Like many ministries, our high school youth ministry held it's winter retreat over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. This year, our theme was Naked and Afraid: Vulnerability in Relationships. Throughout the weekend, the book of Ruth served as our...
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how to brainstorm with teens. People hesitant about utilizing teens in this process often ask some variation of this question:
What if the things teens WANT to talk about aren't what they need to talk about in order...
As a youth worker, I've attended and led my fair share of small group Bible studies. Some have been really good and others have simply tanked. More often than not, the ones that have tanked are the ones in which the leader fails to ask...
In a recent episode of The Biggest Loser , the time came to reshuffle the teams in order to force contestants to not only work with new teammates, but also with new trainers.
Every year, contestants face this Biggest Loser milestone with fear,...
My first night at my current church, I asked students to grab a Bible. I don’t remember what we were exploring. I do, however, distinctly remember the stunned look on their faces.
I didn’t think much of their reaction until my second gathering,...
Every year around this time, I struggle with what to give our graduating seniors.
Early on in my career, I’d actually spend weeks agonizing over this. Indecisiveness would paralyze me until eventually, I’d give up and order a cheesy graduation...
During Holy Week, my congregation holds worship on each of The Great Three Days: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
Though I grew up in a church that held a Good Friday worship service, the concept of worshipping on each of these...
As my senior pastor says, "At our place, we do church. Especially this time of the year. Holy Week." I had the privilege of preaching on Isaiah 50:4-9a, Hebrews 12:1-3, and John 13:21-32 during Holy Wednesday worship. The reflection I shared...
I'm thrilled to be guest posting at Adela Just's blog today in response to her prompt, "What is the most important thing you want your kids to know about the love of God?”
Recently, a student told me this story:
A Sunday School teacher shows her...
After a tumultuous first half of the year, at the end of the summer, I found myself craving Scripture like I hadn't in a long time. So I strong-armed my husband into joining me in participating in Margaret Feinberg's Wonderstruck by Scripture...