I had this text message conversation with a student this week (shared here with permission from the student). This illustrates the impact and influence volunteer youth workers have in the lives of their students. This also illustrates what students need/want from us: Accountability A reason to make right choices Boundaries Direction To know we care [...]

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A friend showed me this awesome ministry that reaches out to students on the edge. They get thousands of comments each week from students who are at the end of their ropes. This ministry needs people to go to their website and encourage people who leave comments. Please visit MyBrokenPalace.com to see how you can [...]

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Lately, I’ve tried out collaborative counseling with some success. I highly recommend it for a few reasons: 1. I (you) don’t know everything 2. Other people can give wisdom into the same issue from their own experience 3. The student gains a well-rounded pool of information to make an informed decision What is collaborative counseling? [...]

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A parent of one our students is trying to deal with some issues with her high schooler. We’re going to talk through some ideas so I’ve been brainstorming on the topic. Here are some principles I’ve come up with. Maybe they’ll be helpful for others. Discipline shouldn’t be: – A tool for venting anger – [...]

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I’ve been working with a few hurting students lately. While my nature is to nurture and comfort, I’ve found myself going against that temptation for their well-being. Coddling has its place: – During the crisis or immediate aftermath – When reliving the event because of something that triggered the memory Coddling can be harmful: – [...]

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I’ve met with a few people lately to counsel them about family issues. I had my fair share of them growing up so I have quite a bit to say on the subject. Here are some tidbits I share from my own experience of coping with the hard times: Make a list of the type [...]

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Today at summer camp, a fairly new leader approached me about not being able to connect with his guys, especially during chapel debrief times. Here are some bullet-point words of wisdom for leaders experiencing this: – Combine your group with a veteran leader for a night. Allow the other leader to lead so you can [...]

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This post was written with the permission and encouragement of the person I counseled, but his name has been changed. This post is also likely going to ruffle some feathers. The purpose of the method was to help the student realize the big picture, rather than only his current feelings. Scott and I met the [...]

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Where is God when anything happens? He’s in the place he always is. God never changes (Jas. 1:17). Our alignment with him, however, does. I received a request to write on this topic as part of a new book that’s coming out called Where Was God When…? This is the scenario I was given: I [...]

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Last night I participated in a Skype call with Andy Disher’s student ministry. The students submitted questions for us to answer. One of them was, “Is it okay for me, as a Christian, to date a non-Christian? Here are a few thoughts I shared: – if Christ is 1st place in your life, and you [...]

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