Hope for the Holidays

I love everything about Christmas: the giving of gifts, the traditions, the holiday movies, the music,  the lights on the houses, the smell of the tree, the wonder and innocence, the Christmas story…  the list goes on and on. But what I think I love most about Christmas is the way that God moves so […]

3 Tips to Combat Relativism

Well, that’s just your opinion. Don’t force your beliefs on me. Intolerant. Hater. Bigot. These are all things you’ve heard and may have been called.  Why?  Because you’re teaching the truth of Jesus Christ. A few years ago I was in the Austin airport and overheard two teens talking. The girl, who I learned was […]

An Open Letter to Christians in the Wake of the Election

We are missing out on an amazing opportunity. Over the last 30 days social media feeds have been filled with people spewing venom at one another due to a disagreement of ideas. People are instantly villainized due to their affiliation with one person. News reports are showing how Americans can deal with the added stress […]

The Fate of Your Ministry Lies in One Question

If God doesn’t drive everything in our lives and in our ministry, then what are we even doing? If we proclaim Christ as Lord to our young people, but He’s not actually Lord of our lives, of our days, of our schedules, if we don’t take time to receive marching orders from Him, if we don’t let Him tell us that we belong to Him – then our works and our relationship with Him are empty.

4 Movements in Evangelization You Need to Know

For Christmas this year, our one-year-old son received a fisher price basketball hoop. It has been played with for about 40 hours since he got it. His time with the toy amounts to less than an hour. Dad loves it, sisters love it. We recently had some friends over and their son had just seen […]

God is not Mr. Fix It, He is more.

As a country we find ourselves in the wake of another mass shooting. Less than 24 hours after the shooting, the NY Daily News places a front page stating ‘GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS’. It criticizes republican presidential candidates for tweeting out concern and prayers for the victims, their families and law enforcement. The title is […]

My first drink was in a Gay Bar and I am Grateful

My first legal drink was in a gay bar, and I am grateful. It was just a few days before my 21st birthday and I headed out to Chicago for a spring break mission trip. We were headed downtown to serve with Emmaus Ministries who help male prostitutes get off the streets, build life skills […]

A Perfectly Designed Ministry

Simon Sinek in his book Start with the Why tells a story of American car executives who tour a Japanese assembly line. They get to the end of the line where the doors were placed on hinges and notice that there was not a line worker present with a rubber mallet to tap the edges […]

How to Pray with a Teen

Personal prayer is difficult enough, but there are moments when the Holy Spirit is asking us to pray with a teenager or other adult. Be not afraid, the fruits outweigh the challenge.  This call to pray with another may be after you have had a great one on one conversation or during a moving moment […]

Welcome to Next Level Ministry

The aim of youth ministry has always been the same, to lead teens to authentic relationships with Christ and his church. The methods seeking to make this a reality have dramatically changed. We find ourselves in a time where youth ministry is more and more a recognized profession and seen as a necessity rather than […]