Transition: Part 1

Transition. This word can very much sum up the last 6 months of my life. As I write this, it was exactly 6 months ago when I recited my vows to my beautiful wife Nicole in front of all our friends and family. Next to my decision to follow Christ and his calling, this was the [...]

The Three Types of Language

Think back on the last three conversations you had with middle schoolers. How would you characterize those conversations? Were you relaying information, trying to persuade, or building personal relationships? In his book the “Contemplative Pastor,” Eugene Peterson notes that there are three types of language he uses in running a church: Descriptive Language - This language [...]

The Big 13

Happy birthday! You just turned 13! Welcome to… adulthood? The journey of a pre-teen becoming an official teenager is an adventure much bigger than we tend to acknowledge. It’s eerily similar to the 39-year-old going “over the hill” to his 40’s, except the thirteen-year-old tends to be a little more excited about his birthday… One [...]

Don’t Be the Answer-Guy

Don’t you just love when middle schoolers ask deep questions? If one of my students asks a really good question during a youth group or small group function, my heart just lights up. Whether it has anything to do with the actual topic we’re talking about… well, I don’t really care! Whenever I see evidence of [...]

Planting for Tomorrow

Whether you’re a youth pastor, a volunteer, a teacher, or a parent, you know that investing in middle school students can be a difficult experience at times. It’s not always hard, and it shouldn’t be, but there are times when everyone wonders, “Is this worth it? Am I making a difference?” I go back to [...]

A Middle Schooler’s Psalm

Yesterday at our middle school service, we decided to mix it up for worship. Instead of having live music from a band, we opted to have worship stations. Each station was designed to help the students creatively express their worship to God. It’s not a revolutionary idea by any means, but it was the first [...]

The Power of Hello

“Hey! I’m David. How’s it going?” I’m starting to wonder how many times I’ve repeated that phrase or something similar to it in youth ministry settings. I think it’s a pretty natural thing to say. It doesn’t take a youth ministry veteran to think of that one. But I’m starting to think that God has [...]

The Words You Speak (And Those You Don’t)

First of all, let me apologize for my hiatus from the blog. I really only like to write when I feel passionate about a particular topic, as opposed to simply writing my thoughts just because I feel like doing so. Lately my mind has been buzzing with new thoughts surrounding middle school ministry, so I’d [...]

Talking to Middle Schoolers about the L-Word

We see it in the movies. We hear it in our music. And we hear it on the lips of our middle schoolers, those three big words: “I love you.” With as much ease as eating their sandwich for lunch, our students quickly and passively talk about the love they feel. They love their best [...]

Changes

I want you to think about the most awkward feeling you had in middle school. Go ahead. Think back. Don’t keep reading this until you have an awkward feeling in mind. Got it? Okay. Did you feel alone in that moment or experience? I definitely did. When I was in middle school, I felt that [...]