Post-Boston Thoughts. . . .
Over a week has passed and the dust has begun to settle, with the people involved starting the long and painful process of physical and emotional healing. Seeing and hearing the firsthand stories of trauma is truly gut-wrenching. My mind’s…
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Responding to Kids Who “Can’t Handle This Sucky World Any Longer”. . . .
These are words from a 15-year-old’s suicide note: “I can’t handle this sucky world any longer.” My first encounter with teen suicide came in the early 1970’s when a childhood neighbor and friend took her own life as a high…
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Boston’s Massacre, Media’s Response, and a Telling Imbalance. . . .
Horrible and horrifying. . . that’s what it was. Like most of you, I got to the television as soon as possible to catch the reports and updates as they came out of Boston. That’s how we get the news…
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Infographics: Are We A Post-Christian Culture? . . . .
This morning I received an interesting and helpful email from David Kinnaman and the Barna Group regarding some research they’ve done on the so-called “Nones” and the growing number of adults who claim no religious affiiliation. I encourage you to…
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Suicide, Compassion, and Unintended Outcomes. . .
This week I’ve had some interesting conversations about suicide with Marv Penner. Marv is a dear friend, one of our Associate Staffers here at CPYU, and the author of “Help! My Kids Are Hurting.” In today’s guest post, Marv offers…
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Same-Sex Attraction and Stereotypes. . . How Do We Break Through? . . .
When it comes to the issue of homosexuality, I’ve been guilty of stereotyping. When I read Justin Lee’s Torn, and the blog post that’s gone viral this week – “An Open Letter to the Church from My Generation” – I…
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What’s Next For Your Students? And, Are They Prepared? . . . .
Hindsight usually shows us what we should have said and done long after we’ve had the opportunity to say and do it. Hindsight is the Monday-morning quarterback of the really significant moments and matters of life. In many ways, hindsight…
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Matthew Warren, His Family, And Guidelines For The Rest of Us. . . .
I’m not sure that I’ve ever wrestled with the title and content of a blog post with greater care or for a longer amount of time. Nothing about titling this post or developing its content seems right. I don’t know…
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Rutgers Basketball, Sport, and What Ails Us. . .
Anybody who’s watched the news, read the paper, or accessed any online news outlets this week knows that North Korea is making threats, that film critic Roger Ebert has died, and that Rutgers University has some major problems with their…
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“Gay Christians, Born This Way, and Other Things We Need to Understand. . . “
Over the course of the last few months I’ve from time to time thought-out-loud and weighed in on the timely high-profile topic of homosexuality as it has taken center stage as an issue in our culture. I’ve had conversations with…
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Wrestling With Homosexuality. . . Reflections From a Gay Christian. . .
Conversations, emails, interactions over past blog posts, and some very targeted reading all combined over the weekend to increase a sense of personal interest, urgency, and deep need that I didn’t imagine could intensify beyond the level it had already…
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Resurrection Day!. . .
As I sat and thought this morning about what it is that we celebrate today, I pondered some of the music that’s captured the reality and significance of Easter for me, ministering to me at different stages of my own…
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