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Archive for June, 2010

What’s So Great About A Balanced Life?

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

If you ask me, living a balanced life is overrated.

Don’t get me wrong. Balance is something that we in our 21st-century American culture emphasize a lot. Yet I can’t help but wonder if we’re overemphasize the importance of balance in our lives. Should we, as individuals and as churches, really be as obsessed over living a balanced life as we are? Should we measure the success of our careers, our lives, and our holiness according to whether or not we achieve balance in our lives?

I don’t think so.

After all, a word search of the entire NIV translation of the Bible….
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Posted in Archive

Discovering Jesus on the Lower East Side

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

The knots in my stomach tightened. As the distance between us grew, I could feel the color leave my face. You hypocrite, I thought. So busy with ministry that you pretend not to notice?

Truthfully I had noticed. In fact I saw her so vividly that I crossed the street so she wouldn’t see me ignoring her. Not that it would’ve really made a difference. She didn’t know me from the thousands of others who ignore her every day, and we’d never even seen each other previous to that moment, as far as I knew.

But that wasn’t the point.

The point was….
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The Paradox of Phariseeism

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

“Luke” was a youth pastor at the largest and most influential church in his community. He had a huge budget, exciting programs, and tons of students who genuinely loved him.

Luke was married to a beautiful, talented, godly woman. Their church loved and appreciated both of them for investing their lives into ministry leadership.

But Luke was also an addict—a sex addict. He knew his secret cravings weren’t congruent with the holiness God had called him to, and in his mind, marital infidelity was the worst-case scenario.

Unfortunately for Luke, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

He implemented several strategies to avoid sexual immorality…..
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The Better Story

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Erik Leafblad unpacks the idea of creating learning environments in our youth groups. He also gives resource examples from Barefoot Ministries that can help with this.

Posted in Supplement

Sabbath

Monday, June 14th, 2010

This is a great article, written by Mark Yaconelli for YOUTHWORK international. The article is on the need for Sabbath in youth ministry. Check it out!

Posted in Supplement

Theirs, Mine Or God’s?

Friday, June 4th, 2010

“Throw out your [name of youth ministry magazine]!” I once heard a youth pastor say without flinching during camp staff training. He was a sharp guy, but this was obviously a sore point for him.

My eyebrows rose at this speaker’s emphatic suggestion. Where’d that even come from?

At the time I volunteered at a rural Nebraska church with a puny budget, and for a brief period, those youth ministry magazines were the only training and encouragement I received.

His comment bugged me for days. I knew I might be personalizing it because I write youth ministry resources. He may as well have….
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Posted in Article

All Work And No Play

Friday, June 4th, 2010

As the choir started leading the congregation in the second song, Gabriella couldn’t find him.

“Tony was in Sunday school, but I wonder where he went?” she wondered, trying to focus on worship, but often taking a mental roll call of the teenagers in the service.

After the service, Gabriella saw Tony in the parking lot.

“Where were you? I didn’t see you in the worship service,” she prodded.

“I was working in the nursery,” Tony replied.

“Since when did you become interested in nursery work?” Gabriela asked, knowing Tony was an athlete with a streak of mischief—not your typical child-care provider.

Tony saw an opportunity….
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Posted in Article

Work Within The Reach Of Love

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Survey the major Web sites for standardized test preparation, and you’ll immediately sense student anxiety about the future. Catchphrases like “Higher Score: Brighter Future” (Kaplan) and “Helping you get into the college of your dreams” (Sylvan)[1] aren’t just catchphrases; they reflect (and seek to capitalize on) the stress of young adults attempting to figure out their lives and vocations.

This anxiety is so tangible that the “brighter future” is made to depend on a higher score and “fulfilling dreams” on college choices. For many students, reflection on their future starts with the pursuit of that higher score or the dream college….
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Posted in Article

Teaching Senior Highers How To Think Critically

Friday, June 4th, 2010

I want senior high students to be better thinkers. I want them to use their minds to form and connect ideas, discover opinions and beliefs, and arrive at conclusions before making important decisions. To do that, we need a framework for understanding and developing critical thinking skills in young people.

Critical thinking is reflective and reasonable thinking focused on what to believe or do (Robert Ennis, Critical Thinking, Prentice Hall, 1995). It’s the process of determining the authenticity, accuracy, and worth of information or knowledge claims (Barry Beyer, Improving Student Thinking, Allyn & Bacon, 1997).

Older students don’t become critical thinkers just….
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Tags: Sr. High Ministry
Posted in Archive