It’s sometimes amusing–and sometimes just painful–to see how ministers use technology. With the proliferation of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, many people in ministry devote loads of time spraying cyberspace with their words and pictures. Used well, social media involvement can enhance ministry and help to connect with people. Used poorly, these attempts […]
Read more
Acts of a Suicidal Church
This summer’s big regional youth conference has been cancelled. Because of tunes. The leader of the denominational office notified all the churches in the region that he decided to pull the plug. The reason? Conference organizers had planned to use Christian songs that did not come from the official denominational worship book. He cited church […]
Read more
When Youth Ministry Stopped Innovating
Youth ministry has been known to pioneer new and effective forms of ministry that also influence the rest of the church. But that trend, in some churches, has largely reversed. Some youth ministries (and children’s ministries) try to mimic the form, methodologies and styles found in adult church, aka “Big Church.” That’s a switch from […]
Read more
The Trouble With Youth Ministry
Youth ministry in the American church is often diagnosed as an increasingly ill patient. Some are even suggesting the patient is terminally ill. Researchers and influential spokespeople report that a large majority of young people drop out of church after high school and rarely return. And they point out that the faith of Christian teenagers […]
Read more
Short-Term Missions: A Waste?
Why do some find it fashionable to bad-mouth short-term missions? I heard it again at a recent conference. The American white guy at the microphone implored the roomful of Christian volunteers and donors to cease their spending on mission trips. Citing his own time spent working among the poor, he urged the group to “do […]
Read more


December 19, 2012 
