Teens and Abortion. . . There’s An App For That. . . .
During yesterday’s drive from Pennsylvania to New England my companions were the scenery (stunning!) and the radio. Thanks to my eyes and ears, I was reminded about life and death. . . and what matters related to each. Somewhere along…
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Youth Workers, Culture Watching, and Holiness. . . Part 2 . . .
Yesterday I blogged on culture-watching and the youth worker. Should we or shouldn’t we? And if we should, how should we? Yes, it can be a dangerous balancing act if we aren’t thinking carefully as we take each step. Each…
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Youth Workers and Culture-Watching. . . How Far Is Too Far?
“Should a Christian read and see “The Hunger Games?” Hmmmm. I hate questions like that. I was asked that question about this time last year by a youth worker who knew that I had already read the book and seen…
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I Shop. . . Therefore I Am. . . .
We’re living in the midst of an earthquake. . . and unless we step back and look really really hard, we probably don’t even know that the ground and everything on top of it is shifting in major ways. That’s…
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How Music Has Changed. . . And What That Says About Us. . . .
For me, it was college dining hall background music with great harmonies, loads of energy, and some great guitar riffs. I was reminded of Heart’s 1976 hit “Crazy On You” (video from a 1977 performance below) this past Saturday night…
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Self-Injury. . . What We Don’t Know Will Hurt Them. . . .
As a culture-watcher, I sometimes like to “rewind” as a way to gain perspective on just how much and how fast youth culture has changed. The practice serves to wake me up at times when familiarity with what was once…
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Inside the Teen Brain. . . .
One summer evening when my son Josh was only about five years old, he and I were driving east just as the sun was going down. After looking out the back window of the car at the setting sun, he…
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Abercrombie. . . Where Ethics, Brains, and Beauty Are Only Skin Deep. . .
Is it possible that a clothing retailer could be any more shallow or ignorant? I don’t ask this question in a momentary fit of knee-jerk anger. My question’s been years in the making. Consider that I’ve on occasion wondered out…
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Teen Sexual Activity vs. Teen Sexual Integrity. . . .
A couple of weeks ago a youth worker was talking to me about his experience reading my book Engaging The Soul of Youth Culture when he was a college student. As we talked about the parts of the book that were…
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Remembering Dallas Willard. . . .
“Readers are leaders.” I’ve had several people tell me that over the years. I don’t know that my reading has led me to leading, but I do know that reading has opened my eyes to so much. I would say…
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Texting Your Students. . . A Need for Youth Ministry Wisdom. . . .
Stupid. Now, it seems just plain stupid and risky. Thirty-five years ago I was a freckle-faced youth ministry rookie. . . twenty-one years old, just out of college, exuberant about ministry, naive, and incredibly naive. I had just signed on…
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Money, Sex, and Power. . . Thinking About Those Things That Destroy Pastors. . . .
I’ve been reading through Eugene Peterson’s memoir over the last couple of weeks. It’s simply titled The Pastor. Peterson brings a sensibility and wisdom that’s much-needed and often ignored in our relevance-obsessed church culture here in America. It’s a sensibility…
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