In the movie, Stepmom, a mom, Jackie (Susan Serandon) is dying of cancer, leaving her young children behind in the care of her ex-husband (Ed Harris) and his new wife, Isabel (Julia Roberts). In a poignant scene near the end of the movie, Jackie...

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...

On the way home from a recent youth ministry trip, I sat next to my colleague, Joe, on the plane. We both knew that in many ways, this trip was the last significant thing I’d do as youth pastor in our congregation. I was transitioning out and Joe...

Today, I'm linking up with Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

This week's prompt: Way.

My congregation’s long-time senior pastor resigned unexpectedly in February, 2017....

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...

Today, I'm linking up with Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

This week's prompt: Done.

My boss, Joe, walked me up to my office at the end of a long Sunday. It was a good...

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...

“When you’re a straight, white male, your privilege bracelet looks more like a necklace,” one of my high school students told me after making a privilege bracelet at a booth at the recent ELCA Youth Gathering.

The activity was great – exposing...

“Do you wish one of the daily themes of the Youth Gathering had been ‘Jesus Changes Everything’?” one of my adult leaders asked me on the final day of our denomination's triennial youth gathering of more than 30,000 students.

She’d spent the week...

I spent last week at the ELCA’s National Youth Gathering with a group from my church that included two other adult leaders. As part of this event, teens from across the country came together to worship, learn, and serve. We invaded a city and...

Today, a friend asked me how my family’s vacation last week was.

I replied, “It was awesome!” to which he replied, “Tell me more about this place you went to.”

He knew we’d gone to an all-inclusive family-friendly resort in New York State –...

As a youth pastor, I frequently ask teens what they want to discuss. Often, teens – both men and women – will suggest we discuss women of the Bible. For the most part, teens feel as though they know the stories of the male characters in the Bible...

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...

‘Tis the season for summer camps and mission trips, which means that this time of year, youth ministry discussion boards explode with questions about swimwear dress codes. Typically, questions go something like this:

What do you require girls to...

If there’s a seasonality to hiring in the church world, it’s now. Churches work hard during the spring and summer months to ensure that they have a full staff in place before the program year begins in the fall.

A common part of the interview...

This time of year, youth ministry discussion boards are filled with posts about what to get seniors for graduates. My ministry also gives gifts to graduating seniors: Prayer books.

I started this tradition several years ago. I solicited prayers...

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...

As a leader in the church, I want to be above reproach. For me, this has and always will be a matter of integrity. However, amidst the needed #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, being above reproach is perhaps more important than ever before.

As...

“Let’s play church,” said my two-year old daughter, Hope. She then proceeded to seat my husband and I, hand out songbooks, and push two ottomans in our living room together to form a makeshift altar.

“I’ll be Pastor Wende,” she said,...