When students lead discussions, sometimes they will exceed your expectations and sometimes, despite all your prayers and coaching, they will bomb.
The good news, however, is that regardless of how well a discussion goes, with proper processing,...
When I tell people that students sometimes teach and lead discussions in my ministry, I often hear something like, “Must be nice. What did you do with all your time off that week?”
What people don't often realize is how much work it is to equip...
I recently used appreciative inquiry to evaluate and reflect on our year of ministry with my student leaders. Among other things, I asked student leaders, “What are the most valuable aspects of our high school ministry?” and “How has our high...
I still remember some of the early program evaluations I conducted with parents.
I went into these meetings excited, ready to reflect upon the program year and celebrate all that God did in and through our ministry. Inevitably, though, my...
Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has recently “been accused of deliberately excluding plus-size women from wearing its clothes by failing to make or sell womenswear in any size above Large.” According to Jeffries, “In every school there...
Today I'm linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker's 5 Minute Friday, in which we write for 5 minutes flat.
She sat across the table from me, fingers tapping wildly on the tabletop at a rate of a mile a minute.
Seconds later, this girl, normally so full...
Unlike so many homes, mine was one in which we frequently discussed money.
In fact, money is still one of my dad's favorite topics. When it comes to money, he often runs past any semblance of social respectability and instead proceeds to ask...
Shortly after my miscarriage, I made my most depressing Amazon purchase ever: A collection of books about miscarriage, loss, and grief. Among them was Mike Stavlund's A Force of Will: The Reshaping of Faith in a Year of Grief.
Despite having...
The point at which I realized this school year was going to be a challenging year of ministry came even before it officially began.
It happened last August at a music conference I attended with several of my colleagues. Despite considering myself...
Dear Senior -
For four years, you've graced our ministry with your presence. Now as your graduation approaches, I've found my thoughts drifting to you more and more frequently. I've used each thought I've had of you as a call to prayer.
As I've...