Youth
Ministry Essays
From time to
time, Tom Howard is posting essays meant to provoke thought and even to
be challenging.
He would
appreciate hearing from anyone who wishes to exchange ideas with him. Write
Tom.
Nietzsche
and the NIU Slayings
As
a parent of three teens and as coordinator of youth ministry, it is
important to try to make some sense out of the NIU slayings. In
times of tragedy, young people need spiritually- rooted elders for
support.
One
theory behind Steven Kazmierczak’s violent explosion is the fact that
he left a copy of Nietzsche’s “The Anti-Christ” behind for his
girlfriend hours before he open fired on a group of innocent NIU
students, killing five, injuring many others and then killing himself. more
»
Reclaiming
Sunday
Sporting
activities, shopping and entertainment have, in recent years, radically
transformed the way Americans enjoy and celebrate their Sundays.
The days of going to Church, celebrating a meal and spending
quality time together as a family has been replaced by a litany of
activities, accomplishments and agendas.
During
a recent meeting of Catholic youth ministers, this clash of Sunday
cultures came to a head. more »
Book
Review for Youth Ministers
Liza
Mundy, author of Everything Conceivable:
How Assisted Reproduction is Changing Men, Women, and the World, Knoph,
New York, 2007,
provides an indispensable tool for parents, college students,
youth ministers and anyone else desiring solid information in
understanding the wild, wild world of artificial reproductive technology.
more »
Only
the Stupid Get Caught
As
a teen, cheating and lying became glamorous for me when I first saw the
movie “The Dirty Dozen.” With the promise of full amnesty, a dozen
despicable military convicts employed ingenious ways to win a
competition.
“You
need not be surprised, Tommy,” my father told me after I questioned
the dirty dozen’s cheating, “for all’s fair in love and war.”
The
glamorization of cheating and lying today has rapidly matured, like a
well- fertilized pumpkin. It is not just in love and war where the
standards have gone out the door but the same has occurred in sports. more
»
Ministry
of Advocacy (Revised)
One
of the best examples of advocacy I can think of was when Moses went
before the powerful Pharaoh of Egypt, standing up and speaking for the
voiceless, marginalized, Jewish slaves, demanding their freedom. You may
recall that the Pharaoh did not take Moses too seriously, so God sent a
bunch of nasty plagues down to wake the Pharaoh up so that he would let
the Jews go. more
»
