As a youth pastor, I am a leader.
I lead students, adult and student leaders, parents, and in a variety of ways, colleagues.
As such, I constantly want to grow in my leadership skills. For that reason, I was excited to read Aubrey...
On the way home from a recent youth ministry trip, I sat next to my colleague, Joe, on the plane. We both knew that in many ways, this trip was the last significant thing I’d do as youth pastor in our congregation. I was transitioning out and Joe...
“When you’re a straight, white male, your privilege bracelet looks more like a necklace,” one of my high school students told me after making a privilege bracelet at a booth at the recent ELCA Youth Gathering.
The activity was great – exposing...
“Do you wish one of the daily themes of the Youth Gathering had been ‘Jesus Changes Everything’?” one of my adult leaders asked me on the final day of our denomination's triennial youth gathering of more than 30,000 students.
She’d spent the week...
I spent last week at the ELCA’s National Youth Gathering with a group from my church that included two other adult leaders. As part of this event, teens from across the country came together to worship, learn, and serve. We invaded a city and...
As a leader in the church, I want to be above reproach. For me, this has and always will be a matter of integrity. However, amidst the needed #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, being above reproach is perhaps more important than ever before.
As...
I love my youth ministry’s adult leaders. They’re the backbone of my youth ministry. They’re people I’ve recruited, equipped, and mentored. Some have served with me for almost a decade. I take caring for them seriously.
In my context, adult...
I was first introduced to Skye Jethani when my small group read The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity nearly a decade ago. The Divine Commodity was a thought-provoking read that made for excellent discussion fodder...
During a recent organizational assessment I did through Arbor Research Group, I asked one of the ministry’s leaders how critical it was for his staff to recruit and equip adult leaders. In response, he said, “When they get their job description,...
What the book's about: Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands is a leadership book filled with short essays on what the author, Nancy Ortberg, describes as "non-linear leadership" (others might classify it as servant-leadership.)
Why I...