Johnny Cash. . . Ten Years Ago Today. . . .
Hard to believe that it’s been ten years to the day since Johnny Cash, the “man in black,” died. Over thirty years ago, I literally almost ran into Cash in Pittsburgh. I was in an area off the lobby at…
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Transformation Complete? . . . Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” and The Gospel. . . .
Once again yesterday, I grieved for Miley Cyrus and our kids. I’ve been going through my normal early fall routine as I update and add to all of my youth culture presentations. While clicking in and out of the MTV…
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Stimulant Abuse Among Students. . . A Helpful Infographic. . . .
If you’ve tracked with CPYU over the last few years you know that we are regularly warning parents and youth workers about the abuse of stimulants that have come to be known as “study drugs.” Some of the most commonly…
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Dear Dr. Kermit Gosnell. . . There’s Something I Want You To See. . . .
Dear Dr. Gosnell, I want you to see this picture. This is my newborn grandson Nolan. He and his twin sister Lucy were born last Saturday night. They were born several weeks premature. They are in a hospital unit with…
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Reaping What We Sow. . . Let’s Connect The Dots. . . .
No doubt, this week’s hot topic just about everywhere is what so many saw on TV on Sunday night. . . . and if they missed it, everywhere else since! While it might be easy to conclude that the blame…
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Lessons From the 2013 VMAs. . . Disney On Parade, and Whatever Happened to Fart Man? . . . .
Yesterday I explained what I didn’t do two days ago, and why. I also mentioned that I was going to embark on my annual journey into the cultural window known as MTV’s Video Music Awards the day after. . . while…
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A Little Film About What Social Media is Doing to Us. . . Socially. . . .
A big “thank you” to Adam Knudson for passing this on. It’s worth watching and talking about with parents, kids, etc.
Why I Didn’t Watch The VMA’s Last Night. . . .
Every year at this time I stay up really, really late. . . and I get up really, really early. That’s the way it’s been now since 1984. That’s because I stay up late to watch the annual MTV Video…
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The Bible. . . Paper Book vs Tablet Screen. . . Is It An Issue? . . . .
There’s a spirited and healthy discussion going on underneath a post I stuck up on my Facebook page the other day. I shared Matthew Barrett’s thoughtful weigh-in on whether or not pastors should use a paper Bible or a tablet…
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A Prayer As You Send Your Kids Off To School. . . .
If they haven’t done so already, your kids will soon be heading off for the first day of school. I love looking at all the first-day-of-school pictures that are popping up on Facebook. Because I remember taking many of those…
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Teen Choice Awards Show 2013 . . . What It Tells Us About Youth Culture. . .
It’s painful. I’ll admit it. Once again I watched the annual Teen Choice Awards show. . . and it is in many ways excruciating. It’s a lot of things that make it hurt. . . the shrill screaming, the pulsating monotony…
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5 Adults to 1 Kid. . . But Who Are the 5? . . .
Shortly after graduating from seminary in the mid-1980s, I jumped back into local church youth ministry with a renewed commitment to ministry effectiveness. At the time, I worked to build a volunteer youth ministry team that would reflect a 1…
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