While deployed as an Army Chaplain on Operation Enduring Freedom in Europe, God taught me some lessons about time management. While my unit was not in a combat area, the deployment made me think about the brevity of my life and how I had spent my time up until that point. I grieved over time I wasted and committed that …
In practice, too many youth leaders portray a subtle skepticism about the power of the Word of God to change lives. I’m still shocked that I continue to receive invitations from youth pastors to preach to their students. I’m convicted that I have nothing to offer students to whom I preach but the hope of the gospel and the truth …
Leadership is a lonely place. Youth ministry leadership can be especially lonely, as youth ministers shepherd students who are facing challenges and issues unprecedented in previous generations. They sometimes serve in churches whose members resist their efforts to contextualize the gospel to reach students and find themselves in the role of trying to help these members, and even their pastors, …
Today’s students get a bad rap. Recent books on Generation Z make much of their short attention spans (See James White’s book Meet Generation Z). They mention how today’s youth would rather watch a video than read a book (See Jean Twenge’s book iGen). It’s common knowledge that students’ use of online access has had a profound impact upon how …
I have a confession to make: I love youth camp. God began calling me to surrender my life to Christ at youth camp. As a camp counselor and program director, I began to sense God calling me into the ministry. As a youth pastor, I saw my students’ lives transformed while they attended camp. I also began to sense God …
