I’m not sure when the reality of our empty nest hit me first. It might have been just a couple of days after my youngest child left for college, when I began thinking about what to cook for…
In Christian teaching we often mix up the idea of imperatives and indicatives—commands and truths. Some of us think that imperatives threaten our freedom. Others love these commands, but for the wrong reasons, thinking that if we keep…
“Who am I?” “Does my life matter?” “Am I accepted?” “Am I loved?” “Am I significant?” When you interact with students regularly, it becomes clear that these questions haunt them. We see students making poor decisions and acting…
Of course, we want to do a good job and be the best we can be in our youth ministry role. However, the pressure of pastoral performance is lessened as we hold the title and role loosely in light of our identity in Christ.
“How do I know what God’s will is for my life?” As a former student pastor, I saw the special weight this question carries for teenagers and young adults. Members of these age groups are making decisions that…
Helping our children understand who they are also helps them embrace Whose they are.
Most of the time I enjoy scrolling through Facebook. I love following high school and college friends, camp friends, the people I bonded with after college in a new city as God taught me who I was, and…
When I served in youth ministry I couldn’t stand being asked about my dating life. It didn’t matter who was asking—parent, student, fellow church staff—I didn’t want to be asked. But it was always hardest when a student…
It doesn’t matter where you live, what type of school system you are in, or who your kids’ friends are, there is no fool proof way of avoiding middle school meanness. That is not to say the meanness…
