I'm 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 next...

My 22-month old daughter, Hope, adores animals. She loves watching them, petting them, and reading books featuring real life animals or warm, cuddly ones. For this reason, I was excited to read her I'm Going To Give You A Bear Hug! by Caroline...

My new book, Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders, is out! I'm convinced that when done well, student leadership has the ability to transform your youth ministry. With that in mind, over the next few weeks, we're going to be...

What I'm Reading:

Fiction:

Best chick lit: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which reminded me a LOT of the musical If / Then. 

Book I'm still thinking about: I Liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi

Best mystery: I See You by...

What the book's about: Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution. by Brene Brown is about what it takes to get back up after you fall.    

Why I read this book: I read Rising Strong for a discussion with my...

One of my favorite ways to teach my daughter about faith is by reading to her. For this reason, I'm always on the lookout for clever faith-related children's books.

Bible Basics: A Baby Believer Counting Primer by Danielle Hitchen,...

My new book, Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders, is out! I'm convinced that when done well, student leadership has the ability to transform your youth ministry. With that in mind, over the next few weeks, we're going to be...

I'm 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 next...

As I watched Disney's new Beauty and the Beast with my husband this weekend, I was captivated by Gaston – the narcissistic man who wants to marry the book-loving Belle – in a way that I didn't expect to be.

At multiple points in the movie,...

My new book, Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders, is out! I'm convinced that when done well, student leadership has the ability to transform your youth ministry. With that in mind, over the next several weeks, we're going to be...

I'm 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 next...

When a senior pastor leaves a congregation, it's always hard.

When that pastor has been there a long time and is beloved, it's even harder.

Such a departure feels like a death. It leaves people grieving and questioning everything they once knew...

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

This week's prompt: Abandon.

It snowed here on Monday.

Late winter snows aren't unusual in the...

Our youth ministry has a set of ground rules that we reiterate every time we gather. They’re basic things that establish how we relate to and interact with one another. Our ground rules include:

1. When one person talks, everyone else listens. To...

I'm 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 next...

Yesterday, one of my female student leaders taught a class at my church. Her teaching felt especially appropriate since it was international women’s day, a day in which we celebrate women and the movement for women’s rights.

My student leader and...

I'm 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 next...

As a parent, I want to teach my daughter to follow Jesus.

Hope's only 21-months old, so right now, the main way we're doing this is by reading her the Bible in order to teach her the stories of her faith. One of her godmother's got her a copy of...

Three years ago, our associate pastor left to take another call. Our church immediately scheduled a farewell dinner. I assumed the students who she’d worked closely with during her tenure at our congregation would attend. While some did, most didn...

“We’re going to bury the Alleluias on Sunday,” my colleague told me.

Although I’d grown up in a church where Lent was a thing, I’d spent the previous five years working at a non-denominational church that didn’t observe it.

Needless to say, when...