Let me tell you a secret.
I hate accountability groups.
Oh, I know I shouldn’t say that.
I know they’re a valued part of many churches and youth groups, a way to keep wayward teens accountable for their actions.
I know that as a youth pastor, I’m...
One of my vivid high school memories is from a conversation I had with the dad of the kids I babysat for.
Somehow, as Mr. Manson drove me home, we began talking about the three key components of my spiritual heritage:
1) I attended a Missouri...
Recently, as I was reading through Scripture as part of Margaret Feinberg's 40 Day Wonderstruck by Scripture challenge, I was struck by the Message's paraphrase of 2 Kings 17:32-33, “They honored and worshiped God, but not exclusively… They...
Like so many church kids, I associate the word light with songs.
First, it was “This Little Light of Mine”. Thanks to this song, even as a young child I knew I was supposed to let my light shine rather than hide it under a bushel or let Satan...
My husband and I are blessed to be part of a small group with our closest friends that has withstood the test of time. The group began as part of a church that none of us attend any longer. It's weathered moves, job changes, and the birth of...
As is often the case, my students got emotional during the final worship service of our recent mission trip – a meaningful, poignant foot washing service. Tears still streamed down many of their faces as we left the worship space and went to ...
Over the last several months, my small group and I have been slowly making our way through Henri Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son , a book that has helped me to better understand and appreciate the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)....
While on a mission trip to the Quad Cities with Youth Works Missions, another trip leader said, “I love Youth Works but do you ever feel like they're just really missing the evangelism piece?”
He went on to explain that while he loved the...
This week's review is of Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos.
What the book's about: This book is about the author's search for the "real Jesus". It's a story of rooting out all the imaginary Jesus' surrounding him and discovering the...
While on vacation, I saw this sign, an advertisement attempting to lure passerby's into a shop because of it's “cool stuff”. Each time I passed this shop, I was struck by how much this shop's advertisement mirrors the way we so often do youth...