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My First Pride Parade Experience
The Vest family at the Pride Parade For some reason or another, I have always had a schedule conflict for the Chicago Pride Parade. This year, as I was wrapping up my duties at church on Sunday...
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Who Are Progressive Youth Ministry Leaders?
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been working with the JoPa Group to plan a conference on Progressive Youth Ministry at Fourth Church on March 19-21, 2014. I’m really excited about the potential of this...
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What I Did on My “Summer Vacation”
Photo by OakleyOriginals Yeah, there’s not really such a thing as “summer vacation” for those of us in youth ministry. I did manage to take some vacation time, but the balance of the summer was my...
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BBQ Church is Happening on Sunday
The Holy Smoker at work What I Did on My Summer “Vacation”… Friends and readers of this blog will know that BBQ has become one of my passions in recent years. As a Southern boy who likes to eat, I’ve...
View ArticleBack to School
If it hadn’t already been on my radar, the increased traffic around our neighborhood schools was a good reminder that today is the first day of school for many students here in Chicago. As a youth...
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A Bird’s Eye View of Segregated America
Today is the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Reflecting on Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation 100 years before,...
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NOLA: 8 Years Later
What I Did on my “Summer Vacation”… Today was another anniversary. Eight years ago Hurricane Katrina struck landfall and wreaked havoc in New Orleans and other areas of the Gulf Coast. Earlier this...
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Summer is Over
Photo by gudka Well, my plan to blog about my summer activities was about as successful as actually blogging throughout the summer. Gearing up for the fall sucked up all my time and energy, and now...
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Mental Health and Youth Ministry
Photo by Kristina Alexanderson Last year a college student that I only knew briefly in high school committed suicide. Last month a young man that I knew much better when he was in high school also took...
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Pastrix Will Kick Your Ass with the Gospel
Nadia at Fourth Church This evening Fourth Church hosted Nadia Bolz-Weber for the kickoff of the promotional tour for her new memoir Pastrix: the Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint. Based on...
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