Youth Culture In The Comics. . .
In, but not of the world. . . starting the day with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. . . listening to the Word and world to know how to bring the light of the…
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Parents And Screentime. . . A Surprising Infographic. . .
It happened the other night. . . again. I shared the December 2015 data from Common Sense Media regarding media use by teens and tweens. I stated it simply: “Excluding time spend using media for school or homework, our 8-12…
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Mike Pence’s Borders and Boundaries. . . Why They’re Necessary. . .
I’m not sure that there’s anything anyone can do in today’s world that won’t summon some kind of push-back. That reality came to mind late last week as I watched the on-air personalities on a network morning show debate and…
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Divorcing Disruptive Kids? . . .
As I think back over my life in youth ministry, I realize that things would have been a lot easier if certain kids hadn’t shown up. Every year seemed to bring a handful of kids who took great joy in…
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Little Ears. . . Big Mouth. . .
Comedian Brian Regan has a funny little bit (reality is, he’s got lots of funny bits!) on his propensity to blurt things out without thinking. . . and then trying desperately and without success to pull them back in. Like…
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Recruit A Puritan Youth Pastor. . . .
“If it’s old, it can’t be the least bit insightful or relevant.” I used to believe that. I was young. In my mind, I was incredibly enlightened. Older folks were without a clue. Maybe you thought that about your parents.…
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The Spirituality of Peer Pressure. . . .
The reality is that negative peer pressure is a spiritual battle all of us fight constantly, regardless of our age. Peer pressure is always there. It’s a fact of life in a sinful and fallen world. Our kids may know…
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Kids, Work, And The Path To Flourishing. . .
Some of them are old enough to hold down part-time jobs. . . and so they do. Others are old enough to hold down part-time jobs, yet for any number of reasons, they don’t. All of them will someday leave…
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“Did God Really Say?” . . . The Snake-Charmer And Youth Ministry. . .
The older I get, the more I see how important it is for me to put that stake in the ground. Then, I need to use that stake to tether me to God’s Word in ways that will hold me secure…
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Framing Sexual Sanity. . .
In just a little over 50 years, our media culture has gone from treating matters of sexuality as a “hush-hush” topic, to putting all kinds of sexual practices and issues center-stage. That’s certainly been the case in the last few…
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Twenty-One Pilots And Teen Stress. . . Talking Points. . .
It was a well over a year ago that I sat with our doctoral cohort at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary deconstructing a music video that featured a couple of mid-twenty-somethings riding oversized Big Wheels (admit it, we all want one, don’t…
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Fifty Shades Returns. . . Darker. What Now?
I spent the last couple of days in Mississippi. On Wednesday night, I spoke to a gym full off parents and teens about pornography. What is it? Why are we drawn to it? What effect does it have on us?…
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