Adam McLane

Category: youth ministry

  • Infantilization and deinfantilization of adolescence, part 1

    In the last year I read and was deeply disturbed by the book, Teen 2.0. If you are going to read a book in 2011, make it that one. It shook me. One of the primary things that Epstein brought up in the book and has dramatically impacted my view of youth ministry is the…

  • YS Palooza Orlando

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFaWKp0sfNA This weekend I’m in not-so-sunny Orlando, Florida. We are here hosting our first ever YS Palooza. It’s super fun doing something for the first time! (Er, was that an innuendo?) The joy of launching a new event is that the whole thing is kind of an experiment. [insert evil laugh] So far, four hours…

  • Tunisia, Facebook, Privacy, and Freedom

    Most youth workers have developed a Facebook apologetic. That is to say, they know how to respond and argue for Facebook usage to engage with and interact with their students. One component of Facebook, which causes heart palpitations for adults, is that it is a place of dissidence and venting. And the motivating reason that…

  • What the heck is YS Palooza?

  • Unleashing a Feeding Frenzy

    Last night, we dropped a bucket of chum in the tank and ran away. Back in December we introduced Inductive Bible Study at our winter retreat. It wasn’t anything fancy– in fact I thought it was a little cerebral for a retreat. (This coming from a guy who did a high school retreat based on…

  • Two positive trends in youth ministry

    I’m on the tail end of a one week tour of the East Coast. (Catching up with youth workers; talking about PlanetWisdom, YS Palooza, and all things youth ministry.) One of the things I like to do when I meet with youth workers around the country, whether individually or in a group setting, is ask the…

  • Interview with Youth Worker Journal

    A few months back I was contacted by Jennifer Bradbury at Youth Worker Journal about doing an interview on teens & technology. I’ve done a number of articles for Immerse, but this was the first thing I’ve done for YWJ, and it was fun for me. When the arrived at the YS offices I made…

  • Right Coast Bias

    I’m sitting in the airport, headed to the east end of our fine country. My goal for the next 6 days is pretty simple: Meet up with as many youth workers as I can over the next 6 days. Talk until I’m blue in the face about two ministries I’m 1000% behind- PlanetWisdom [students] and…

  • Overstanding God’s Word

    The book of James will punch you in the face. Repeatedly. This passage from James 1 came up at our retreat last week and was freshly illuminated to me. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it…

  • Climbing Trees

    One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to climb trees. From first grade to sixth grade the most consistent place you’d find me (When I disappeared, which was all the time!) would likely be up in a tree. Until fourth grade it was all about hanging out with friends (literally) and…