Last week, I was privileged to lead our junior high and high school mission trip to Milwaukee through Youth Works Missions. In Milwaukee, we stayed at Unity Lutheran Church, a gracious, hospitable church located in the Bayview area. This church is...
A month from today, I'll be leading a team of high school students on a short-term mission trip to Rwanda through International Teams. In honor of that, today, I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy in this month's edition of Twitterature in...
One of my congregation’s pastors left in March. Since then, I’ve feared people would assume I’d take on many of her responsibilities since she and I worked closely together.
The problem is, there’s no room in my schedule to do so. Like everyone...
Last week an article on Leadership Journal entitled From Youth Minister to Felon made it's rounds in the Christian blogosphere.
The article was written by a youth pastor now behind bars for statutory rape. Like others, I was horrified by...
What the book's about: Bird by Bird is a book about writing that encourages, challenges, and inspires writers. With Anne's typical wit & style, it offers strategies for writing as well as a reminder that in the end, writing is about more than...
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,...
Last week, I heard a “Plugged In” review of the movie, The Fault in Our Stars , on K-Love. I read the book - a well-written young adult novel by John Greene about two teenagers with cancer - about a year ago, after hearing countless students...
I am a big believer in the power of experiential learning. To this end, instead of giving a talk about prayer, I'd much rather create a series of prayer stations designed to give students the opportunity to pray in a variety of ways.
Over the...
A few weeks ago, my youth ministry held it’s third annual spring banquet. The event started after my student leaders approached me, saying they wanted to hold a dance for our youth ministry.
That thought made me want to vomit.
Rather than express...
A few weeks ago, our friend Emile, a Congolese refugee, attended one of my mission trip meetings to help prepare a team headed to Rwanda for what they will see and experience in the Kiziba Refugee Camp.
As part of our time together, I interviewed...