I’m excited to be speaking at this year’s Rooted Conference on October 10-12 in Atlanta, GA. Rooted is an invaluable resource ministry working toward greater centering on the gospel in Christian student ministry. It will be my honor…
What would it have been like if the Twelve Disciples were in my youth group? Certainly James and John would always want to ride shotgun in the van and be first in line at Chick-Fil-A. Judas would always…
Youth culture is complex. As faithful gospel-proclaiming ministers to a young generation, there needs to be an understanding of culture which is commensurate with the serious consequences (Hell) of the gospel we preach. An indispensible part of our…
What Parents, Pastors and students can learn from the story of Jesus and Nicodemus The story of Jesus’ nightly meeting with Nicodemus is a paradigm for Christian conversion. Though different than, say, Paul’s dramatic conversion on the Damascus road, the…
“And at once I knew I was not magnificent.” This line from Bon Iver’s song Holocene is one of the most poignant verses sung on arguably the most brilliant album of 2011.[1] With these words, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver’s frontman) articulates…
Sometimes I get sensory whiplash before seven in the morning… It’s any Monday morning in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. I walk out my front door and am assaulted by the smells and sights of a third world city waking up to…
6 Ways to Increase Your Knowledge of Youth Culture In Part 1 of this series, I stressed the importance of engaging with youth culture as we seek to translate biblical truth and communicate that truth effectively to the…
There is an overlooked principle that needs to be considered in the church as we think about youth ministry. It is rather simple and yet I would consider it a game changer. When missed, the results can be…
3 Steps to Effectively Engage Youth Culture I view my role as a youth pastor as being a translator. My job is to take biblical truth and communicate that truth effectively to the youth with whom I work in…
