According to David Kinnaman in You Lost Me , 52 percent of youth group teens aspire to science-related careers but only one percent of youth workers have addressed issues of science in the past year.

Knowing this, I was excited when my student...

Nadia Bolz-Weber is as close to a celebrity pastor as the ELCA has. I've gotten to hear her speak on two different occasions, first at the Extravaganza (a training event for youth workers in the ELCA) and later at the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering.

...

Recently, one of my new adult leaders asked me, “Why don’t we talk about the Holy Spirit more with our high school students? It seems like we’re very focused on Jesus.”

Truthfully, this is a pretty fair assessment of my high school ministry: It ...

My husband and I have been blessed to be part of a long-standing small group. Together with this group, we've celebrated milestones and walked with each other through some of life's darkest moments. We've also reflected on our faith stories and in...

This summer, my student leaders & I read and discussed the book, Help! I'm a Student Leader by Doug Fields. Using the questions below, we had some incredibly powerful discussions about leadership and faith. 

Questions about the Intro of...

During the wee hours of our summer mission trip, I realized one of my student leaders was in the midst of a spiritual crisis.

Just before the trip, her atheist friend asked her, “Why do you believe in God?” In that moment, she realized she didn't...

Over the last two weeks, there has been extensive news coverage about the impact of the government shutdown on various services.

We've seen headlines about WWII veterans trying to visit a closed WWII monument in Washington DC; About frustrated...

In February, I found out I was pregnant. Like so many other newly pregnant moms, I expected to be welcoming a baby into our house 9 months later - a few short weeks from now, actually.

Instead, I miscarried a few weeks later.

Since then, I've...

For a time, my husband and I participated in a lot of lay-witness missions. During these, a team of lay-leaders descended upon a church and led the children, youth, and adults in a weekend-long retreat.

I loved many things about these lay-witness...

This year, I'm challenging my student leaders to dream big, God-sized dreams for our ministry; Dreams that are, without God, impossible to achieve.

Over the summer, I asked my student leaders to write their God-sized dreams down, share them with...

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...

Let me tell you a secret.

I hate accountability groups.

Oh, I know I shouldn’t say that.

I know they’re a valued part of many churches and youth groups, a way to keep wayward teens accountable for their actions.

I know that as a youth pastor, I’m...

Each summer, my husband and I binge on a TV series or two.

Last year, it was Friday Night Lights and Downton Abbey.

This year, it was Breaking Bad.

Now, I know we came late to the party & that the series finale aired Sunday. But we're...

Most people in the youth ministry world are at least vaguely aware of recent research from both the National Study of Youth and Religion and the College Transition Project that suggests the faith we're cultivating in teens is not consequential and...

The other day, this tweet from People caught my attention:

Christina Aguilera takes an emotional trip to Rwanda, says "I know I will go back." http://t.co/aAU6D0QTeN

— People magazine (@peoplemag) September 26, 2013

Having grown to love Rwanda...

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...

Throughout my youth ministry career, I’ve intentionally taken students to worship in other Christian congregations.

The first time I did this I was working at a multi-ethnic congregation. One spring I canceled our own youth worship service for...

What the book's about: The subtitle for The Catalyst Leader - 8 essentials for becoming a change maker - accurately describes what this book is about. 

Why I read this book: Since I believe leaders are lifelong learners, I...

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...