Profanity. It has the ability to shock, disrespect, and hurt people. Your mom would wash out your mouth for using it, and the Bible gives warnings about speaking it. So why did Jesus use it? Join Rick and special guest Stephanie Hillberry as they continue a month-long series looking at tough aspects of Jesus by examining what’s behind Jesus’ use of seemingly profane words.…
As you ramp up for your summer-trip season and scramble to recruit adult leaders who can serve as chaperones, counselors, and guides, it’s prime time to remember a few imperatives: 1. There is no “perfect” criminal records search that provides every court record.…
As Christians, we’re probably most familiar with the loving and grace-filled side of Jesus. And we’ve heard about the angry, flipping tables in the temple side of Jesus. But what about the bothered, miffed, or the downright annoyed side of Jesus?…
We all have ugly inside whether we want to admit it or not. Anger, greed, lust, jealousy, and a host of other qualities plague us all. While admitting our ugly to others often initially triggers hurt feelings, acknowledging our ugly to Jesus leads to a very different response.…
I’m just imagining the first followers of Jesus taking a “discipleship assessment” just after his death and resurrection. Would a single one of them make the grade as a “fully formed disciple” by today’s youth ministry standards? If the model Jesus himself used produced the kind of results that would get most of us a poor performance review, maybe there’s a problem with the way we think about discipleship.…
Put 20 youth pastors in a room and tell them they can’t come out until the agree on a definition of discipleship and it’s possible their friends and families will never see them again! And IF they can agree, the odds of them implementing that definition in their youth ministries are about the same odds as me slam-dunking on a 10-foot rim (zero, in case you’re wondering).…
What do you stand for? It’s a question that cuts to your identity, and displays the true story of your heart. The answer often becomes clearer as you develop spiritual grit. Join Rick and his very special guest host as they continue a month-long sampling of the newly released book, ‘Spiritual Grit’.…
Imagine that you’re stuck. You’ve hit a rut or a roadblock and you’re not sure how to move forward. Could the answer you’re looking for come by asking a simple two-word question? Join Rick and guest host Stephanie Hillberry as they conclude a 4-week series on growing spiritual grit by discussing the freedom that can be found in asking “Why Not?”…
Spiritual habits are the guardrails and health indicators for our journey with Jesus. They’re not spiritual hoops to jump through—they’re pathways for me to connect with the King. And in my life, spiritual habits have fueled my relationship with Jesus and generally made my life better.…
Life storms are raging and your strength is quickly diminishing. But as a Christian, you know it’s going to be okay because all things work together for good… right? Join Rick as he closes out a month-long series exploring Biblical beliefs that may not be true by focusing on the idea that all things work together for good, an idea commonly borrowed from Romans 8:23-30.…
