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We're All Born This Way

Rick Lawrence Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The other day I had breakfast with an old friend—we’ve met, off and on, two Saturday mornings a month for 10 years or so. I hadn’t seen him in a few months, so we had some catching up to do. I asked about his family. He paused, glanced down for a moment, then...
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Leadership

10 Money Saving Tips to Start the New Year.

Brent Lacy Friday, December 21, 2012
A new year is upon us. Time for ideas, plans, and resolutions to do good things. Some want to lose weight, others things like getting the finances in order. For the first, go see my friend Josh at Youth Pastor Diet. For the finances, let's dig into it a little here. These are 10 general tips (in no... read more
Leadership

Scheduled to Survive

Brian Holland Thursday, December 20, 2012
I know that when some of you read the first word of the title for this post ("scheduled") you had tremors run through your body. However, scheduling is not the enemy. It actually is what helps us accomplish things throughout the day that are meaningful and helpful to those we've been called to... read more
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Leadership, Culture

Everyone Has a Voice: A Response

dixonh1 Thursday, December 20, 2012
I love blogs! I’m pretty new to youth ministry (celebrating 28 months today in my first church), and a good blog is almost like having a mentor…key word being ALMOST. A good blog challenges while it inspires, and keeps the reader wanting more. Here are a few of my favorite blogs to read: http://... read more
Discipleship

One on One Times with Students is Irreplaceable

Danny Bowers Thursday, December 20, 2012
Today I spent 45 minutes with a high school sophomore. Last week it was two different seniors—an 8th grader and a student I am mentoring. Each of these conversations produced a variety of topics but each one was ended with a “thanks for meeting with me” or “thanks for making time for this... read more
Leadership, Culture

Everyone Has a Voice (Kurt)

Kurt and Josh Wednesday, December 19, 2012
This week Josh and I are sharing some blogs we enjoy that are a little “off the beaten path”…blogs from sharp people that you may not be reading. I have to admit right off the bat that I don’t read as many blogs as Josh does. The dude reads so many blogs that I’m not sure how he actually gets any... read more
Leadership, Culture

The Future of Youth Ministry—Reversing the Slow Fade

Thom Schultz Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Is it possible that the American church is fading into the background of our culture, dragging youth ministry with it? Will rapidly declining attendance lead to a marginalized church presence in America, similar to what’s happened in present-day Europe? In light of the storms that are currently... read more
Leadership, Culture

4 Takeaways On the Future of the Church

Theresa Mazza Tuesday, December 18, 2012
If you could fly over America in a helicopter to get an aerial view of the church, what would she look like? I think it would look a lot like the breathtaking view I saw while attending the Future of the Church Summit at Group. Here are the takeaways I took with me… 1. The dialects of eternal love... read more
Leadership

Future-isms

Rick Lawrence Tuesday, December 18, 2012
A month ago I was a part of our first-ever Future of the Church Summit, hosted here in Colorado at our Loveland headquarters (for more on the fascinating outcomes of the Summit, see our cover article in this issue of GROUP—“Reversing the Slow Fade”). The highlight for many at the summit was the... read more
Leadership, Culture

Everyone Has a Voice (Josh)

Kurt and Josh Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The last few years in youth ministry have been incredible—we’ve gone from a few influential voices to an incredible community of people writing about their youth ministry experiences. Today I wanted to highlight a few voices from the trenches of youth ministry (Kurt will be back with more tomorrow... read more
Families, Culture, Outreach

Responding to Hurting, Confused Teenagers

Rick Lawrence Friday, December 14, 2012
By Bert Dockrey and Rick Lawrence Today, in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, a gunman opened fire Friday in a Connecticut elementary school, killing 20 children, six adults, and himself. Among the dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School were the school's principal and... read more