In the little subdivision deep in the Atlanta suburbs where I grew up, there sat several gaudy wooden signs right outside the building office. These signs depicted what was, at the least, an idealistic vision of suburban life….
I just watched my seven-year-old go through her eighteenth surgery last month. It was intense and stressful and extremely painful to say the least. It was agony to watch. I was only the witness to her physical and…
Youth ministry is uncomfortable. It was jarring to be asked about the problem of evil for the first time as a student minister. Or the time I sat stunned and silent as I tried to cobble together an…
While teaching during youth group or Sunday School, a common occurrence is for a student to raise his or her hand and ask a question that is completely off-topic. This happens in every youth ministry and can be…
Over the last decade, the church has experienced an upward trend in the formation of what has come to be referred to as “girl’s ministry.” While the outplay of this looks different from church to church, intentional areas…
Our family recently watched Season Two of 13 Reasons Why. Many scenes were hard to watch, but I believe we as parents must enter in to where our teens are. This doesn’t require watching 13 Reasons Why, but…
I’ve been a youth pastor for almost seven years, and in that seven years I’ve noticed a contradiction in people’s expectations of me. One week someone will remind me that student ministry is significant and needed in the…
Welcome to this month’s Rooted Parent Top 10- a list of parenting articles from across the web for the Rooted community. This list represents ten articles we believe will encourage and equip you as you parent your kids….
In the past several years that I’ve served as a youth pastor, I’ve noticed a concerning trend. We have three Sunday morning services, with Sunday School meeting during the second and third services. As our student ministry has…
