All About the Heart and Soul of YouthWorkers
Spiritual formation begins in the home. Well, that’s at least according to the way Susannah Wesley raised her children. I believe that many of our U.M. Churches have relinquished this responsibility in equipping, encouraging and preparing parents to intentionally pass on spirituality and the language of the Christian faith to their children. That’s not to…
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Your phone rings right after the youth event is over. It’s a mom. She reads to you from the same script again, “My son/daughter is making everything so hard. We’ve been arguing non-stop, and today I found out that he/she has been smoking/drinking/sneaking out/insert rebellious action here.” You console; you offer reassurances, but the bottom…
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As a former teacher-turned-youth director, I can attest to the power of sharing ideas among trusted co-workers. Why re-invent the wheel when you can “steal” great ideas from others and apply them to your own situation? I had the opportunity to do just that recently when I sought ways to improve communication between my high…
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This article was originally published November 15, 2011. It goes without saying that youth ministry is always changing. (Oops. Well, it would have.) I grew up in the land of the forgotten nightmares of Unsafe Sanctuaries. “Chubby Bunny” was the least of our worries. Our adults were encouraged to take kids off alone; we’d go…
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Last night our youth did another night of 3 Questions, a conversational family program I started this year. (If you’re unfamiliar with the format for 3 Questions, you can read about it [HERE].) One of the questions asked by the dads in the room was, “What about life is too hard for teens and what…
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ARTICULATING FAITH: Thoughts on “What do you believe? American Teenagers, Spirituality, and Freedom of Religion,” a video by Sarah Feinbloom Written by Amy Valdez Barker “A compelling educational peacemaking film without being didactic, sectarian, or doctrinaire. Every public school, congregation and youth program in the country should have a copy of it.” Rev.…
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After several appointments with parents over the last few weeks concerning their daughters, I thought I’d share a collection of advice about young women. I am not a counselor but try to offer direction to parents of girls through a developmental and sociological lens. 1) Parents discuss with your daughter that there has always been…
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In a recent New York Times article, Frazzled Moms and Volunteerism, care for volunteers are raised. The landscape for families has changed dramatically since I have been in ministry. For over twelve years, I have seen families take on more and more. One family in a previous church was heavily involved in junior league hockey…
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Last fall I was in bed for a month and a half with a back injury that eventually led to surgery. While I was down for the count, an idea for a new family program came to me. It’s entirely possible that it was a painkiller-induced vision, but when we tried it the first time…
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Parents are the youthworker’s greatest ally. There is a mythology out there that “youth ministry would be much easier without their parents.” It is time to dispel this myth. Yes, parents can be frustrating but they are our colleagues: they are in youth ministry every minute of every day. Thus, this friendly word will help…
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Originally published July 11, 2011. We’ve all been there. You … [Read More...]
A quote from Perkins School of Youth Ministry in January has stuck … [Read More...]
As of last April, I began having discussions with my Senior Pastor … [Read More...]
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