Ever since reading Small Talk and A Good and Perfect Gift , I’ve been a fan of Amy Julia Becker. Because of this, I was excited to read her new book, White Picket Fences: Turning Toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege.
Amy’s book...
I am a bookworm. For as long as I can remember, books have been my love language. My dad used to joke he’d have to buy the house next door to ours in order to house all my books. Sometimes, I think my husband feels the same way. Because of my love...
How and what we say affects what we believe. I saw this in my research for The Jesus Gap, which found that 73% of the language used by high school students to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” was creedal in origin. I was further convinced of...
When I finally decided to leave my old job – a job I loved and was very comfortable in – my new boss and I wrestled with my new title, eventually landing on Minister of Youth and Family. This role – one that was far more expansive than I’d had in...
In the church world, people talk about being “called” a lot. But what exactly does it mean to be called? Mark Labberton attempts to answer this very question in his book, Called: The Crisis and Promise of Following Jesus Today.
According to...
In the days following my miscarriage, several friends sent me links to people they’d found online who were writing about miscarriage. Adriel Booker was one of those people. Her words were like a lifeline to me. Not surprisingly, her book, Grace...
My high school youth ministry meets for this first time this school year this Wednesday and this fall, we’re talking about vocation. In preparation for this series, I’ve been doing a ton of reading on vocation, including Gordon T. Smith’s fabulous...
Over a decade ago, I spoke on a panel at North Park University on ministering in multi-ethnic environments alongside Kathy Khang. I’ve been a fan of hers ever since. For that reason, I was excited to read her new book, Raise Your Voice: Why We...
For the last year and a half, I’ve had the privilege of participating in Fuller Youth Institute's Youth Ministry Innovation Cohort. Part of this has meant creating a project to do in my youth ministry involving an ancient practice: Vocation. This...
As a youth pastor, I am a leader.
I lead students, adult and student leaders, parents, and in a variety of ways, colleagues.
As such, I constantly want to grow in my leadership skills. For that reason, I was excited to read Aubrey...
I’m currently writing a part of a book called Four Views on Talking to Teenagers about Sex for The Youth Cartel (It'll be available in January, 2019). As part of my preparation for this, I’ve been reading all I can about sex… from as many...
According to author Rachel Held Evans, “Those who say having a childlike faith means not asking questions haven’t met too many children.”
What I love about that sentiment – and about Rachel in general – is that she embraces questions of all...
I first gained exposure to Kristen Welch when my husband gifted me with a subscription to Fair Trade Friday, a ministry of Mercy House, which Kristen is the founder of. When I saw Kristen had a new book out, Raising World Changers in a Changing...
At one of the congregations I served as a youth pastor, our youth ministry made care packages for our college students. In return, the college ministry made a giant “Fruits of the Spirit” tree for us out of paper. Although we hung the tree in our...
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...
For years, my husband has said that if he were ever to write a book, it’d be about being called to create. He - and I - strongly believe that because we are made in the image of God, we are called to create.
Because of that, when I saw the title...
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...
I was first introduced to Skye Jethani when my small group read The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity nearly a decade ago. The Divine Commodity was a thought-provoking read that made for excellent discussion fodder...
I was first introduced to Henri Nouwen in grad school, when I was assigned In the Name of Jesus, still one of the most influential books on leadership I’ve ever read. Since then, I’ve enjoyed reading other works by Nouwen, including The Return of...
As a youth pastor, I believe apologetics are important – not just in equipping teens to share their faith with others but even more importantly, in helping them understand what they believe and why.
As a parent, I also want my daughter to know...