I sat listening to her in an abandoned school building in our neighborhood. Bible verses, scrawled in Spanish, were left as blackboard relics of some former evangelism class. They were intersected by expletives...

An odor blew across my fence on a recent Wednesday afternoon, interrupting my pruning. I looked under the tangerine tree long enough to realize I didn't just get sprayed by a skunk. I smelled weed.Cannabis is a...

When I was a teen, I invited several friends to our youth group. Nobody told me to invite them. I just wanted them to have what I had: a solid faith and a wonderful group of friends where I felt accepted and l...

Recently, some churches have begun calling themselves missional. In truth, however, aren't all churches called to join in God's mission? If so, then what's the difference between doing missions and being missio...

One of the better books I've read recently is Souls in Transition by noted sociologist Christian Smith. He is studying the age characteristics of the emerging adult. They are choosing to navigate life in a...

Author's Note on Big Bible Words: Every once in awhile  a pastor or teacher will use a big word to describe a biblical or theological concept. These words are usually at least three syllables and almost always...

What Do You Hope to Achieve?Get downloadable PDF.Get downloadable PowerPoint presentation.About/DisclaimerWhat Happened:The American Dream…for decades, it's been an easily defined goal for most Americans:...

Anne E. Streaty Wimberly, Sandra L. Barnes and Karma D. JohnsonJudson Press, 2013, 224 pp., $12.81As I was reading Youth Ministry in the Black Church: Centered in Hope, I said to myself, "Yes! This is the book ...

Brock Morgan The Youth Cartel, 2013, 160 pp., $11.85 Culture is rapidly changing, and we must be able to engage culture for the sake of the gospel. Brock Morgan, in his new book Youth Ministry in a Post-C...

"Be at peace among yourselves" (1 Thess. 5:13). We don't have to live in a war zone to know peace resides first and foremost in the human heart—in our desire to live in harmony with those around u...