The age of one-size-fits-all youth ministry is over. It has to be. We live in a dynamic time filled with diversity. This is an exciting time to be in ministry to youth. Our world is smaller than ever before. Cultures are not only clashing but blending to create new expressions of culture. In this new era [...]
Archive for the ‘Youth Ministry’ Category
Each Student is a Culture (art of connecting pt. 4)
Posted: September 20, 2011 in Adolescent Development, emerging adults, extended adolescence, Spirituality, systemic abandonment, Technology, Teens, Youth MinistryTags: Cultural artifact, Cultural Intelligence, David Livermore, God, IPod, Religion and Spirituality, Youth Ministry
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Cultivating a Spirit of Learning (art of connecting pt. 2)
Posted: September 14, 2011 in Adolescent Development, systemic abandonment, Teens, Youth MinistryTags: High school, Kampala, Student exchange program, Uganda, United States
Immaculate was a foreign exchange student from Kampala, Uganda. She was new to our country and culture. When asked about how she felt when people noticed she was different she responded: “It’s okay to ask. People sometimes notice something special about me – my accent, the way I look – and that’s okay. It’s just [...]
Building Bridges (art of connecting pt. 1)
Posted: September 8, 2011 in Addiction, Adolescent Development, Depression, drug prevention, emerging adults, extended adolescence, LGBTQ Youth, Mental Illness, Parenting, Spirituality, Suicide, systemic abandonment, Teens, Youth Ministry, Youth With DisabilitiesOne of the Apostle Paul’s most famous speeches took place at Mars Hill, the Areopagus, in Athens. He noted that they appeared to be a very religious lot of people due to the sheer number of statues they had to their gods. In a brilliant move he identified the one statue that was for the [...]
Disabled Youth and Youth Ministry Gatherings (pt. 3 – hearing impairments)
Posted: August 26, 2011 in Youth Ministry, Youth With DisabilitiesTags: Deaf culture, Hearing impairment, Language interpretation, Sign language
If a student who is deaf is using an interpreter, group members will need to take turns during discussions. If several people are talking at the same time, which is not uncommon in youth group meetings, the interpreter will be unable to communicate all the information. Requiring people to raise their hands before speaking is [...]
Goofus and Gallant in Youth Ministry
Posted: August 17, 2011 in Adolescent Development, Spirituality, Teens, Youth MinistryTags: Christianity, God, Highlights for Children, Pastoral Resources, People, Religion and Spirituality, Student, Youth Ministry
Remember the old Highlights Magazine we use to read as kids? I remember spending hours looking for the hidden objects scattered throughout the magazine. I also remember the Goofus and Gallant comics. They were two polar opposite characters meant to teach the children reading about right and wrong. I used to love reading them but must admit [...]
I’m A Huge Rock Star (youth pastor life skills series pt.5)
Posted: August 10, 2011 in Mental Health, Youth MinistryTags: Health, Jesus, Narcissism, Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Personality disorder, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement
I am currently reading The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement and was struck by the following paragraph: “It’s difficult to say based on hard data whether older adults have shown the same trend toward greater narcissism, as people older than college age have not completed the NPI very often. Are, say, thirty-somethings today [...]
Off The Hook: Blame The Victim
Posted: August 4, 2011 in Teens, Youth MinistryTags: Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, God, Oppression, Religion and Spirituality, Sexual harassment, Sexual orientation, United States
Many well-intentioned people have entered into urban ministry because they believe God can and wants to use them in the lives of people in the city. But all too often we answer that call with preconceived ideas about the problems people in the inner city have and their role in creating those problems. So, we ride [...]
Privilege And Oppression In The American Church
Posted: August 3, 2011 in News, Spirituality, Youth MinistryTags: God, Law of Privilege, Oppression, Racism, Religion and Spirituality, United States, White people
There’s no denying that there are a handful of Evangelical churches that largely shape and control the American Christian culture. You can probably think of a handful of them right off the top of your head. Those churches have contributed much to the Kingdom and this post is not an attempt to argue whether their success is [...]
ScreenWorld vs. RealWorld
Posted: July 27, 2011 in Adolescent Development, Family, Mental Health, Parenting, Technology, Teens, Youth MinistryTags: Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Online Communities, Real life, technology, The Real World, Twitter
I ‘ve been reading a challenging new book, Virtually You – The Dangerous Power of the E-Personality, written by Elias Aboujaoude, MD from Stanford. In this book he pulls on years of research the looks at how our online personalities (e-personalities) are shaping how we interact with the offline world. While he recognizes the unlimited [...]
