Over the past few years, media coverage has made me increasingly aware of the opioid epidemic plaguing the United States. As a youth worker, I believe I have a responsibility to educate myself about issues that affect teenagers in the United...
In high school, one of my favorite history teachers, Mr. Mazzullla, was a Vietnam Vet. As a result, for the first time in my academic history, we actually spent time talking about the Vietnam War. Hearing Mr. Mazzulla's first-hand accounts of the...
Mission trips to Rwanda have made me interested in east Africa. For that reason, I was excited to read Katie Davis Majors’ Daring to Hope: Finding God’s Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful.
In Daring to Hope, Katie shares stories from her...
Christmas has always stressed me out. That stress has only worsened since I became a mom.
For that reason, I was intrigued by Alexandra Kuykendall’s Loving My Actual Christmas: An Experiment in Relishing the Season. In this book, Alexandra sets...
A few years ago, I participated in one of The Youth Cartel’s Youth Ministry Coaching Programs, which was a great investment in my leadership development. Among other things, I loved getting to rub shoulders with great youth workers and learning...
What the book's about: Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands is a leadership book filled with short essays on what the author, Nancy Ortberg, describes as "non-linear leadership" (others might classify it as servant-leadership.)
Why I...
What the book's about: As the subtitle says, Hope Prevails shares "insights from a Doctor's Personal Journey through Depression." It emphasizes the spiritual nature of depression.
Why I read this book: As a youth worker, I always...
Sometimes, life doesn't go as planned. In those moments, it can be tempting to question God's presence and purpose. In Choosing Real: An Invitation to Celebrate When Life Doesn't Go As Planned, author Bekah Jane Pogue uses personal stories and an...
When a senior pastor leaves a congregation, it's always hard.
When that pastor has been there a long time and is beloved, it's even harder.
Such a departure feels like a death. It leaves people grieving and questioning everything they once knew...
In addition to reviewing Katharina & Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway Nun and a Renegade Monk, I also had the chance to interview its author, Michelle DeRusha about her writing process and what she learned from writing this...