Only 11 Shopping Days Until the Lie of Christmas. . .
I believed it would change my life. Even though I began my impatient wait for its arrival sometime in September, it usually arrived in our mailbox at 1162 Beverly Road a few weeks before Thanksgiving. Its shiny full-color pages consumed…
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Wants, Needs, and Christmas Teaching Opportunities for Youth Workers & Parents. . .
I was probably about 15 years-old when I finally got to the point where I knew not to use the word incorrectly in front of my dad. Slip-ups always seemed to result in a repeat performance of his well-rehearsed lecture…
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Matt Lauer. . . Teachable Moments. . . And Theologizing About Sexuality And Sin. . . .
Trending. . . Matt Lauer. . . at number one on my news feed. As of this morning, one of the voices that’s been sharing the growing cascade of #metoo stories over the last few weeks is now the subject…
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Looking For Sexual Clarity. . . .
In just a few more than 50 years, our media culture has gone from treating matters of sexuality as a hush-hush topic (your grandparents remember a time when you couldn’t even say the word “pregnant” on TV!) to putting all…
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No Thanksgiving Eat And Show! . . . A Smartphone Challenge. . .
Whenever we’d sing it we knew Thanksgiving was on its way. It was the standard Thanksgiving hymn from my childhood: “We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing. . . ” I suppose most of us will be gathering together…
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Spacey, Moore, Louis C.K., Weinstein, etc. . . . And Ten Years Hence. . .
Something hit me last Wednesday night when I was speaking to a group of parents, grandparents, and youth workers in the Philly area. I was presenting some of our No Parent Left Behind material and we were in the midst of talking…
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What Youth Ministry Is Not About. . . And Something To Ponder. . .
Forty years ago next summer I will have been in youth ministry for 40 years. Those of you who have been doing youth ministry for four days, four weeks, four months, or four years must think of that as an…
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Stranger Things. . . And A Golden Opportunity To Nurture Kids. . .
It’s back. Stranger Things that is. I’m glad. Perhaps I’m just a big kid, but watching season 1 of the Netflix series hooked me. I’m not a science fiction fan so the attraction was a bit of a surprise to me.…
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Youth Workers. . . Going Deep?. . .
How do we best glorify God and serve kids in youth ministry? I’m not sure there’s any way better than pursuing a pathway to spiritual growth and depth ourselves. Rather than spending our time curating style, we need to pursue…
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Me Too, Sexual Aggression, and Harvey Weinstein. . .
Late last week I scrolled through a list of two-dozen-plus actresses who were opening up and telling their stories of sexual harassment and assault perpetrated by Harvey Weinstein. Careful reading of their stories wasn’t necessary to lead one to conclude…
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Youth Workers. . . Seeking Spotlight Fame or Shadowed Faithfulness? . . .
There’s a question I’m asked quite often that either makes me smile, or makes me cringe. The asker is always a youth worker. The ask typically takes place while I’m gathering my things after a seminar or other presentation. Here’s…
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Social Media. . . And The Sharing Of Ignorant Noise. . .
Regrets. . . I’ve had a few. . . well, more than few. The older I get, the more I realize that my default setting is to be and do in ways that lead to a hindsight oftentimes filled with…
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