by Mark Taylor Before some people see the word “flexible” and immediately think “relative” or “ambiguous,” let me quickly define what I mean by a rigid faith and a flexible faith. A rigid faith is a stubborn, eyes-closed, arrogant, unwilling to grow or learn, self-righteous, static faith. A flexible faith admits it doesn’t have all […]
by Lisa Long Our church celebrated its 100th birthday just a couple of years ago. For half of that century it has been located less than a mile from a local public housing neighborhood. Last year this housing community was named one of the most dangerous places to live in the U.S. Although the members […]
When I look across the struggle that is the church today, the greatest need I see is a church that is willing to hold each other accountable. We stand by and watch folks struggle with life, with faith, with depression, with … God help us. Jason Sansbury shares with us how to invite accountability into […]
Theological Foundations for Youth Ministry is one of our core Master of Arts in Youth Ministry courses. Just one day in Theological Foundations will dismiss the idea that youth ministry is simply about fun, games, and devotionals. This course introduces students to youth ministry as a practical theological discipline and guides them toward developing and […]
by Andrew Zirschky As a junior political science and philosophy major at a Christian college on the West Coast, Laura looked to be the paragon of devoted and vibrant faith: she prayed and read her Bible daily, spent her weekends volunteering at serving ministries and soup kitchens, attended chapel midweek and church on Sunday.[1] But […]
by A Youth Minister “Hate” is a strong word. I try not to use it very much, but there are times when it is the only word that conveys the way I feel about something. I hate sin and suffering and death and I hate it when people don’t use their turn signals and I […]
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I’ve felt called to formal ministry since I was in high school in Central New York in the early 2000s. I registered for a lay speaking class offered by the United Methodist district where I was living at the time. My intent in signing up for the class was to gain experience in public speaking—I had absolutely […]
by Joanna Bellis When spring rolls around, I renew my love/hate relationship with a tradition that was passed to me in the church in which I serve: Youth Sunday. What’s to dislike about Youth Sunday? There’s always a possibility that anything a youth (and especially a child) does in front of a congregation can turn […]
by Jason Sansbury Want to do an interesting experiment? Create a Google news alert that will send you a message every time the words “youth pastor arrested” show up in a news story. I did this experiment for a few months before I had to turn the alert off. It is disheartening and saddening, and […]
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