Divorcing Disruptive Kids? . . .
As I think back over my life in youth ministry, I realize that things would have been a lot easier if certain kids hadn’t shown up. Every year seemed to bring a handful of kids who took great joy in…
Read More
Little Ears. . . Big Mouth. . .
Comedian Brian Regan has a funny little bit (reality is, he’s got lots of funny bits!) on his propensity to blurt things out without thinking. . . and then trying desperately and without success to pull them back in. Like…
Read More
Recruit A Puritan Youth Pastor. . . .
“If it’s old, it can’t be the least bit insightful or relevant.” I used to believe that. I was young. In my mind, I was incredibly enlightened. Older folks were without a clue. Maybe you thought that about your parents.…
Read More
The Spirituality of Peer Pressure. . . .
The reality is that negative peer pressure is a spiritual battle all of us fight constantly, regardless of our age. Peer pressure is always there. It’s a fact of life in a sinful and fallen world. Our kids may know…
Read More
Kids, Work, And The Path To Flourishing. . .
Some of them are old enough to hold down part-time jobs. . . and so they do. Others are old enough to hold down part-time jobs, yet for any number of reasons, they don’t. All of them will someday leave…
Read More
“Did God Really Say?” . . . The Snake-Charmer And Youth Ministry. . .
The older I get, the more I see how important it is for me to put that stake in the ground. Then, I need to use that stake to tether me to God’s Word in ways that will hold me secure…
Read More
Framing Sexual Sanity. . .
In just a little over 50 years, our media culture has gone from treating matters of sexuality as a “hush-hush” topic, to putting all kinds of sexual practices and issues center-stage. That’s certainly been the case in the last few…
Read More
Twenty-One Pilots And Teen Stress. . . Talking Points. . .
It was a well over a year ago that I sat with our doctoral cohort at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary deconstructing a music video that featured a couple of mid-twenty-somethings riding oversized Big Wheels (admit it, we all want one, don’t…
Read More
Fifty Shades Returns. . . Darker. What Now?
I spent the last couple of days in Mississippi. On Wednesday night, I spoke to a gym full off parents and teens about pornography. What is it? Why are we drawn to it? What effect does it have on us?…
Read More
Lady Gaga’s Broken Halftime Theology. . .
First things first. No matter who you were rooting for, that was an amazing game. And second. . . let’s think about Lady Gaga and her halftime show. . . beginning with some thoughts on Super Bowl halftime shows in…
Read More
Super Bowl Commercials. . . A Little Exercise In Critical Thinking. . .
Parents and youth workers… why not make your Super Bowl viewing experience productive for you and your kids? I want to challenge you to see it as an opportunity to teach how to apply their faith to the glut of…
Read More
Teens and Self-Injury. . . A Helpful Infographic. . .
We’ve been talking about it for a couple of decades for the simple reason that far too many kids are doing it. “It” is self-injury. I’ve blogged on it on numerous occasions. Our good friend Marv Penner has become a…
Read More