Sports and the Liturgical Life

I don’t know about you, but where I live, sports are a big deal to students and their families. It isn’t uncommon for sports, not the church, to hold a higher priority in the life of a student….

Are Kids’ Sports Our New God?

Quite a few years back, my son (a second grader at the time) bounded down the stairs early one Saturday morning excited about his baseball tournament. It was going to be a beautiful, sunny day and our family…

The Surprising Lie of the Olympics

The most dangerous message your student hears today is not one that centers on sexual immorality or even outright rebellion against the morals of a past generation. It is a message of peace and it is at the…

A Letter to My Students: Jesus is for Losers

Dear Students, It’s pretty common to look around these days, see the hype and massive build up for some cultural event about to happen: comments and press, crowds making plans, competitors making preparations … It doesn’t matter whether…

Part Three: Sports vs. Eternity

At the close of a back-to-school event our youth ministry hosted, a student wandered up to thank me for the work the youth staff had invested in that night. He thanked me for the fun. He thanked me…

Part Two: Sports and the Busyness Epidemic

 In this three-part series of articles, John Perritt addresses the pervasive problem of American youth sports culture. Read the first article in the series here. How to jeopardize your job in student ministry, Step 1: Talk Negatively About…