Too Much Change
Up until recently, I had worked with the same person side-by-side in full time youth ministry for the past five years. She and I developed a vision for our youth ministry, a framework, and a culture. We decided together what aspects of youth ministry we were going to pay most attention to, and what aspects […]
No More Excuses
I caught COVID. It took until July 29, 2022 for me to actually catch it, and in true youth pastor fashion, I caught it from being at summer camp. As you’re probably very aware, the effect COVID-19 has on any given person or family ranges from medically devastating to mildly inconvenient, and I’m grateful to […]
Don’t Put Work Over Worship
It’s fall. Fall is busy. Fall is crazy. Fall is when you put in the work. Because fall is when you’ve got events and curriculum and leader trainings, and this fall will be the season where you figure out how to finally win the war against sports. And in the midst of all that we […]
What Ads Teach About Teaching
Have you ever seen those annoying YouTube ads? What the ads are selling probably depends on what you’ve been searching on the Internet lately. Whenever I go on a health and fitness kick, I’ll typically start seeing ads for workout programs or dietary supplements. And the thing I’ve noticed about those ads is that they […]
It Doesn’t Matter If It’s Sin
“He touched the butt.” That is one of my favorite quotes from, not just Finding Nemo, but maybe any animated film ever. And the fact that that is the case demonstrates very clearly that God has hardwired me for a life of youth ministry. If you’re familiar with the film, you’ll recall that Nemo had […]
Dealing With Failure In Ministry
Lately, I’ve been engrossed with the reality that in the gospel, your story matters. Like, part of what makes the gospel of Jesus Christ so beautiful and captivating is that it meets you right where you are in your story. Wounded by the absence of your dad? The gospel is where you find the fullness […]
Immanueling: Your New Favorite Verb
Like most youth workers, the season of COVID youth ministry was a weird one for me. In some ways, I found myself growing as a youth pastor as I learned new ways to innovate in an attempt to keep students connected. But in other ways, I spent that core 15-month period putting work on the […]
How Politics Helps Youth Pastors Be Better
During the 2020 presidential election campaign, there was a new face that managed to achieve relative prominence in the world of politics almost out of nowhere. Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur, burst onto the scene as a (super) long shot to win the Democratic nomination. He even managed to make it onto the debate stage on […]
Lean Into The Problem
One of the coolest things about growing up in the generation I grew up in has been watching counseling become a mainstream thing. I feel like I’ve been able to watch very closely as culture has gone from brushing off counseling as an extreme solution for crazy people, to a normal and healthy habit in […]
You Need A Gospel Lens Too!
August 9, 2021 — If you’re anything like me, you’ve been a Christian for a fairly long time. I mean…you don’t want to sound like a know-it-all…but you’ve been around the Jesus block a few times. Heck, apparently you’re so good at following Jesus, somebody decided to put you in charge of helping teenagers follow Jesus too!