All About the Heart and Soul of YouthWorkers (and we're obviously doing some redesign)
I'm having a hellish month of scheduling, which means I'm not able to process life events in real … [Read More...]
It’s January and you are probably congratulating yourself on making it through the Advent season … [Read More...]
On purpose. Here's the thing. There are times in life where you need to support a thing beyond … [Read More...]
One universal truth of teen life is that NOTHING is done alone. Getting ready for a particular … [Read More...]
What does "Spiritual Generativity" mean? In the simplest terms, it's the passing on of our faith … [Read More...]
I’m having a hellish month of scheduling, which means I’m not able to process life events in real time. For example, last Monday I got to spend breakfast explaining to my 4 & 6 year old boys how mommy was going to go to the doctor because some stuff was broken inside. They needed to…
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It’s the age old argument. Science vs. Faith. Like most things in life, Star Wars might offer some insight. In A New Hope, even Obi-Wan has trouble convincing Han Solo of the realities of the Force, a mysterious energy that is said to ‘bind all things together’. Han-Solo inadvertently articulates a scientific worldview by saying,…
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It’s January and you are probably congratulating yourself on making it through the Advent season in one piece and for getting the second semester youth programs started. (Don’t sell yourself short – pat yourself on the back for accomplishing all that!) Now it’s time to sit back and relax, right? Well, yes you should take…
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On purpose. Here’s the thing. There are times in life where you need to support a thing beyond what you get from it. We kinda feel like the Youthworker Movement is one of those things. The Wild Goose Festival is definitely one of those things. The kind of thing that you should find a way…
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Numbers matter. They matter to your doctor when it involves your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight. They matter to your spouse when it comes to thermostat setting and it’s 25 degrees outside. They matter to you when you need to know whether you have enough money in the checking account as you write your monthly…
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One universal truth of teen life is that NOTHING is done alone. Getting ready for a particular event, the one question I’m always asked; “Who else is gonna be there?” Teenagers identify themselves through their peers. A classic example of this is the pod of students from my church that identify themselves as the “loner group.” Hmm……
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What does “Spiritual Generativity” mean? In the simplest terms, it’s the passing on of our faith tradition from one generation to the next. If youth are always separated from the rest of the life of the church – how will they learn what it means to be the church as adults? How do we in…
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So I got a call from a couple of members of our Staff-Parish Relations committee last week. They were just checking in with me to find out how my certification process was going–was I finding it rewarding? how long would it be until I was finished? I thanked them for following up. Get it? See…
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“Students these days just want the answers to the questions and they want us to give it to them.” Ask most educators and they’ll say the biggest struggle in education today is what they call “teaching to the test”. In our current educational system with its performance-based funding, teachers are under an increasing amount of…
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Are you aware that Duke Divinity School is offering a new Master of Arts in Christian Practice degree for those who are looking to experience a rich theological education while continuing to serve the church in their present youth ministry position? Are you interested in learning from experts in the field of Youth Ministry…
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For Christmas this year, my mother-in-law requested that I write for her a Christmas story. Here’s what she got: Jesus rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. “Explain it to me one more time, Gloria.” “It’s Christmas,” said the angel. “Not here, of course. On earth. This is what they do.” They walked from…
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Originally published July 11, 2011. We’ve all been there. You look around the youth room and realize not everybody knows everybody, or you’re trying to start a discussion and the awkwardness is in the air. Here are 7 quick and easy icebreakers to get your crowd at ease. You might just want to print these…
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December 8, 2011 Press Release from umcom.org: About 62% of adult Americans have a favorable impression of United Methodists. That’s according to a new survey from LifeWay Research that looks at perceptions of faith groups among adults in the U.S. United Methodists had the highest percentage of favorable impressions among the faith groups included in the survey…
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Sociologist of Youth Ministry – Melinda Denton Last month I asked one of the lead researchers from the National Study on Youth and Religion if theology mattered when it came to differentiating between ‘highly-religious’ teens and ‘not-as-religious’ teens. Melinda Lundquist Denton’s response was: “Theological particularity is somewhat lost at least on this generation (we don’t have data…
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Thank you to our special guest contributors, Jake and Melissa Kircher from We Love Our Youth Worker for this article. People who work in youth ministry often struggle with the concept of rest. There’s always kids to Facebook or text, phones buzzing, paperwork to do, trips to plan, parents to calm, meetings to attend, and…
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We are running a fun quick contest this week. Use the comments below … [Read More...]
I remain dedicated to strengthening youth ministry and to equipping … [Read More...]
The Life Of A Disciple In The World The Virtues & Fruits of the … [Read More...]
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