Kids Who Cut. . . And A Helpful Handout. . .
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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You Won’t Believe This. . . But I Must Show You. . .
You might already be aware that three weeks ago a 90mph overnight police chase ended in. . . yes in. . . our CPYU office. You can go back, read the story, and see some pictures here. As if this isn’t…
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Pride and Self-Promotion. . . A Warning For Parents, Youth Workers And The Rest Of Us. . .
“My greatest character trait is my humility.” Those words were uttered tongue-in-cheek by a friend back in college and I’ve heard the same thing said by others several times since. Always a joke. But I wonder if we’re predisposed to…
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Youth Ministry Self-Promotion And The Call To Humility. . .
Recently on a Facebook youth ministry group page, a youth worker posted a question we should all be asking from time to time. It was a question about self-promotion. . . which in our social-media-saturated world is a huge temptation…
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Lightning Has Struck Us Twice! . . . Keep Us In Your Prayers. . . .
Somebody called me yesterday and said to me, “Lightning never strikes twice. Yeah. Right.” I could only laugh. Some of you will remember that early on an August morning 13 years ago a car came crashing through my office wall…
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Teen Vogue: Inviting Teens Into Legitimizing Sex Work. . .
Teen Vogue magazine is not longer available in print, but it continues to pump out content in its’ free online format. In other words, it’s accessible. The target audience is girls between the ages of twelve to seventeen. Of course, there…
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A Letter To Senior Pastors. . .
Dear Pastor, I’ve asked your youthworker and your students’ parents to forward this letter on to you. It’s about the kids in your congregation and the powerful role that you play as their pastor in their spiritual nurture. I know…
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Friday Fodder. . . #keepitinyourfamily. . . #whocares. . .
Her eyes were opened after refocusing them from spending so much time on social media, to focusing on things that really matter. That’s what happened to Tony Reinke’s wife when she chose “social media sobriety.” Reinke shares a powerful statement…
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Transgender NCAA Champ. . . And The Soul Of Our Culture. . .
Last weekend, CeCe Telfer was photographed hoisting an NCAA Championship Trophy high in the air. Telfer’s smile is appropriate for such a victory, and one that I would imagine sharing if I had ever garnered a victory of that magnitude.…
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Inside The Teenage Brain. . . A Helpful Infographic. . .
Everything I’ve learned about the developing teenage brain has been quite liberating for me. It’s been liberating as a journey in self-discovery. You see, if the brain is not fully wired-up until about the age of 25, then that offers…
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The Mystery Of Marriage. . .
Celebrating almost four decades of the mystery of marriage today. . . and I read this in David Brooks’ new book “The Second Mountain”: “An old guy is talking to his daughter about his love for his late wife. He…
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Why Youth Workers Must Be Hitched To The Old Testament. . .
In a perfect world, the church would be engaging, confronting, and transforming culture as a path to see what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer (“Thy Kingdom come. . . “) become a greater and greater reality on our broken…
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