Giving students a better understanding of a kingdom mindset is wonderful, and a collaborative multi-church retreat is a great way to let them see a little taste of how big the kingdom can be.

How are you empowering teenagers to play their parts in the collaborative story of God?

Remember the story of the person you are in conflict with, and consider what may be going on in his or her life at the moment.

We piled into the minivan. With the church logo plastered on the side of our silver Toyota, we rode in style toward Hot Springs, Ark., to bond as a staff. We already knew we possessed the capability of getting on one another's nerves. You find that out quickly working with a staff; your differences glare like a flashing neon signs in the middle of the night.

We gathered a group of youth workers together to talk about their ideas for connecting with others in ministry.

Most youth workers tell me they're team players and believe in community. Still, these youth workers often admit they're doing ministry in isolation and lament feeling very alone.

When we put all the responsibility and pressure of youth ministry on ourselves, we start to see everyone else as the other, and the other quickly can become a threat we have to defend against.

God does not call us to competition, but to obedience and collaboration. If we are concerned about the competition, maybe we first need to examine whether we are currently in obedience to what God has asked of us.

According to the number-crunchers at Facebook, the average degree of separation between random Facebook users is actually just 3.57.

For fans of "The Simpsons," there's apparently nothing more frustrating than quoting the long-running Fox show and not have the exact image from the exact episode handy with which to pair said quote. Now thes...