One of my vivid high school memories is from a conversation I had with the dad of the kids I babysat for.
Somehow, as Mr. Manson drove me home, we began talking about the three key components of my spiritual heritage:
1) I attended a Missouri...
Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a parent telling me that her son (a high school freshman) would not be participating in my congregation’s high school youth ministry. This is not the first time I’ve received such a message from a parent. Each...
Summer's nearly over and your youth group members are returning to school. As a youth worker, you know what that means, right?
Even if your bags are barely unpacked from this summer's trip, it's time to start planning your next mission trip.
...
For the past month, my suburban community has been slowly making improvements to our sewer system.
Truthfully, I don't exactly understand the details.
What I do understand is that when the Insituform truck arrives outside my house, it's going...
Everyone faces “giants” in their lives: Fears, issues, and struggles that must be overcome. In their book, Five Stones: Conquering Your Giants, authors Shane Stanford and Brad Martin attempt to use the story of David and Goliath to “arm” us to “...
My students are, in a word, obsessed with the 2012 movie version of Les Miserables. Knowing this, I decided to use Les Mis as the basis for our first, three-week series of the year. This series is written as discussions, designed to be...
I am a musical geek.
Much to my husband's dismay, I listen to soundtracks constantly. Day and night, they're what I blast from Itunes.
Since I first got the soundtrack for The Book of Mormon nearly two years ago, one song has consistently...
This post is part of a synchroblog on Loving Nature: "Is God Green?"
Long before being green was a thing, my family was.
My parents have always driven highly fuel efficient cars. They rarely run their air conditioning. In the winter, their...
My first year in ministry, I was 22 years old.
I was young and naïve, incredibly passionate and excited to be in ministry. I was also arrogant, convinced I was God’s gift to the church (or at least to the particular church I was serving in).
...
I am unashamedly a fan of Kenda Creasy Dean. Her book, Almost Christian, is one I believe every pastor, youth worker, and parent should read.
As as result, when my colleague and I decided to use a book as the framework for our adult...