The “Old Guy’s” Necessary Questions. . . .
Sometimes the passage of time brings the clarity that you were erroneously convinced you once had. Thinking, learning, listening, praying, and experiencing combine in a mix that makes the murky waters you once believed and defended as crystal clear, to…
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The Lie of Christmas. . . .
It’s getting crazy around here. . . . Christmas crazy. I look around and see – as Dave Matthews sings – “ants marching.” It’s the craziness of the Christmas rush. Why? Rather than ponder this anew, I thought I would…
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Seeking The Orgasmic Now. . . .
Yesterday we sat with some beloved friends in a local Chinese joint eating lunch and talking about – among other things – the state of the church. They were visiting from out-of-town and had just spent the morning worshipping with…
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2:20 and Thanksgiving. . . .
Twelve days ago I issued this challenge to our blog visitors: Let’s give glory, honor, and thanks to the God who has given us all things by getting 20 more Compassion children sponsored by Thanksgiving. I want to remind you…
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Do What Just Feels Right. . . .
Youth culture is a map and a mirror. It is both directive and reflective. We watch it to see where it’s sending us and our kids. We watch it to see where we are. We monitor, deconstruct, and exegete it…
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Levi, Playgirl, and Youth Culture. . . .
My buddy Andy Brazelton from Simply Youth Ministry has been in town visiting us at CPYU for the last couple of days. Since this is his first-time here in Central Pennsylvania and the Lancaster County area, he’s got lots of…
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The Before and After Thanksgiving. . . .
Even though I’ve discovered it’s sometimes incredibly painful, I want to keep being an “after” guy. I look at the “befores” of my life and I’m not happy they were ever there. I’m grateful for the transformational interventions that have…
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Home Run. . . Keller! . . .
Since the release of his bestseller The Reason For God, Tim Keller has been on my list of “be sure to recommend and read everything he writes” list of authors. There are lots of books in the world and lots…
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13 Hours of Musical Ecstasy. . . .
I experienced a wonderful and long overdue musical convergence this weekend. Sitting on either side of my Saturday night sleep were two musical moments that initially might sound like something from opposite ends of the musical spectrum, but were actually…
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Devil Music? . . . .
Last Saturday I sat in on a very interesting group during the Open Source afternoon at the National Youthworkers’ Convention in Cincinnati. One of the participants had suggested a discussion on “Teens and Media” that caught my attention. I wandered…
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Dear Youthworker. . . . About YS. . . . And Thanks Doug!
There are two voices in this blog today. . . . Walt:I’ve now had a little more than a week to process, discuss, and try to sort out what I think about the big changes announced last week at Youth…
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Stewards Past, Present, and Future. . . .
The November/December Youthworker Journal showed up in our mailbox yesterday. Much to my surprise and delight, the cover featured these words right there across the bottom: “Walt Mueller Gets Rich.” Wow! Well, the “Wow!” lasted about three-quarters of a second…
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