In my adulthood, there have been a number of devastating natural disasters that have ravaged our world including the tsunami in Indonesia and the typhoons in the Philippines. Each time, I've watched the scant news coverage, stunned by the horrific...
I first heard Becca Stevens speak several years ago at the ELCA's Youth Ministry Extravaganza. That year, she also spoke at the ELCA's triennial Youth Gathering. I was intrigued by her work. She's an Episcopal priest who founded a non-profit, ...
Like many other congregations, ours has struggled with transitioning 8th graders into our high school ministry after confirmation. Over the past several years, we've put a lot of time and energy into strengthening this transition process. To that...
In addition to requiring student leaders to read, another way I train and equip students for leadership and in particular, for creating a culture of welcome is through blogging. Blogging forces teens to intentionally think about their faith...
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...
Shortly after returning from a mission trip to Rwanda, one of my teens called me in tears. She’d just returned from a bookstore, where she’d noticed less than a row of books about the entire continent of Africa and none about Rwanda. “Don’t people...
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day.
As I've seen news coverage leading up to this day, I've been reminded that the Holocaust isn't the only holocaust that's happened in our world.
Even though the world said, “Never Again” after the Holocaust,...
Last week, we talked about how the fundamental role of student leaders is to create a culture of welcome. A common question I get in response to this idea is “How do you train and equip student leaders to create a culture of welcome?”
There are...
I used to believe there was such a thing as a perfect church. Then I became a youth pastor and started working for the church. I quickly realized just how imperfect the church is.
Of course, this shouldn't be surprising. The church is made of...
I'm a book junkie. Just ask my father-in-law – who recently spent the better part of a day moving my library upstairs to make room for Baby Bradbury downstairs.
I wholeheartedly believe that you learn by reading. Even so, for a variety of...