Takeaways on Parenting and Ministry from the Massive College Cheating Scandal

If you haven’t heard (aka you are a hermit in a cave) there are over 50 people who are charged in a massive cheating scandal to leverage their money and influence to subvert the system and get their children into prestigious universities. Among them are Lori Loughlin (Aunt Becky from Full House) and Felicity Huffman …

Some Things Sons Need to Experience With Their Fathers

I have been thinking about my boys a lot lately. As a father I feel the pressure of leading my family spiritually, financially, and emotionally and many times the weight is almost too much to bear. Yet, God has given me these sons for a reason and it is incumbent upon me to raise them …

Can you be me today?

My wife woke me up this morning with these words: "Can you be me today?" Not the kind of wake-up a husband wants to here. Apparently she had been up all night feeling sick so she could not do her normal routine this morning. Since my wife watches other kids in our house I said, …

Help! My Teenager is Using Drugs! A Personal Story

Let me start with my story so that you can understand where I am coming from. First, I have to give a disclaimer. I was taught to be careful when disclosing information about my past as it might give license for people to justify their actions. Sort of a "Well Robbie went through it so …

Youth Ministry 6.3 #42 – Jim Burns (Family Ministry)

I got the opportunity to interview Jim Burns who is the President of Homeword.  "HomeWord seeks to advance the work of God in the world by educating, equipping, and encouraging parents and churches to build God-honoring families from generation to generation." Jim is a three time Gold Medallion Award winning author and has written books …

An Open Letter – Part 4 (Parents)

Dear Parents, Without you ministry is impossible.  I would like to thank many of you who have chaperoned activities, volunteered at various functions, cooked at retreats, taught bible classes, counseled young teens and sat in with me as we cast vision for the future.  Solomon said, "a cord of three strands is not easily broken" (Ecc. 4:12) …

Finding Balance

I was in the airport in Las Vegas when  a man walked by talking to another gentleman and said these words: "We got to ride on a train and see some poverty. It was fun to see what it was like." My initial reaction to this man was disdain because since when does viewing people …

A Day in the Life of a Teenager 8 (Teenagers and Technology) by Joe Wells

The Marvels of Music: How Rock ‘n’ Roll Propelled the Teenager By Joe Wells Rock and Roll, in all its forms, gives us a microphone to communicate with the world. It has the power to bring nationalities and generations together, to elect world leaders, and to move people.  No other art form has the social …

A Day in the Life of a Teenager 7 (Family Issues) by Jon David Schwartz

We as ministers, parents, and even the government (whether admitted or not) know it… after all, the Bible says it and studies [Must Read - Growing Up Too Fast: The Rimm Report on the Secret World of America’s Middle Schoolers, Sylvia Rimm, PhD.] show it.  But, do we as parents cultivate it?  What I’m talking …

A Day in the Life of a Teenager 5 (Physical and Emotional Changes) by Lonnie Jones

Let’s say you have a bicycle.  You’ve had it for 12 years.  It’s comfortable, predictable.  One day you go outside and get on it and suddenly it has the power and handling capabilities of a motorcycle.  But…the high performance is not predictable.  You can get bursts where you feel great but just as often when …