Youth Ministry Focus. . . A Quick Thought. . .
A youth worker friend asked me a provocative question regarding how those of us in our youth ministry world spend our time. He was wondering if we are spending too much time on things that don’t matter, as opposed to…
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Friday Fodder. . . Storm Warnings. . .
Hurricane Florence has me thinking about something an old friend told me over 30 years ago. I was living in Miami and the Director of the National Hurricane Center became a friend. When a storm was on it’s way or…
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Teens and Social Media. . . A Helpful Infographic. . .
Our friends over at Common Sense Media have released a new report on teens and social media: “Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experience.” It’s worth checking out. Take a look at the infographic below, and be sure to…
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Friday Fodder: Kids, Work, and Some Grocery Store Theology. . .
“Everybody’s working for the weekend. . . !” At least that’s what the band Loverboy had us singing way back in 1981. The sentiment captured a philosophy of life that existed long before the band sang it out, and it…
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Parents, A New School Year, Extra-Curricular Busyness, and Prioritizing Faith. . .
This week, we released the September edition of our CPYU Monthly Parent Page. . . a subscription-based resource that hundreds of youth workers and churches provide to their parents as a tool to equip them to parent better by understanding…
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Youth Ministry and Winging It. . . .
A youth worker posted this yesterday in a youth min group we are both part of on Facebook. . . “Visited a church while out of town this weekend. The Pastor expressed how glad he was that the Holy Spirit…
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Friday Fodder. . . Truth Or No Truth? What Are You Teaching? . . .
The contrast I encountered this morning was overwhelming and discouraging. On the one hand, I read today’s entry in J.I. Packer’s daily devotional Knowing God Through The Year. Then, shortly thereafter, I logged on to Facebook and a post from a…
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Willow Creek. . . Be Soberly Reminded. . .
There are lessons to be learned here. This is not a time to simply shake our heads in disapproval. Disapproval is certainly warranted and necessary. But disapproval must be cloaked in a healthy and realistic understanding that, yes, there but…
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Friday Fodder. . . An Old Word To The Young. . .
Someone once wisely told me that “leaders are readers and readers are leaders.” I believe it. The wisest and most effective leaders I know are women and men who read regularly, passionately, and widely. In this age filled with technological…
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Pornography And Kids. . .
One of the most difficult and humbling things I get to do is talk to kids about the cultural scourge of pornography. That’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow morning with a group of 300 kids at a camp in Massachusetts.…
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Friday Fodder. . . I Love You Enough To Tell You The Truth. . .
One of the most difficult aspects of life in the Body of Christ. . . yet one of the most necessary for our flourishing. . . is loving confrontation. We all need it. When I am derailed or on a…
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Friday Fodder. . . Something To Think About. . .
My head tends to be a jumble of stuff. It’s a changing mixture that combines things I’ve read, seen, and heard in a mix that I continually pray prompts thinking, being, and ministering in ways that bring glory to God…
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