While adolescents may be skeptical toward the church or organized religion, Of Gods and Men celebrates the enduring power of a Christian community. In 1995, terrorists threatened seven Trappist monks living in ...

  Jobs, marriage, family—all youth workers wrestle with life's key decisions. How does discipleship align with romance or a new career? Movies offer vicarious experiences, an opportunity to watch ot...

What is grit? It is a determination to follow through on our commitments. Youth workers need grit to finish summer camp assignments or disciple teens plagued by doubts. Sometimes adolescents' fervent faith...

For adolescents in trying circumstances, films can be a great way to gain perspective, offer points of comparison and find comfort. These movies offer rare vistas into rural or urban settings that are all too o...

With the rise of social networking, so many teens have blurred their private lives and their public personas. Relationships are formed through text messages. Adolescents may post online photos they later regret...

My film students at Pepperdine prefer real stories to Hollywood fiction. Thankfully, the tools to make a movie never have been more affordable. It is easier to tell stories of spiritual change and social transf...

Hollywood has several ways to measure the best. An Oscar confers quality, yet studios also crave box office gold. So what propelled Avatar to record breaking heights? James Cameron and his creative team made th...

Rookie youth workers may think their job is caring for teenagers. They may be tempted to limit their ministry to church and school. Yet, significant conversations with adolescents invariably involve their famil...

Vampires rise again. Fans of Edward and Bella howled with anticipation for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. They wondered about Bella's walk with Jacob Black and the werewolves. Author Stephanie Meyer drew from her...

Every fall, youth ministers are faced with the challenge of re-launching their ministries. After summer vacation, how do you rally teens and welcome a new wave of students? The temptation undoubtedly is to make...