I spend my days writing for and training youth workers JUST LIKE YOU.
I Should Hate The Chewbacca Mom But I Want To Be Just Like Her
I'll be honest. I usually hate these viral stories. They get on my nerves because I see it everywhere. My Facebook and Twitter Feed get clogged with the video itself and all it's renditions.I should have thrown up when Kohl's sent her a ton...
12 Principles To Creating Extreme Ownership In Your Youth Ministry
Former Navy Seal, Jocko Willink, shares thoughts on ownership in the military world but it's easily translatable to the ministry world. Here are the top 12 things he said that should matter to you if you want to create real ownership in your youth...
New YouTube Show: The Drop
I have been thinking for a while about starting a new show on Youtube. I currently have over 300 videos on my channel about youth ministry but as much as I love youth ministry I am not one dimensional. I have over 300 Christian albums and I want to...
The Challenge Of Aging In Youth Ministry
What do you think my greatest challenge is? Church politics? Middle School kids who don't shower? Lock In's? Parents? All of those are challenging in their own way, but all of those are externals that I can handle. It's what's happening internally...
Sheryl Sandberg’s Commencement Speech Will Get You Through Life
Sheryl shares the three P’s—personalization, pervasiveness, and permanence—that are critical to how we bounce back from hardship. The seeds of resilience are planted in the way we process the negative events in our lives....
3 Biblical Take-A-Ways From Captain America Civil War
Civil War is everything I hoped it would be. The fights and the match ups were magic. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) was a breakout hero and made me excited to see the Black Panther movie. I really liked the new Spiderman (Tom Holland) and his...
How Will You Get Kids There? Train or Dune Buggy?
We have two ways to travel, by trains or dune buggy. Trains are predictable. They have scheduled stops. You may even arrive on time but you have one problem, tracks. If you want to go "over there" you can't. You have to stay on the tracks. One...
Radiohead’s New Video Burn The Witch: What Meaneth This?
I am not a Radiohead "fan" but I'm always intrigued by their music. It's moody and reflective and worth taking a listen to. I saw their new video Burn The Witch pop up and immediately saw he connection to Nicolas' Cage movie The Wicker Man. Not...
God Loves The Unlikely
Consider all the unlikely biblical characters God chose in the Old Testament Abraham and Sarah to have children beyond their years David a shepherd Moses a murder Gideon a coward Samuel a child Jonah the runaway Joseph a teen Jacob the liar and...
The Unfiltered Youth Worker
Just saw an article on Mashable.com about Daisy Ridley extoling the values of being yourself, and I applaud her. Daisy posted a picture of herself on Instagram without make up and with no filters. Feelings create the need to filter. Feeling...
Leveling The Youth Ministry Playing Field
Things can seem, and many times are, uneven in youth ministry. The church down the street has: a bigger budget a better youth facility a brighter influence in the community But, you're not competing against the church down the street, you're...
This Man Inspired Me To Live Resolved
I heard this morning about an older man, I knew from a former church, passing away. He had lost his wife many years earlier and never remarried. He was a godly man and will be missed. What I'll miss about him, and men of his generation, was his...
Busy or Productive? Results Don’t Lie
Are You Busy? You may say , "Heck yeah! I'm up to my eyeballs in forms, paper work, programming, meetings, etc.". These things are necessary, but not necessarily productive. Busy means we're hiding from real work that matters. Busy means we're in...
5 Fun Ways I’m Using Snapchat With My Youth Ministry
I'm not a shy person, someone who's a youth pastor with their own YouTube channel can't afford to be. I, maybe like you, was concerned about disappearing videos and teenagers when Snap Chat first came out. There are still concerns but Snapchat...
Batman vs Superman: Lex Luther and God
I've seen Batman vs Superman twice now and there a few preachable moments in the movie. One truth I did walk away with is how Lex Luthor's perspective on God, like many others, gets it all wrong. This version of Lex Luthor, played by Jessie...
The Disciple Project OUTREACH MANUAL
HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR DECAYING YOUTH MEETING INTO A FLOURISHING CITY-WIDE MOVEMENT