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Category Archives: Leadership

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Be Not Afraid

There is that moment when we have to make a decision to either go for it, or sit back. That moment when we allow ourselves to rest comfortably in what we know or strike out into the unknown. John Paul II was fond of saying “be not afraid.” So was the Bible. Why is it so difficult to live that phrase?

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Collaboration in Ministry: No Ministry is an Island!

“Collaboration” is such an overused buzzword that it has virtually lost all meaning. But now, when ministries are being cut at worst and restructured at best, it would really help us all to reach out and find ways to help each other. Collaboration among leadership teams, priests, parish staff, other parish ministries, pastoral councils and diocesan offices can go far beyond telling each other what we’re doing. Our survival as youth ministries hinges on developing a model of successful leadership in which we can all participate.

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Kids Walk When They Want To

If you are in ministry it can be pretty frustrating when you are trying to convey the Gospel to others and they just don’t seem to want to latch on to it. You try everything.

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Are You Replaceable? The Importance of Bringing Up New Leaders

I LOVE my Core! People who know me, know that I don’t use that word lightly – ask any Area Contact who’s been to Covecrest recently…. but I really do love my Core Team! Yet, truth be told, as a youth minister there is still a part of me – way deep down – that [...]

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Honoring Your Graduating Seniors

Graduation season is upon us. You can’t deny it any longer – just look at the stack of graduation party invitations that is sitting on your desk. As a youth minister I have always had a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I love it because it is a time to look back over [...]

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Avoiding the Slow Burn[out]

I just got back from the first of my trips for this summer. I returned to an office that still hasn’t been cleaned from the last social Life Night in May and two unopened Life Support boxes. I returned to a husband asking me when we were going to find a weekend to fix the [...]

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Somebody help! My Youth Minister is a Control Freak!

WARNING: The following blog is not written for everyone – only type-A, “control freak” Catholics (like myself) need read on. The rest of you (who don’t admit it), might seek out a priest for Reconciliation (see Exodus 20:16). Now, it’s important to note that I’m not indicting you; I’m indicting myself. My first several years [...]

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How to Keep Christmas Alive After December 25th

The Advent candles are just a puddle of wax in the wreath. The teens are finally done cramming for their finals. And the shopping malls are (almost) done with the frenzy of Christmas shoppers. But for all the preparation we do for Christmas, December 25th seems to come and go all too quickly. That is [...]

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Protecting Your Teens from “Event-Based” Spirituality

Like many of you reading this, it’s been a busy summer for me. I figured out that I’ve traveled over 30,000 miles in the past eight weeks, by plane, rental car, bus, boat and golf cart (great gas mileage). Since Memorial Day my life has felt like one “event” after another. The Life Teen Convention [...]