I saw a youth ministry related facebook post the other day asking how the collective hive mind selects student leaders. I think this is an extremely legitimate question, but one that needs a quick reframing. Let me start by zooming out. The bottom line when it comes to leadership development …
wes 
What Lurks Beneath
Every teenager has leadership potential. More than potential, however, every teenager has influence. My job, as someone who desires to expand my leadership influence, is to help students learn to do the same. Over my time working with students, I’ve developed a conviction or two. One of those convictions: sometimes …
The Father-Leader Paradox
I’m less than a month away from a milestone in my life: my oldest daughter is getting ready to move into the youth ministry. I don’t know if you’ve thought about the dynamic of being a parent/youth minister, but I have been contemplating it pretty heavily over the past month …
The Leadership Invitation
When I was a 8th grader, my youth minister had a conversation with me that helped set me on a path for the duration of my high school career. I went to a small school and a small town church, so there weren’t a plethora of students in our youth …
Leadership & Relationship
This morning I found a journal that was given to me almost 17 years ago. In it were notes written from youth group members of my home church. The words were encouraging, hopeful (stay in touch!), and affirming, even 17 years later. As I was reading their words, I was …