Happy 10th Anniversary iPhone . . . .
Happy 10th anniversary iPhone. . . and all smartphones. You are an amazing tool. Those who conceived of you, made you, and have kept growing you have lived out the image of God through their creativity. . . whether they…
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Do You Control Your Phone? . . . Or Does It Control You? . . . A Helpful Infographic
A few minutes ago we finished recording an interview with Tony Reinke for our “Youth Culture Matters” Podcast. We talked about Tony’s book, 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. The book is a beautiful piece of accessible, hope-filled, practical theology…
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This Is Who We Are. . . But Is It Who We Should Be? . . .
“Can’t you see what’s happening around you and to you?” Good question. How would you answer? Because history tells us that we typically don’t recognize the fall-out from our believing and behaving until we are paying the consequences of that…
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Camille Paglia on Transgenderism. . . .
I’m not a reader of The Weekly Standard. But I was directed there this week by my friend Sean McDowell, who had posted a link to an interview with feminist Camille Paglia. Going straight to the source, I read Jonathan V.…
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Youth Ministry Hazard: Emotional Affairs
One of the basic habits effect driver education instills in student drivers is the habit of scanning the road ahead for hazards. That’s a healthy habit for us as we engage in youth ministry. For those of us in youth…
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Pornography: Necessary Talking Points With Kids. . .
“I want to talk about pornography.” That’s what the 15-year-old boy said to me after hearing me talk at his Christian school on “God and Sex.” Sadly, he wasn’t a curious young dabbler looking for someone to help him understand…
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Learning Who We Are From Bill Cosby, Michelle Carter, and The Law. . .
I hope you’re tracking with the news this week. Of course, in today’s world there’s that difficult task of sorting out the real news from the fake news as the constant flow of mediated reports flood the feeds on our…
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Why Youth Ministry Shouldn’t Be The Greatest Show On Earth. . .
The truth is that I was jealous. I was convinced that there was no way I could compete. Even worse, I believed there was a competition. I was a young youth worker doing ministry in a suburban church during the…
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Teens And Anxiety. . . A Helpful Infographic. . .
It was all quite telling. It would be an understatement to say that our nation was anxious as last November’s Presidential election arrived. Social media, water-cooler, and family dinner table conversations were all windows into the anxiety and nervousness we…
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I’m Surrounded. . . And We Should All Be. . .
One thing I’ve always loved about the Old Testament are the passages of remembrance. These are the times when the leaders of Israel would call all the people around to remind them of what God had done in their midst.…
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Ed Sheeran, Body Image, and New Rules For Dating. . . .
It’s been on the charts for 18 weeks. It peaked at #1. Today it sits at #4. “It” is Ed Sheeran’s single “Shape of You,” one of two lead singles from his third studio album, ÷ (divide). The video (embedded below)…
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Culture In The Comics. . . .
My grandmother used to call them “the funnies.” I can still remember a few occasions when she read me comics from Philadelphia’s “Evening Bulletin.” For me, the best comic strips are those that capture some aspect of reality, twist it…
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