What I'm Reading:

Fiction:

I read 4 fiction books in November.

Best mystery: The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan. 

Most thought-provoking: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. This is a fiction book about racism. It is beyond...

Before my seniors leave for college, we spend a good deal of time talking about various campus ministries. Our hope is to encourage students to get involved in them (or in a church on their college campus).

As part of this ongoing conversation, I...

On the night of the 2016 election, I sat glued to my television, watching the Presidential returns come in. As the night wore on and Donald Trump’s lead grew, my heart sank.

That’s when my phone began dinging.

I received text after text from the...

This year my youth ministry is offering two summer mission trips: A domestic trip to a nearby town (that we offer every other year) and an international trip to Haiti.

Some of our families do both trips but others choose only one. We know this. In...

What the book's about: Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist is about learning to say "no". It's about "real over image, connecting over comparing, meaning over mania, depth over...

“Being in jail is the best thing that's happened to me this whole game!” cried Ben in anger. For a moment, I thought he was going to flip his Monopoly board over in a fit of rage.

He didn't – even though the game never improved for him.

It...

One of the questions I hear most frequently from the older people in my congregation is, “Where are all the youth?”

I’ll admit this question frustrates me. Underneath it is typically one of two beliefs:

1. There are no youth in our congregation.
2....

What I'm Reading:

Fiction:

I read 5 fiction books during October but sadly, no non-fiction books. 

Best mystery: The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. Definitely not as good as last month's I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh, but still...

Apparently, if you want optimal choices, you have to buy toddler halloween costumes in July. Not knowing this, I went at the end of September and thought I was doing good. Instead, I found only two left in my daughter's size: An adorable dog and a...

At a recent training, I sat at a table full of strangers. Rather quickly, we were asked to share vulnerably. One of the women at our table began, saying, “I have some thoughts, but I don't know if you're going to like them.”

Hoping to reassure...

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: Park.

“Shoes. Door.”

They're typically two of her first words after waking....

What the book's about: Broken Hallelujahs is as, the subtitle says, about learning to grieve the big and small losses of life. It reads like a memoir and indeed, Beth shares vulnerably from her life. Yet, it's packed with theology and practical...

I recently spoke about The Jesus Gap. Afterward, a youth worker approached me and said, “If you're as into discipleship as you think we ought to be, you're probably not a very good youth worker.”

“Why?” I asked him.

In response, he said, “Because...

Recently, a student arrived at our youth ministry's gathering significantly early. So I asked him about his day. Specifically, I asked, What was the worst part of your day?

Immediately, the student responded, “Someone hit me.”

Needless to say, I...

What the book's about: H3 Leadership by Brad Lomenick is about the characteristics of a leader, which include being humble, staying hungry, and always hustling. 

Why I read this book: I try to always be reading a leadership book. This...

We kicked off our fall programming this year by wrestling with the question, “Does God exist?”, a question prompted – at least in part – by the fact that some of our freshmen are adamant about their belief that God does not exist.

Part of the...

While on vacation, my extended family and I went boating, something I have fond memories of from childhood vacations.

As is often the case when extended family gathers, as we sat around the beach, people started telling stories. One story was told...

What I'm Reading:

Fiction:

The end of summer and the beginning of fall have been CRAZY! Nevertheless, I read 7 fiction books during the last two months.

Best beach read: Truly Madly Guilty by  Liane Moriarty. I don't typically consider...

I stopped at the library yesterday to pick up some books I'd reserved. When I did, the librarian asked me if I'd found “Goose Needs a Hug” yet.

When I said it wasn't lost, she responded, “Oh. I just assumed it was since you've had it since July....

This year, I'm particularly excited about my adult leadership team because it includes a combination of returning and new leaders. Last week, we discussed five contributions veteran leaders make to your team. But the truth is, new leaders...