarrassment compels me to quickly explain—my 17-year-old daughter started watching this notorious (and wildly popular) show only this year, a permission that came with a price. Namely, that my wife and I would need to watch the show with her. …
As we prepare to celebrate MLK Day, we’ll see plenty of “greatest hits” quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr. So much of what he said about social justice and racial equality is still relevant today. But Dr. King said a lot of powerful stuff that will never make it onto a meme.…
I have a bad feeling about this. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a great disturbance in the force for supporters and critics alike. The film ends a 42-year-old story arc spanning nine primary movies, two side films, multiple TV shows, and endless supporting books.…
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A holly-jolly Christmas. Do you hear what I hear? Silver bells. The First Noel. We get it. The Christmas nostalgia in our soul’s cup “spilleth over.” But threaded through the music, food, and decorations of the Christmas season is a reminder of something greater and deeper—that God came near and continues to come near.…
In Part 1 of this short series, we followed Julie, a 10-year youth ministry vet, as she spent some of her “fall doldrums” time reinvesting in training and strategic reflection. With a fresh wind blowing in her ministry sails, Julie left her student-pastor luncheon with Jeff Henderson, author of FOR, already planning a celebration time with her team.…
Julie’s a 10-year youth ministry vet. That means she’s sailed her ministry ship into the doldrums over and over. The doldrums, as it turns out, is a real thing—it’s the name sailors have given to the Intertropical Convergence Zone, where the northeast and southeast trade winds converge into a stifling calm.…
“I…Am…Not…a…Loooooserrr!” It’s one of my favorite lines from Disney’s underrated 2000 movie The Kid, starring a Bruce Willis so young he still has hair. In the film, Willis’ arrogant and successful Russ Duritz has a mystical encounter with his pudgy, awkward 8-year old self. …
Kendra’s parents are waiting for longtime youth pastor Ralph Paige in his office—when he walks in the door, his church admin gives Ralph that “buckle up” look… It’s not going to be an easy conversation. Ralph welcomes “drop-in” conversations, but when most parents have a concern to bring up, they catch him in the hallway or call for an appointment.…
Not long ago I got off the phone with a “profoundly unhappy” mom whose daughter is a regular in our youth ministry. She launched into a long, emotional tirade about our ministry’s openness to “those kids”—teenagers who don’t yet love or follow Jesus. …
