Not long ago, popular Christian author Annie Downs tweeted “Sometimes it feels like youth ministry is the final frontier for women in leadership.”
A friend asked me what I thought of this. To be honest, I’m not sure I agree with Annie’s premise.
...
What the book's about: An Altar in the World is, quite simply, about discovering God beyond the walls of the church.
Why I read this book: After hearing people talk about the wisdom and beauty of Barbara Brown Taylor's writing for the...
As someone who both loves to travel and to write, I was excited to read Allison Vesterfelt's Packing Light: Thoughts on living life with less baggage.
Despite taking me a while to get into, I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book. In it,...
Last spring, we saw a preview for Mom's Night Out . The preview had a few funny clips in it, so last night we rented it.
I'll admit, I was also curious as to why K-Love kept promoting this movie. To me, it looked far too mainstream (as in, it...
I just returned from a two-week mission trip to Rwanda with my high school youth ministry. Twice now we've been privileged to partner with International Teams Rwanda for the international leg of our three-year mission trip cycle.
The trip was, in...
What the book's about: The War of Art is about creating. It chronicles the barriers to creativity in order to help you do as it's subtitle suggests and "break through the blocks & win your inner creative battles."
Why I read this book: I...
For years, I’ve watched and enjoyed The Biggest Loser. As a youth worker, I love and appreciate the stories of life change this show tells.
Naturally, this means that last night, I watched The Biggest Loser finale. At one point in the finale, the...
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...
My first year in ministry, I was 22 years old.
I was young and naïve, incredibly passionate and excited to be in ministry. I was also arrogant, convinced I was God’s gift to the church (or at least to the particular church I was serving in).
...
On the way to our summer mission trip in Red Lake Indian Reservation, an ELCA church graciously allowed us to spend the night in their facility. The next morning, we worshiped with them.
Later, many of my students commented on how the church we...