Answering the Tough Questions About Sexuality: Now Available on Kindle!

My book, Answering the Tough Questions About Sexuality is now available on Kindle and for the rest of today is FREE!

Check it out here: http://amzn.to/zDyz1J

Book Review: Combo Preteen Devotionals

Got to do a combo review of these two books for Youth Worker Journal:
Truth & Dare: One Year of Dynamic Devotions for Girls and Triple Dog Dare: One Year of Dynamic Devotions for Boys. Check out the review here: http://bit.ly/x1wuRl

Top Ten Youth Ministry Books of All Time

I got to do some research today to put together a top ten list for youth ministry books. I sorted through lists from as many places as I could find and came down to the following ten books which seem to be on everyone's list. I find it very interesting that Kenda Creasy-Dean (3 books...she has a fourth that didn't quite make the list too) and Doug Fields (2 books) make up 50% of the list! Definitely says something about their writing and influence in the youth ministry world.

10. Almost Christian
by Kenda Creasy-Dean


9. Youth Ministry 3.0
by Mark Oestreicher


8. Soul Searching
by Christian Smith


7. Your First Two Years of Youth Ministry
by Doug Fields


6. Postmodern Youth Ministry
by Tony Jones



5. Youth Culture 101
by Walt Mueller


4. Starting Right
by Kenda Creasy-Dean, Chap Clark and Dave Rahn


3. The Godbearing Life
by Kenda Creasy-Dean & Ron Foster


And tied in first being listed on pretty much every list I looked at:

Sustainable Youth Ministry
by Mark DeVries


Purpose Driven Youth Ministry
by Doug Fields


Honorable Mentions (listed more than once): Practicing Passion by Kenda Creasy-Dean, Jesus Centered Youth Ministry by Rick Lawrence and The Ministry of Nurture by Duffy Robbins.

Below the Surface

Wrote a new blog about understanding what our fights are really about. So often in our relationships - marriage, dating, friendships, parenting, etc. - our fights are not really about the things we are arguing about. Instead, there are things going on beneath the surface that we really need to understand if we are ever going to truly resolve our issues.  You can check out the blog here: http://bit.ly/wniP6t

What You Need to Know if You Ever Want to Get Married

Had the privilege of running a workshop this past weekend at Monadnock Bible Conference in Jaffrey, NH.

It's been bugging me for a little while that marriage is a topic often forgotten when it comes to teens and youth ministry. The only things that happen more than marriages in our culture are deaths and births...yet we don't really train people for marriage until 6 months to a year prior. Yet, they have years of subconscious lessons about marriage to combate the quick lessons!

If you want to check out the workshop, you can click here to download the MP3 or head over to my iTunes podcast by clicking the link on the right of this page.

Sermon 1/8: Death, Expectation, Resurrection - Repeat

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Understanding What You're Worth

Need some help navigating the world of marital finances and understanding your worth as a youth worker? Check out this article from YouthMinistry.com: http://bit.ly/rBQE11

Sermon 12/11: Rescue from Death

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Sermon 12/4: Chasing the Invisible

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6 Steps to Avoid Youth Ministry Burnout

My wife and I just had an adaption of "Burnout Blues" go up on YMMovement.org. You can check out the article here:

http://ywmovement.org/6-steps-to-avoid-youth-ministry-burnout/

Deciding What To Give

Just wrote a new blog that is part 3 in a 5 part series on finances. This particular entry tackles the issue of deciding how much of our income we should give away. Check it out here: http://www.holymessofmarriage.com/2011/11/deciding-what-to-give.html

Sermon 11/27: Fear Not

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Who Am I?

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Worlds Apart: Understanding the Values and Mindset of 18- to 25-Year-Olds

Got to do a review on Chuck Bomar's new book about 18-25 year olds.

Check it out here: http://www.youthworker.com/reviews-for-youth-pastors/youth-ministry-books/11657158/

Burnout Blues: Finding Balance Between Ministry and Family Life

The wife and I just had a new article go up on YouthMinistry.com about avoiding burnout in ministry. You can check it out here:

http://www.youthministry.com/articles/families/burnout-blues-finding-balance-between-ministry-and-family-life