Not all that long ago, I was part of a community that loved to sing this song called “For My Ashes.” I loved this song, it was melodically beautiful, I loved to play it, and when this community of 80 Read more…
This is the third part, of a multi-part writing series, walking through Andy Root’s new books on youth ministry. Introduction Chapter 1 __________________________________ “In the last four decades youth ministry has become something. It has become a common operation for many congregations Read more…
“The sweat fell from her forehead as Nadia heaved the last box from the cart into her new office. Sitting down to catch her breath, she wiped her brow and sighed deeply. [As] she looked up at the empty walls, Read more…
Early on in my current (and now outgoing) calling as a youth and family director at an ELCA church in Southeast Michigan, I was turned on to an obscure youth ministry book from IVP called “Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry,” by Read more…
“But will you recognize my face When God’s awful grace Strips me of my jacket and my vest, And reveals all the treasure in my chest?” – Joe Pug, “Hymn 101” __________ How can I ever forget it? It was Read more…
One of my colleagues likes to remark, tongue in cheek, about clinical pastoral education (CPE) as “a bunch of pastor types, trying to use psychology, to unearth your deepest secrets.” I just recently (thursday actually) finished my first unit of Read more…