This summer has been a whirlwind. It came and went much more quickly than I had expected. Several of the projects I had hoped to knock out were left untouched, which is a little disappointing. However, it’s the first summer in a long, long time when I haven’t felt overwhelmed. Busy, but not overwhelmed. A [...]

Devin, our oldest son, graduated with honors from Fairview High School on Friday night. I’ve attended many graduation ceremonies as a teacher and youth minister, but this was my first as a parent—and it was wonderful. My brother, Ted, and his wife came, and all of Devin’s grandparents, as well—so we just made a whole [...]

I was listening to the local Christian radio station the other day, and that was the tag line used to describe the host of one of their shows: “The poster child for God’s unconditional love.” To be honest, I don’t actually listen to Christian radio all that much–I’m more of a Classical music guy, which [...]

The winner of a Koran recital contest and general knowledge competition organized by Islamist militant group al Shabaab in Somalia was rewarded with an AK-47, two hand grenades, an anti-tank mine, and a computer. Read the full story for more. Here’s my dilemma: I’ve been to Christian churches that practiced “sword drills,” where people looked [...]

When I grow up, I want to be just like Joe Clinard, my 90-year-old friend whose memorial service we attended today. Here is his official obit, which doesn’t (as most obits don’t) do him justice at all He was a perennial youth, always seeking adventure and wonder. He loved flying ultralight airplanes, and he regularly [...]

First, this is just plain fun. Ceremonies like weddings should have more expressions of fun like this. Second, isn’t it interesting to think about how different generations respond to this sort of thing? This would’ve been unheard of 30 years ago; 60 years ago, it would’ve felt like an affront to the institution of marriage, [...]

Servant leader (sər’-vənt  lē’-dər); Function: noun; Etymology: circa 30 A.D., originated from Jesus of Nazareth. a person primarily motivated by meeting the needs of others. an individual who loves others unconditionally, becoming a vessel of God’s grace and mercy to those in need. someone who measures his or her self-worth not by personal accomplishments, but [...]

So it’s a little odd that we live onsite at a Christian camp, yet during the summer—when camp is teeming with people—I’m driving an hour each way into the CYMT office. I’m glad I am, because I absolutely love what I do, but it is weird, because I used to dream about running a camp. [...]

I’m horribly tech-illiterate by today’s standards. I used to be cutting-edge about 12 years ago, but that’s like 4,000 years in the electronic world, I think. So I’m trying out posting a “Cover Link” to a book more of us probably need to read: Better Safe than Sued. The ideas is that the cover image [...]

Affirmative Action is one of those policies that always seems to have controversy around it, and kids in my youth ministries usually have staunch opinions that either mirror or are completely antithetical to those held by their parents. Seldom do I hear a teenager (or many adults, for that matter) talk about hotbutton issues like [...]