Popular youth ministry author and speaker, Doug Franklin, who I greatly respect, recently posted this on social media:
I often get calls from churches seeking great youth ministry candidates for their open positions. They are all looking for the...
On the first day of swim lessons, the lifeguard asked my nearly four-year-old daughter, Kendall, to put her head underwater and much to my shock, she did. This immediately advanced her from Level 1 (for anyone who can’t put their head underwater)...
Last Tuesday, exactly one week after the girls started school, we got the dreaded call that 6-year old Hope had been in close contact with someone at school who tested positive for COVID.
Because of the close contact, Hope had to quarantine for...
Last Sunday during worship, I sat in the comfort room with my two-year old, Kendall, in tears.
To be clear, I was the one in tears, not her.
We’d gone into the cry room to nurse. When we returned to the sanctuary, she started chattering. A LOT...
NBC news has recently been airing a series of reports about the mental health toll of the pandemic on young people. As a youth pastor, I’m well aware of these. I’ve seen the toll this pandemic has taken on the young people in my ministry. I’ve...
It’s school enrollment season and as the parent of a kindergartener, I’ve been thinking about education a lot.
A few weeks ago, I listened to a podcast by The Mom Hour in which they reflected on their school priorities. That got me thinking about...
I’m an introverted youth pastor who has, for years, considered myself to be a pretty good listener. Sadly, I fear that I sometimes listen BETTER to other people’s kids than I do my own. Having recognized this in myself, I was excited to read Becky...
In the doctor’s office, when Hope writhed in pain,
God was with us.
Through Hope’s pediatrician, who called ahead to the ER to pave the way,
God was with us.
In the emergency room, when we waited for answers,
God was with us.
Through the Linus...
I’m a fan of lists. Always have been, always will be.
I even have a Christmas spreadsheet tracking what gifts we’ve purchased, what gifts we still need to buy, etc. In the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, I unhealthily obsess over my list,...
I am extraordinarily thankful for the work I get to do with young people.
Even so, I wholeheartedly believe that the primary spiritual influencer in a young person’s life is their parents. As Kenda Creasy Dean says in Almost Christian, “When it...