A couple of years ago I started working out in my garage and listening to some rock music to help me stay pumped. This is a story from that episode in my life. Working out in my garage also affords me the opportunity to listen to music that doesn’t suck. Most gyms I have ever…
Doing hard things isn’t so hard…
Do Hard Things is a book about teens, or any young person for that matter, taking responsibility rather than being a social leech. In a time where adolescence is expected to extend into the late twenties, this book is a needed encouragement to break the pattern. I love the fact that teens are not settling…
Review of “For Young Men Only” by Feldhahn and Rice
5 out of 5 stars For Young Men Only is a good book for guys about girls. Here is the description from the book: “Just for guys… the inside scoop on girls from the girls themselves. Okay, the authors aren’t girls. But to bring you the facts they surveyed more than 1,000 of them. Every…
Why we didn’t pray for finals this week
We did NOT pray for finals this week in small groups… at least in my group. During our prayer time this week our high school students split up according to grade. I was with the freshmen for prayer time. I enjoy being with them because freshmen are… well… cute. Sometimes they are goofy, sometimes they…
Letting the Plates Fall – Getting back to normal
I’m not sure what normal is these days. For the past few months my life has been anything but “normal.” I have done, by necessity, too many things that I am not good at. In a way I’ve been spinning plates. If you have ever seen a variety show where a man spins plates on…
Leading service projects – moving beyond
Last time I wrote about successfully running a service project. Today, I am writing about knowing your limits concerning a service project. Hope you can learn from my experience. 7. Know your limits – Unless you are an expert in the field of your service project bring in an expert. A wise person seeks the…
How to run a successful service project
I can write this blog because of all the mistakes I’ve made running service projects. I have managed quite a few service projects in my 13 years of ministry. Not all of them have been stellar. In fact, a number of them were hugely unsuccessful. Some have been okay. And few of them have been…
Review of Every Young Man’s Battle by Arterburn, Stoeker, and Yorkey
4 out of 5 stars Most every young man I have ever worked with in ministry share a few common struggles. Lust is usually at the top of that list. The younger ones come to me for help understanding this temptation and how to control their new-found desire. While many of the older ones come…
How do you approach Evangelism?
Josh has a great video about Evangelism and Apologetics. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people try to “just give better facts” to convince others to believe. Not awesome… Watch this video and see if your life/attitude/actions are congruent with the Word you believe.
Problem Focused vs Solution Focused, Which Are You?
I’m pretty excited about attending the “Youth Ministry UnConference” in December at Irving Bible Church. The goal of the un-conference is to: “come together to pray for the youth of the world, and dream about how God might use us to help them know Him more deeply.” It is being hosted by a number of…