Should I filter the internet for my teenager?My default answer to this question is “No.” I think it’s better to set-up healthy internet habits which you can all agree on and abide by. (Meaning parents follow the same rules as teenagers.)
“Well, there really are such things as stupid questions.”
This was a phrase uttered in my workshop last weekend. It was met with agreement among the crowd. But it struck me as an undermining of something core to the human experience.
Something deep inside me yawned at the cackles. And something else in me was a little bit offended.
You see, when we stop exploring stupid questions, and when we start mocking those who do, and when we think that exploring stupid questions is in and of itself a stupid proposition, innovation stops. And the dark ages begin collapsing in on us.
I took my first trip to Idaho. (The list of states I’ve not been to is getting smaller and smaller.) Less than 24 hours total… it was like an appetizer for that beautiful state.
I know enough to know when I need to refer.
That’s my standard line when dealing with psychological issues in youth ministry. As simple as that sounds it’s probably a line that has served me well over the years. I am quick to listen, assess, and refer when something is beyond my reach.
My desire to do no harm leads me to a referral.
Over the years I’ve gotten to know several therapists, counselors, and guidance counselors who consider their life’s work a ministry. They pour into teenagers and every day their client schedule is packed with adolescents. (And parents of adolescents.)
These are absolutely youth workers.
15 minutes ago Ryan McRae stuck the landing.
I met Ryan a couple of years ago. We made fast friends.
Ryan’s problem was that he was stuck.
He had a good job, one that he was good at and paid him well enough. He had a community of friends, way more of a social life than I ever have had.
But he was haunted. It was a good life… but it wasn’t a great one. Incremental changes helped him but he just sensed he was on the wrong journey.
Follow these five fast steps to spiritual growth.
Living for Jesus is as easy as this acronym: I.N.H.I.M.
My growth plan is Jesus 1-2-3.
This stuff is the scourge of evangelicalism. It drives me batty.
Any time someone tells you that the spiritual life is easy, its a formula, or that they can guarantee ____, feel free to slap them in the face.
Packing for a short-term trip to Haiti can be intimidating. With that in mind, I thought it might be useful for people going to see the types of things I take.
I travel light. I plan on washing stuff out. And several items have multiple uses.
In short, I do my best to be self-contained. While I’m sure I could get just about anything I forgot I like to show up ready to go so we can concentrate on our work and not on something I need.
“Our church can’t get access to that school. It’s closed to the church.”
I’ve heard this phrase my entire career in youth ministry. In a lot of youth worker networks it’s a phrase you say at a network meeting which gets an instant nod of agreement. But it’s never actually been true on two counts.
Christians who are teachers, who consider their work “on mission” ministering to the holistic needs of adolescents, are absolutely youth workers in every way.
It takes a while to notice the dust. You feel it against your body and it burns your eyes a little before you really notice it. If you’ve ever hung drywall or torn down a plaster wall you know the type of dust… it is fine, it covers everything, you ingest it, it gets on your clothes and skin any time you touch something.
It gets on your teeth, you cannot escape the dust.
I leave for Haiti in just a few hours. I fly from San Diego to New York Friday, then have an overnight layover before flying from JFK to Port-au-Prince on Saturday morning. (Sneaking in a Mets game Friday night.)
This is my third trip to Haiti. I’m nervous & excited & pumped & anxious & giddy all wrapped into one.
And, as per the norm, I just gathered and packed everything for the trip far Thursday night. Which means I need to pick up a few items… like long pants. People in San Diego don’t wear long pants. So I’ll need to acquire some between now and Saturday somehow.