A Letter to Senior Pastors. . . .
Dear Pastor, I’ve asked your youthworker and your students’ parents to forward this letter on to you. It’s about the kids in your congregation and the powerful role that you play as their pastor in their spiritual nurture. I know…
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Friday Fodder. . . Something To Think About. . .
My head tends to be a jumble of stuff. It’s a changing mixture that combines things I’ve read, seen, and heard in a mix that I continually pray prompts thinking, being, and ministering in ways that bring glory to God…
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Teens and Anxiety. . . Some Helpful Words. . .
Ever feel like this? . . . Apparently anxiety was a problem way back when Time Magazine ran this cover in 1961. The covered featured the now-familiar Edvard Munch painting known as “The Scream.” Interestingly enough, Munch painted this way…
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Friday Fodder. . . Something To Ponder. . .
My head tends to be a jumble of stuff. It’s a changing mixture that combines things I’ve read, seen, and heard in a mix that I continually pray prompts thinking, being, and ministering in ways that bring glory to God…
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Why Youth Ministry Shouldn’t Be The Greatest Show On Earth. . .
The truth is that I was jealous. I was convinced that there was no way I could compete. Even worse, I believed there was a competition. I was a young youth worker doing ministry in a suburban church during the…
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Parenting: What Did You Expect?!?
It couldn’t have come fast enough. . . the birth of our first child, that is. Thirty-five years ago we learned that “we” were pregnant. As the anticipation built as fast as my wife’s belly grew, I spent countless nights…
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Chris Pratt. . . I See What You Did There. . .
I’ve watched it several times now. Several of my friends thought enough of it to message it to me. It’s Chris Pratt’s gone-viral acceptance speech upon receiving The Generation Award at the MTV Movie and TV Awards the other night.…
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Marriage Matters. . .
In her book Love Thy Body, Nancy Pearcey shares how one poll found that almost half of all millennials have given up the hope and perhaps even the desire for a monogamous relationship. Pearcey writes, “The hookup culture is unraveling…
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Grace, Truth, And Tensions. . .
How do we balance it out? How can we maintain that tender balance between grace and truth that marked the life and ministry of our Savior, and must mark His bride, the Church? I’ve been attempting to navigate that tender nexus…
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Miss America. . . Finally. . . .
No more bathing suits for Miss America. That news broke yesterday as fourteen of us are in the midst of spending two weeks together talking about the intersection of faith and culture. Monday was the first day of this residency…
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“13 Reasons Why” . . . More Thoughts And Helps. . . .
I’m still thinking about what I saw and heard during my head-spin-inducing binge-watch of season 2 of “13 Reasons Why.” I had my handy notebook at my side and scribbled all over the place as the dialogue on the screen,…
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Ireland, Abortion, and Talking With Our Kids. . .
It rattled me. It was a punch in the gut. When U2 voiced their opposition to Ireland’s ban on abortion and related support for the referendum to overturn the abortion ban, I was distressed. A band known for integrating their…
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