Spiritual Ideas | Nailscars.com

Confessions of an Average Youth Minister

Hiding from God

I have a 3 year old son. He is in so many ways the opposite of his brother (even though he wants to be just like his older sibling). He is stubborn and precocious and really like to play by his own set of rules. On top of all o...

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TV Shows with Stories

I love the start of the Fall TV season. It is always filled with hope and promise and now with DVRs with a dozen shows sitting in my recorded cue to be watched each week. This year my wife and I have been pouring through the ne...

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Living in a False Idea

I love “This American Life.” If you asked me what was the best thing about smart phones the fact that I can get it beamed directly to my phone whenever I want it would make the top 5. The other day I was listening a...

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The Old Stories

“[People] go to church is to be reminded of the story they already know in their heads but have forgotten in their bones amid the activity and the drama and the technology and the ambition and the self-absorption.” ...

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For Worship: Lessons from a 5 Year Old

I got a chance to go with my wife and oldest son to Bourbonnais, IL last weekend on a family mission trip with our church. As we were getting ready for the trip Meredith and I were trying to explain to Nathan (our 5 year...

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About Me

I don’t have all of the answers and some weeks it feels like I don’t have any of the answers. I forget students names sometimes and say stupid things that hurt their feelings. I often find a good word picture or object lesson and build the lesson off of that instead of the other way around. I have put the finishing touches on a Wednesday night Bible study on Wednesday more times than I can count. I don’t always pray as much as I should and I never study as much as I should. I try every new youth ministry model that comes from the “experts” and I have had at least 3 mission statements over the past 5 years.

But I love students ministry. I love watching teenagers as they serve God. I love to see them worship and forget about themselves for a while. I love seeing someone wake up to the love of God if only for a little while. I love to see them out serving their community and sharing the love of Christ with others. I love to be a part of their lives and I love seeing the world through their eyes. Like I said, I’m an average youth pastor.

About Nailscars.com

For over 10 years now I have been trying to add creative ideas for use in the local church. In the early days Nailscars.com was just a place to publish some scripts, but it has become a collection of creative ministry resources for youth ministry and worship.

I began writing a blog more to process my own thoughts more than anything else. As I started writing the comments that I got back from people amazed me. As I was honest with my struggles most of them would write and say “Thank you.” “It is just nice to know someone else struggles with these same things,” was a common response.

So this has become a place where I share the struggles and successes of being in youth ministry. I hope that you find something that God can use in your life and ministry.

Hiding from God

TV Shows with Stories

Living in a False Idea

The Old Stories

For Worship: Lessons from a 5 Year Old

About Me

About Nailscars.com

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