My research into what high school teens believe about Jesus (published in The Jesus Gap) has made me particularly aware of how important it is to help people understand that ALL of Scripture points to Jesus. Knowing how important this is, I’m...
How and what we say affects what we believe. I saw this in my research for The Jesus Gap, which found that 73% of the language used by high school students to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” was creedal in origin. I was further convinced of...
“Do you wish one of the daily themes of the Youth Gathering had been ‘Jesus Changes Everything’?” one of my adult leaders asked me on the final day of our denomination's triennial youth gathering of more than 30,000 students.
She’d spent the week...
“I have to go get my guys!” my two-year old daughter, Hope, told me as I began reading the Christmas story to her during our morning devotion. A few minutes later she returned with her Fisher Price nativity set and proceeded to act out the...
I recently asked my student leaders to evaluate who our ministry talks about most: God the Creator, Jesus the Savior, or the Holy Spirit.
My student leaders waffled between God the Creator and Jesus the Savior before one eventually suggested, “I...
As a parent, I want to teach my daughter to follow Jesus.
Hope's only 21-months old, so right now, the main way we're doing this is by reading her the Bible in order to teach her the stories of her faith. One of her godmother's got her a copy of...
What I'm Reading:
Fiction:
I read 4 fiction books in November.
Best mystery: The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan.
Most thought-provoking: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. This is a fiction book about racism. It is beyond...
I recently spoke about The Jesus Gap. Afterward, a youth worker approached me and said, “If you're as into discipleship as you think we ought to be, you're probably not a very good youth worker.”
“Why?” I asked him.
In response, he said, “Because...
My research from The Jesus Gap found there’s a gap between what youth workers think churched teens believe about Jesus and what they actually know about him. In response to this data, many youth workers have told me, “I agree there’s a gap. But...
What I'm Reading:
Fiction:
If there's one thing summer is NOT for me, it's relaxing. Summer is the season of mission trips... Which means life is chaotic and full. Nevertheless, I read 9 fiction books during the last two months.
...