Youth Workers. . . Guilty Of Oppression? . . .
Oppression is a word that’s used quite a bit these days. In most cases, I think that’s a good thing. One way that the dictionary defines oppression is as preventing people from having opportunities and freedom. When a people group or individual…
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A Youth Worker’s New Year’s Resolution. . . “Read And Feed!”. . .
Quit and begin. That’s just about always what a New Year’s Resolution is all about. We resolve to quit something that’s destructive. In it’s place, we aim to begin a habit that promotes our flourishing in constructive ways. Typically, our…
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Parents. . . Christmas And How Time Flies. . .
A few simple words today and something that caught and brought a little bit of moisture to my eyes. My wife decorated our tree with a scheme that put these four hand-made ornaments in close proximity to one another. .…
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Teens, Wicca, And Alternate Spiritualities. . .
“Huh???” That was my response when, as a young college student, one of my campus pastors told me that “all human beings worship.” In my naivete, I wondered how one could worship when they weren’t a follower of Christ. But…
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Your Mid-Year Youth Ministry Checkup
I’m not a hunter, but I’ve got a son who is. A few weeks ago he took a couple of hours to head out to friend’s farm to “sight in” his rifle. It’s a process of getting everything lined-up so…
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Movies, Ministry, And Asking The Right Questions. . .
Later this morning I’m engaging in a fun and eye-opening little exercise that can yield powerful ministry opportunities, responses, and results. I’m going to be meeting with a group of local youth workers who have a passion for knowing Christ…
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Self-Injury. . . The Scream On The Skin. . .
As a culture-watcher, I sometimes like to “rewind” as a way to gain perspective on just how much and how fast youth culture has changed. The practice serves to wake me up at times when familiarity with what was once…
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He Makes Her Walk To School. . . This Dad Is Awesome! . . .
This morning, someone I know sent me a link to the video I’ve embedded below. It’s going to be very interesting to see what kind of response snowballs as people watch a 10-year-old girl walking 5 miles to school as…
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Detecting Body Image Issues In Teens. . . A Helpful Infographic. . .
We’re told that the average teen in America sees between 4,000 to 10,000 marketing messages a day. So many of those messages picture idealized human beings. . . defined primarily by appearance. These standards imprint themselves into the minds and…
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What Do Kids Brag About On Social Media?
I ran across this data on teens and social media bragging/boasting from Pew today. I’m reminded that our sinful/broken default setting leads us to try to assuage and eliminate our insecurities (we all have them) any way we can. Social…
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Youth, Faith, and Church. . . Will They Stay Or Will They Go? . . .
I’ve been around way too long to think that it really isn’t an issue. Sadly, my personal “way too long” includes way too many stories of kids who were a part of my youth groups. . . who then graduated…
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Navigating The Difficult Sexual Issues With Kids. . .
“Transgender” . . . “Pansexual”. . . “LGBTQ” . . . “Hook-Up”. . . every one of those terms was part of a foreign language for those of doing youth ministry in the 1970s and 1980s. I could have ventured…
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