If we haven’t been there ourselves, we have no idea what it’s like. When Anna Meade Harris’s husband went to be with Christ back in 2010, she suddenly found herself navigating the new and difficult world of being a widow and single -parent to three young boys. In many ways, she lost her place in the local church. Now desiring to help families, churches, and youth ministries navigate the unique realities of single parent families, Anna has written a book that will help all of us understand and respond to the unique needs of single parent families. I chat with her about that book, God’s Grace For Every Family, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

Because we live in a rapidly changing world, it’s important that parents and youth workers keep their fingers on the pulse of youth culture, taking the time to know just what our kids are navigating, along with how to help them understand what God’s Word has to say about living to His glory. My friend Micah Marshall is a youth worker who has taken this calling seriously and does it well. Listen in as I chat with Micah about how to build meaningful connections with kids in order to effectively communicate the timeless truth of the Gospel, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

In I John 2:6 we read these words written about what it means to be a follower of Jesus: "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." In his new book, "Radical Like Jesus", Greg Stier helps us to understand what it means to be in Christ and to live like Jesus. I'm excited about this book and how we can use it in our homes, our churches, our youth groups, and our own lives. And, I'm especially excited to be chatting with my passionate and engaging friend, Greg Stier, about his new book, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

You don’t even need to listen carefully to hear our culture nurturing us and our kids into a consumer mentality of get, get , get. That message is everywhere! But the gospel is one that tells us to respond to the grace we’ve been shown and given, with a lifestyle of give, give, give. What does this mean for youth ministry and how we do discipleship? My friend Dave Coryell recently wrote a book built around a metaphor involving hippos and honey bees that can help us shift our youth ministries to better reflect gospel priorities. Stay tuned as I chat with Dave Coryell and Josh Good about this much-needed youth ministry shift, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

It’s that time of year between thanksgiving and Christmas when so many of us are watching and talking about our favorite holiday movies. As with all things in life, Christians need to think differently about movies. What is it that makes a movie good? What can movies tell us about the human condition? And how can we use movies in our homes and ministries to advance the Gospel? Stick with us as we engage in a winsome, fun, and informative conversation about movies with our movie-loving friend John Perritt, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

Truth be told, I’ve yet to meet a parent who hasn’t at some time felt like a failure. Fear, guilt, shame, and regret are feelings that visit us all from time to time as we think about how well or not so well we are doing as Dads and moms. But for the Christian parent, there are truths about our God and ourselves that we need to hear, ponder, embrace, and live out. Stick with us as I chat with counselor Lauren Whitman about her helpful new book, “when parents feel like failures”, on this episode of youth culture matters.

As a parent and now a grandparent myself, I have lived through the ups, down, stresses, strains, opprotunties and joys that come with raising kids in today’s world. Recently, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory regarding the troubling state of the mental health and well-being of parents. Because youth workers are strategically positioned to come alongside, encourage, and ministry to parents in today’s world, we need to pay attention to this advisory, and look for ways to proactively minister to the parents in our churches and communities. Stick with us for my roundtable conversation with youth workers about the advisory and our response, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

When Fern Nichols sent her two oldest sons off to junior high school, her heart was heavy, knowing that they would be facing all kind challenges, choices, and temptations. Her concerns were shared by other mothers and they gathered to pray for her kids. This happened 40 years ago back in 1984. This was the beginning of Moms in Prayer International. Today, I’m chatting with two moms who are part of the Moms in Prayer ministry about how to pray for our kids as they navigate life in a changing youth culture, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

One of the most pressing developmental tasks facing all of our kids is the task of identity formation. It’s during the period of adolescence that the question, “Who am I?” is front and center. Because our kids are growing up in the world that pummels them with conflicting messages directing them to find their identity in what they do or how they feel, they need voices that will steer them into embracing an identity which has been given to them by the creator of life itself. I’m talking with Jonathan Holmes about his fantastic new book, Grounded in Grace: Helping Kids Build Their Identity in Christ, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

One of my go-to sources for information and thoughtful analysis on today’s youth culture is social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt. In his newest book, The Anxious Generation, Haidt offers insights and practical responses to the mental health epidemic sweeping through the population of children and teens. I’ve invited a group of youth workers who have read Haidt’s book to a roundtable discussion about our kids, mental health, Haidt’s insights, and Haidt’s four simple rules for remedying the crisis, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.