#RuralMinistry and More.
I remember my first youth ministry evaluation. I sat there nervously as the personnel committee reviewed my self-analysis. Overall, they had positive things to say. Then came the question all youth ministers fear: “How’s your numbers?” My stomach sank. Sweat filled my palms. I looked at the chairman and swallowed […]
It’s Labor Day weekend. As a rural youth pastor, I enjoy this weekend perhaps more than any other. The summer, and all the busyness of camps, mission trips, and VBS, is over. Students are back in school, so your routine is returning to normal. Home is a place you get […]
Recently, my brother, a city boy most of his life, moved in with my family out “in the country.” For the past 12 years of my life, I’ve lived and worked in rural environments. So, it’s been amazing to see rural life through the eyes of an urban dweller. Culture […]
I wanted to try something a little different. Since this is a tech site and a ministry site, I thought I’d delve into the tech side for a post. Now, I’ve established in earlier posts that I’m not your typical trendy youth pastor. As such, I do not own an […]
Every work day starts the same for me. I get into the office, shut my door, grab my Bible and read. I used to struggle with that. I thought Bible and prayer time should be spent at home and I should be “working” while I was in the office. I […]
It was the second to last night of our mission trip to St. Louis and I had an idea. “Let’s go get some ice cream,” I said. “Who wants to go?” About half of the students gathered mumbled interest. “I’m buying,” I added. Suddenly everyone was jumping up and heading […]
This week, I’m preparing to leave for kid’s camp. I’ve got drinks ready, bags to be packed and four days blocked out of my schedule. Why would I do a trip after already doing a week of youth camp and week-long mission trip? Honestly, kid’s camp is one of my favorite […]
Fast Pass is a great Disney invention. If you’ve never been to Disney World (or haven’t gone in a long time), certain rides and attractions give you the option of a Fast Pass, which prints out a time for you to return. The idea is you “wait in line” without […]
My 4-year-old was 40 inches tall exactly. I know. We measured her before we left on vacation. Why is that so important? A lot of the bigger Disney World rides have a 40-inch requirement. As a dad, I was excited because I could take my daughter on them. Or so […]
It was the end of a long day at the Magic Kingdom. My wife had gone to buy some mousketeer hats while my daughter and I rode a ride one last time. She bought two hats and had them embroidered with our names. She went to pay the man and […]
As we walked into the Magic Kingdom, the first thing we did was find Cinderella. For weeks, my daughter talked about wanting to hug Cinderella at Disney World. It’s the one thing she wanted to do. So, upon entering the park, we made a beeline for the fastpass option for […]
Last week, at Disney World, I went to retrieve our stroller from the stroller parking section. As I searched among the hundred or so strollers, I finally found mine and started to move it. As I pulled, it snagged on a woman’s garment. Panicked, I looked up and saw it was […]
