The Center for Youth and Leadership

No, this isn't a post about the dangers of guns in our society. I'm neither part of the NRA or PETA. What I'd like to talk about is a comment that my boss made this morning in a meeting...

While planning for an upcoming conference with 2 top-notch youth leaders, the question came up: If you had an hour and could pick the brain of anyone in youth ministry, who would it be? We came up with a couple of people, some you may know...

I coach for a 7th Grade Basketball team and we experienced two losses today that I'm having a difficulty getting over. I'm not sure if losing hurts because I'm not used to it, or if its a part of humanity and DNA but I feel it nonetheless...

The following are my notes from the workshop I did at the Orange Conference. One of the most difficult issues facing youth ministry is trying to evaluate success. We need to rethink the way we do student ministry and revolutionize the scoring system if we hope to truly impact this ge [...]

The announcement on the news this morning telling us that GM was eliminating the entire Pontiac brand of automobile made me think. My boys are going to grow up and not remember Pontiac as one of the main choices we have when we buy cars...

I heard a great message in church today, Palm Sunday, by JJ Slagg-the senior associate at our church. The concept is that God is still looking to use whatever we own (time, influence, possessions, etc.) just like he "used" the donkey that Jesus rode on for the original "Palm Sunday"...

I just spent 24 hrs with 5 guys who are committed to campus ministry by working with Youth Alive in multiple states. These guys lead the charge in mobilizing students to impact their schools and friends by using tools such as training, facilitating Assembly programs ins schools, etc...

I just came across an article in YOUTH TODAY, the February '09 issue of thisjournal for youth work, that analyzed the impact of the George W. Bush legacy on youth work. Remember that the world of "youth work," involves community, government, education, and faith-based initiatives...

I'm sitting in a coffee shop and trying to get some work done (part of which is posting my blog for the week) and I am getting more and more annoyed by some people on the other side of Caribou. Two white, middle aged guys are meeting and discussing a particular passage of scripture LOUDLY...

So for the last four days my e-mail inbox has been hit with close to 200 personal messages at my last count (these are non-spam related messages - those other thousand I delete immediately), plus another40 Facebook direct messages...

In a little over a month Kristi and I will be traveling to Istanbul to pour into some of the greatest kids on the planet. These kids have committed their lives to join their families to proclaim the message of Jesus to people groups around the world...

I was watching a tv show and there was a sarcastic comment made about Abstinence. It felt weird, I remember when the term was meant to refer to a positive virtue...

 Tomorrow I drive up to a rural community in Northern Minnesota to speak to a group of students who would rather come to church than go to school...

For those that have not grown up in a Catholic context today is just another day of the year. However, for those of us who have strong catholic roots today is Ash Wednesday. I must be honest, growing up I didn't really understand the depth of the celebration or the meaning of the symbolism...

I'm listening to Denny Curran, a lead pastor in a small community that has lead numerous church plants. He cares about people so much that he won't let up with a desire to launch new churches in rural/small communities...

I've been in several pretty high profile meetings lately. In these meetings two different things happen with the same result. There are some groups where there have been some really exciting elements put forth that have the potential to impact an organization in some great new ways...

I'm at home and flipping through the channels and stumbled across the Academy Awards on T.V. Slumdog Millionaire just won for the best picture while Kate Winslet, Sean Penn, and the late Heath Ledger all won awards for their acting talent. It got me thinking . . ...

I'm about to speak at a youth convention for a denomination called the Open Bible and I'm struck by many thoughts, none of them in order. First, these people are amazing...

I have a friend who is 33 and was elected into the position of sr pastor at a church that has great potential. The people at the church made comments like "he's really young but once he spoke I realized he was a great leader".....

I have been observing a trend in leadership over the last few years. It seems like people in positions of authority are afraid to say anything controversial or potentially uncomfortable for the hearer...

Last week I was at a training event where I got to hang our with some amazing people. Grace is a Palestinian believer who lives and works in Canada to raise awareness for a people group whose lives are caught in the middle of a deeply complicated situation...

 Anyone working in youth ministry has heard the startling statistics about students dropping out of church after youth group. There has been several studies that place the figure somewhere between 50 to 70 percent, and some that have put it at over 80 percent...

I have just "returned" to my office on campus and to a "regular" schedule following Christmas break. It is one of the BEST things about being in education. You get to take some time off during the summer, spring, and winter breaks...

 I was having lunch with a friend recently and they were telling me about their twelve year old daughter and her cell phone usage. As a family they had gotten rid of their land line and so everyone in their family, including their 12 year old daughter who is in sixth grade, got a cell phone...

I can remember thinking about the future as a kid and what technology would be found there. I graduated from high school in 1989 (yes that 20 year reunion is this year) and to ponder 2009 produced thoughts of flying cars and automated house cleaning robots...

Ok - today it is like -48 wind chill so I'm thinking cold and this was funny to me because it is true...

I have a dog whose name is Sam. He is a black cocker spaniel and is not the brightest bulb on the tree . . . or so I thought! During the few weeks of summer that we have up here in Minnesota, he is mostly outdoors. He loves to run and chase anything that moves in the backyard...

Okay, I've always had an over-active imagination and conscience. In my mind I can see God looking over the edge of heaven and watching every move I make. At times, I even envision Him with a video camera recording my mistakes for posterity. It is like home movies for the paranoid...

A few years back when we were in the earlier stages of the church plant we had a consultant come in who was helping us plan our building needs. One of the working committees I ran was charged with coming up with a master list of ministries we wanted the church to have...

This is just too funny not to share. What follows is my fifth grade son Riley's essay about the D.A.R.E. program he just completed. I didn't edit anything.D.A.R.E. Essay by Riley Pingel - Dec. 2, 2008 This essay is about everything that I learned about in D.A.R.E...

I attended the state championship game at the Metrodome last night to support Blaine High School...

Last week I was at the WI Youth Pastor's retreat and hanging out with some of the most amazing people on the planet. I love being with people who know how to pray, talk and laugh...

I follow culture enough to know that Entourage is a popular series that parallel's Markie Mark's (aka Mark Walbergs) friendships as he goes from a city kid to a superstar. The pull of the series is the dynamic between friends...

We were having lunch today after church and Jonas started to tell us about Kids Church. He was pretty moved by this thing called "Jaguars Disease." He was talking about the Bible lesson that talked about this disease and how we need to be thankful...

Youth ministry has come a long way in the last 30 years. We've moved from an occasional paid pastor at larger churches to even the smallest churches having at least a part-time (pay) youth pastor/director. Many now begin their journey believing that they will be youth pastors "for life"...

It is so cool when you see people begin to discover their voice and work as a team. During our department chapel this last week our Youth Leadership team were in charge of the service. They worked together to coordinate worship and to put forth the challenge. They did awesome. It was a homerun...

There are times when you do question following a call. We recently received an e-mail from some friends that live in Boston inviting us to spend a week with them at their new summer home in up-state New York. The pictures indicate that this isn't a cottage, but an estate on a lake...