“What are you thankful?” will be asked around hundreds if not thousands of tables this year. The majority of people will answer things like my life my family my job All things one should be thankful for, but what if you and 5-6 other youth pastors were sitting around that Thanksgiving table? What would you…
I have had seasons of frustrations and, sadly, allowed those feelings to bleed out on my students. It wasn’t pretty or fair to them. I allowed the pressure from my boss (pastor), parents, church members, family issues, personal issues and the immaturity of the students I was leading to come to the forefront in the…
Here’s a question from a youth pastor I answered on my weekly, live show Office Hours, Does your church allow for you to have time off after big events? My church believes that youth ministry, and ministry in general, goes all the time so there is really no time off to be had because you…
I do my best to recycle. I cut up copier mistakes into note pads, I reuse left over wood, and I salvage trash and turn it into something useful. Recycling bins make it easy to sort your stuff; paper here, plastic here, cans here, trash here. If we had one of these sorters in our…
You’ll notice I did not title this Obstacles To Answered Prayer. I want my prayer time to be a conversation with my Heavenly Father not as reason to get an affirmative answer to my requests, although, I do prefer a “Yes” to “No” or a “Wait”. My prayer time has been in the tank lately,…
It hit me on Saturday. On the day between death and resurrection, anger, disappointment and desperation. For those who may not know, I deal with anxiety and depression and Saturday felt like a day in grave. I didn’t bother to shave or shower. My heart was desperate to rise and maybe yours is too. This…
This is part two of Balance and Boundaries. If you want to hear part 1 you can click here. Boundaries protect you from abuse When I say abuse I do not mean physical or verbal abuse but time, effort and soul abuse. Part time youth pastors, like yourself, can be abused because you have a…
I am, currently, a bi-vocational youth worker. I have held this title before so I am well versed in it’s demands. For me it boils down to keeping these two elements in line, balance and boundaries. Balance Have you ever tried to balance a see-saw? You have to have the right amount of weight on…
It’s the beginning of the year and, if you’re like me, you’re looking for new books to read. These are books I have already read, wrote, or are on my reading list for 2023. I have divided this list into three sections Ministry Nuts and Bolts, Soul Care and Other Non-Fiction. Ministry Nuts and Bolts…
I’ve been a pastor for over 30 years and, in my younger days, did not rest like I should have which created friction in my family and in my soul. I justified not resting because the work of God, the more important work, had to be done and if I didn’t do it, who who…
