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...
As a youth worker, one of my roles is to come alongside families during times of struggle and provide pastoral care. As part of this, others often ask me, “What can I do for Person X?”
During times of crises, people want to be helpful but they...
I'm a Lutheran Youth Pastor who, until now, could count on one hand the things I knew about Martin Luther, a key player in the Reformation and the person for whom my tradition is named.
1. He believed in the importance of Scripture alone.
...
As a parent, I've been astounded by how much I'm already learning from my 20-month old daughter. For that reason, when I saw Amy Julia Becker's book, Small Talk: Learning from my children about what matters most, I was intrigued.
Small Talk is...
Whenever I ask teens what they want to talk about in my youth ministry, they respond with enthusiasm, “SEX!”
As a youth pastor, I've lost track of how many times I've taught on sex or done a Valentine's Day sex series in my high school youth...
One of my consistent struggles with Christianity is that it can feel as though there is no place for those who struggle, for those who doubt. So many Christian books are written from this struggle-free perspective.
I remember being acutely aware...
Much of my husband's family lives near Springfield, IL, as do several of our friends from college. Several years ago, many of them began sharing blog posts from a local woman named Courtney Westlake whose daughter, Brenna, was born with a serious,...
In this never-ending election cycle, immigration has been a source of constant debate amongst our candidates. As a long-time refugee champion, I have some definite feelings about refugee policies & quotas. Yet, I'll be the first to admit that...
Like most families, mine has been touched by terminal illness. I've lost grandparents and an uncle to cancer; Another grandparent to the horrific Lou Gehrig's disease. During each of their illnesses, I depended on my faith and inevitably...
My favorite comedy is Friends, I think because for years, I longed for the kind of close-knit friendships depicted in the show. Thanks to an amazing small group experience a decade ago, I found those kinds of friends – friends that have been with...