So you’re a bold speaking warrior for truth eh?
Tribalism is synonymous with Western Church culture. Since the early schisms, through to the modern-day denominations and networks, believers ‘of every stripe’ rally to Paul, Peter, or Apollos (1 Cor. 1:12). I remember being a teenager, sat with my vicar in his house trying to convince him to write a reference for me to go […]
Are we supposed to ‘feel’ loved to ‘be’ loved?
In 1970, a film adaptation of Erich Segal’s novel ‘Love Story’ made famous the line ‘love means never having to say you’re sorry’, but it took another 34 years and an 8-year-old called Lisa Simpson to point out ‘No it doesn’t! This movie is drivel!’ Little legend Lisa. Can you think of anything more manipulative […]
5 Myths about Expository Teaching in Youth Groups
I think modern youth ministry has more history in topical teaching than expositional, and I think youth ministry training and resources tend to focus more on it too. That doesn’t make topical teaching better though, just more usual – and so we feel more confident in teaching topics and more competent in putting topical teaching […]
How to pick a youth ministry training course
Since writing my post on why you should train for ministry, I have had a couple of emails asking my opinions on various courses. With that in mind, I thought I’d write this. There are three basic things to look out for when you visit potential training courses: Curriculum content, community support, and outside opportunities. […]
Why train for ministry?
Because you should. I’ve written several posts now about the pros and cons of training. I’ve tried to gently and persuasively spell out why it’s a good idea. If I was to be a little bit more honest and franker however, that I’d say you actually need a really, really good reason not to train. […]
How to write better blog posts
This will be a somewhat relative post, as all blogs are different. They have different readers and serve different purposes. For blogs like this one though, where you are trying to offer a genuine digital service, along with sound advice, thought provoking stories, and solidarity for like-minded people, making the effort to raise the bar […]
Blogging on the Sabbath – a call to digital rest.
“If you can’t take a nap, if you can’t take a day off, heaven’s going to drive you nuts.” [Mark Driscoll] I first heard the concept of an ‘electric sabbath’ from Rob Bell during his drops like stars tour. The idea was to have an entire digital shutdown one day a week: No phone, no […]
Is UK youth ministry too American and too male? – A response.
I love the blogosphere in youth ministry. It’s really important to have regular conversing voices on the table sharpening our work. One of the better youth ministry blogs out there is James Ballentine’s. James is a great thinker with bags of experience. I particularly would like to recommend: What if our youth practices are the […]
The Pupil, the Pastor, the Professor, and the dead kitty – A one-act play.
Scene: The trying -slightly-too-hard-to-be-cool community coffeeshop that’s attached to the local Bible College. Professor and Pastor are making small talk over lattes. Enter pupil Pupil – Professor, Pastor, I have a question. Professor and Pastor, together in excited unison – Of course! Pupil – My little cat Whiskers died last night. Will I see her […]
A reader’s digest history of youth ministry
For the history-nuts among us, I thought I would put out a readers-digest of the history of modern youth ministry. This includes a few significant social-historical events that have genuinely influenced the direction and shape of Western Youth Ministry that we see today. Have fun! 18th-19th Century Age-specific ministry began during The Industrial Revolution when […]
11 Essential Youth Ministry Books
So I love books. Love em! I like to hold them, smell them, lick them. I love how they look on my shelves. I even like reading them occasionally. Speaking of my epic-book-shelf-of-awesomeness, I have exactly 113 youth and children’s work books. Which is a nice ego stroking humble brag to add in. I’ve even […]
Youth Ministry training and the battle for professionalism. Is it worth it?
In the red corner, weighing in at -£30,000 (debt that is); a youth ministry professional with certificates, training and qualifications. They boast a long list of module credentials, and a mental catalogue of praxis, quotes and bibliographic data. I give you… the qualified youth worker. In the blue corner, weighing in at 12 years; a […]
Is critical thinking the same as overthinking? Some self-indulgent epistemological musings.
Sometimes critical thinking is ignored, shunned, mocked, or worse, flat out rejected as overthinking. However, in a world of fake news, tabloid drama, and social media reporting – critical thinking just couldn’t be more important. Dismissing genuine critical engagement with ideas as overthinking is more than biting the hand that feeds, it’s covering it in […]
The best arguments against reading Harry Potter, with some critical responses – a faux debate.
During my first degree over a decade ago, I wrote a paper for a Youth Ministry module basically discussing whether or not a Christian should read Harry Potter. It didn’t score massively highly (mostly due to my poor proofreading skills!), but it was still an eye-opening experience. I believed then that the debate was mostly […]
What to do in the first three months of a new youth work job
This won’t be a popular answer, but you should do nothing. Well, almost nothing. I was recently at a conference where I overheard a new youth worker tell another youth worker that she was struggling in her brand-new position. The second youth worker’s advice was ‘change as much as you can as quickly as you […]