I love to listen to music and when I listen…I want clarity. I want to hear every chord, reverb and bass note as though it was exploding out of my iPhone or iPad with unrestrained freedom. So when the salesman at the BOSE store handed me the QuietControl Wireless 30 headphones, he knew he had me. (Yes, I know they…
How do we keep students from “falling through the cracks” in our youth ministries? Every student is important but not every student is impressive, so they may not stand out. Every student needs a mentor/discipler but not every student is going to ask for one. Every student is looking for love but not every student is looking for it in…
Everyone wants to belong - to be recognized - for someone to know his or her name - to be understood. From 1982-1993 there was a popular sitcom called Cheers and the words to the theme song were not only catchy but insightful. Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name, and…
There is no “Secret Formula” for bringing Generation’s Y and Z to Christ. However, there is a “Gospel Magnet” for attracting them. This may sound contradictory but hear me out. There is a difference in a “Secret Formula” and what I refer to as a “Gospel Magnet.” A formula suggests “X easy steps” to salvation or perhaps some procedure that…
We often define churches by their size, music quality, architecture or notoriety of the pastor. Elaborate facilities. Multiple staff members. A plethora of programs. Is this how we define church? Is it about all of these things? The answer can be “yes” and “maybe,” if these things are contributing to the main thing. The main thing is not bringing a…
Can you imagine people actually paying for the privilege to: Stay up late or even all night? Ride on old school buses? Give up one of their week nights, week after week, for years? Be called at all times of the day and night? Sacrifice a night’s sleep for the weekend? Be involved in the lives of students with no…
When I was young I would visit my Grandmother, staying with her for days on end. I loved being there because she made me pound cake with chocolate syrup for breakfast. (Yeah, I have always been into health food.) She played the role of grandparent very well. I got away with things my parents would have never approved. However, her…
Some of the people in the seminar were shocked since I was the speaker and the topic was Evangelism. I began by saying, “I love Jesus and want everybody to know Him but I don’t do evangelism!” After a brief pause, I explained, “Evangelism is not what I do…it is who I am!” If we relegate evangelism to an event…
This is a guest post by Eric Brown, Word of Life Area Missionary to Maine. During the month of November he along with other National Missionaries runs 17 evangelistic events reaching 30,000 students. As the Gospel is presented, many of these students say “Yes” to Jesus. Eric reminds us that the true essence of big event is the individual. Counseling…
The recent Pew Report (November 2011) made some interesting observations about Millennials. The report specifically addresses the topic of politics. One of the categories caught my attention, noting the perceived role of religion as a key to our Nation’s success. I suggest you go directly to the report for the complete comparison as well as other insightful information. The bottom…