Practicing gratitude is not just a spiritual discipline we should teach to our students; we should also show it to our leaders.  For those who show up to help in a variety of ways, here are some awesome and fairly inexpensive ways to say and show you really care. #1 Handwritten notes: ...
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What does it take to grow as a minister? How do you keep learning and developing the skills required for a changing world? How do you have enough left in the tank to share a little bit with the students you love and the adults you lead?  When I think about the best seasons of student ministry in ...
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Fall is here and the pumpkin spice must flow! But before you refill, I want to share some practical wisdom. Don’t give up what you have gained!  This last season has been marked by a lot of words: unprecedented, upheaval, and pivot, but the one that I hope you don’t forget is renewed. ...
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Congrats! Welcome to your first days on the new job. You did it! You are here! Wherever here is, you are there!  Before you dive headlong into your plans, programs, and redrafting your entire philosophy of ministry, I want to introduce you to 5 people to engage in the first 14 days of your ...
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In my second year of seminary, I drove an hour each way twice a week to serve as a youth associate for an aging Baptist church in rural North Carolina. It was an endowed position by the seminary to help place young seminary students with congregations that were eager for more staff support (i.e. ...
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We are living into a stressful age, and my mom often reminds me that we are not our best selves when we are stressed. Today, I humbly offer a prayer of confession for all the days and ways we have allowed the heat of social media controversy to fuel our frustrations and distract us from our true ...
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