It is an exciting but nerve-racking time for Christian camping. The uncertainty and persistent stress of the past three years has given way to cautious optimism. A new survey of Mainline Christian camp directors sheds light on the state of camping ministry. This was...
The Age of Authenticity is in full swing. The highest moral good has become reduced to a simple maxim: be yourself. At face-value, this is not a bad thing. Far from it. We want people to discover their God-given gifts (1 Corinthians 12). We want them to know that they...
Let’s get something straight: “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” is not in the Bible. (All the camp directors give a collective sigh of relief.) We love building nice-looking church buildings “for the glory of God.” We hang beautiful artwork, ensure the communion wear...
Happy New Year! I love preaching on the first Sunday in Advent because I can always greet the congregation with those delightfully provocative words. For churches that follow the liturgical calendar, Advent started this week and spans the four Sundays leading up to...
The church is about connection. You know the analogies: vine to branches (John 15), different parts to make one body (1 Corinthians 12), grains of wheat gathered to make one bread. The church connects the people of God to one another and connects them all to Christ....
Like most people, I had a summer reading list. I finally got around to finishing Back Pocket God (Denton and Flory, 2020), the latest book from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). It is full of fascinating statistics and implications for...
This summer, thousands of young adults will serve at Christian camps across the United States and around the world. Serving on summer camp staff will be one of the most rewarding and highly impactful experiences of their lives. They will walk away from the experience...
We have another historic first: President Biden’s nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, she will be the first black woman to sit on the court. I applaud this move toward greater diversity and representation. I...
There are four key ministry spaces that are particularly important for faith formation and call to ministry. I focus a lot of my writing on camping ministries. I do this because camping ministry has gotten surprisingly little scholarly attention over the years. This...
We all have COVID-fatigue. Two years into the pandemic, activities continue to be canceled, and we wonder how long it will last. Tradition has it that the groundhog can predict the coming of an early spring. It comes at a time when most people are getting tired of...
It is that time of year again for camps across the country. It is the most exciting and oftentimes the most stressful time of year for program staff and directors: summer staff recruiting! I remember the craziness when I was on year-round camp staff. Confession: I...
Democracy is in peril. Not everyone agrees with this, of course. That, in itself, is part of the problem. Pope Francis had something to say about this in a December 4 speech. He called it “a retreat from democracy.” He reflected, “Democracy requires participation and...
This quick, impactful read lays foundation for effective outdoor ministry. Sacred Playgrounds explores the wisdom of camping ministry for Christian education and faith formation, examining its rich history and fundamental characteristics with compelling stories, groundbreaking research, and theological grounding.
