Category: Stories
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A melancoly kind of day
Forgive me. I’m a bit melancholy today. You see today is my last day as a youth minister. I will continue on in ministry, but I will serve as the lead pastor of a church. I look forward to that challenge. It is what God has called me to do. I am certain of that.…
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Salt the Chips!
This morning High School Sunday School, we had the following discussion: Question: Why are chips at the restaurants more salty than chips that you would buy at the grocery store? Why do you sometime see cooks add salt to the chips and salsa served at the local Mexican joint? Answer. Restaurants like to make money.…
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Gods Not Dead Movie….
Here are a few of my thoughts, after seeing the movie a second time. I am not going to include any spoilers for the plot, in case you have not yet seen the movie. Willie and Korrie Roberston’s testimony… Awesome. Pointing out the girl in the hijab who puts it on only for her father.…
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Transitioning: When to Tell the Pastor
So you’re about to leave your church or are searching for a new position. If you’re like me, the next question that pops into your head is this: when do I tell my pastor? Let me share with you a story. A few years ago in my job search, I made my pastor fully aware…
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When God calls, you have to listen
So, big news in my world: God has called me to be a senior pastor. Now before you throw tomatoes at me and swear I’ve turned to the dark side, I want to share my story. There may come a time when God will call you to a different ministry and I hope my experience…
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Don’t Blog Angry…
Don’t blog hurt. These sound like great snippets of advice. In principle, they are great to try and hold to. These also should apply to social media as well. We all have one small problem with actually executing this advice. We are human and imperfect. We all carry hurts, slights, and other bitterness with us…
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Small Church, Small Church Plants
One of the featured missionaries in the missions module of LifeWay’s VBS this year is a Church planter in Canada that plants house churches in unreached neighborhoods and small towns throughout Canada. Some of their methods were interesting. It got me to thinking that there are some pieces of what they do that could really…
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The Grass Isn’t Always Greener
A youth ministry friend of mine once gave me great advice: the next church’s grass isn’t always greener. He spoke from experience. Having been in youth ministry for several years in a bi-vocational status, he finally landed a full-time position. He loved the idea of working just one job, but soon expectations began to mount. …
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NCAA March Madness, BYU, and the Youth Group???….
In all the buildup to last night’s NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament, I heard an interesting point in on one of the local sports radio stations. They told the story of the “BYU Rule”, where BYU has made a school policy to not play on Sunday for any reason. The NCAA has a rule on the…
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Guest Post: Ski Trip!….
Editor’s Note: This Guest Post is from Stephanie Karolus. She is a recent graduate from Concordia University Chicago. She serves in ministry in northern MN. Stephanie currently serves at St. John’s Lutheran Church with the youth, children, adults (pretty much all ages). When winter strikes, it can cause many people to want to stay indoors.…
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Steven Furtick, Altar Calls, and Dangerous lines….
First things first. Whether you agree with Steven Furtick/Elevation Church or not, pray for them. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. That said, now lets move on. Pray for them. Its been an “interesting” several months at Elevation Church and for Steven Furtick. I cannot imagine the impact of the various news stories…