Baptist Seminary of Kentucky is conducting an online survey to determine how it can best serve congregations seeking ministers for youth and children’s work. In recent decades, churches increasingly have been filling these positions with individuals from within the congregation…
Interpreting the recent dramatic decrease in American teen pregnancy rates
Ryan Burge — pastor, author and statistician — frequently shares intriguing research data on his Twitter account. On Nov. 19, Burge tweeted a graph showing the dramatic decrease in the amount of recorded U.S. teen pregnancies with the caption, “Can…
The Kentucky youth group brainsaw massacre — a ghost story for All Hallows Eve and Reformation
“Can we go camping tonight, Brad? Pleeeeeease?” During seminary in Kentucky in the early 1990s, I served as youth minister at a small country church in the rolling pastureland 25 miles south of Louisville, Ky., in Elk Creek. Spencer County…
Church religious education took more of a hit than worship during pandemic
Much has been written about the challenges churches faced in maintaining corporate worship during the pandemic, but little has been reported on the changes brought about in religious education. Yet a new national study from Hartford Institute for Religion Research…
‘Deconstruction’ is not a dirty word
On a fateful day during my third-grade year, my family was playing a board game and I was nearing victory. I rolled the dice and landed on a square that read, “Go back 17 spaces.” My family all laughed, as…
Why church expectations for a youth minister may be unrealistic and how to change them
For several years, as an adjunct professor teaching youth ministry courses and giving leadership to the Center for Church and Community at Campbell University, I have received requests that sound like this: “We are looking for help finding a youth…
American young people report huge gaps between what matters to them and what appears to matter to the church
Young people in America do not believe churches care about the issues that are important to them — by double-digit disparities — according to a new national survey released today. Springtide Research specializes in data and resources related to the…
Raised a Baptist, Lance Bass feared who he was couldn’t be in sync with his faith
Talk to any adult who grew up in the 1990s and ask them to name the No. 1 boy band in the country at the time, and you’ll likely hear the name NSYNC. What most of those fans didn’t know…
Inside the spiritual life of Anne Lamott
I recently sat down with Anne Lamott, beloved and debated American novelist and non-fiction writer, to discuss her new release, Dusk Night Dawn. This book has all the trademarks that make Lamott a household name and New York Times best-selling author: Empathy,…