Ice Storm 2026

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I was hoping to upload a pic from our recent ice storm but some glitch is preventing me. In the meantime, enjoy this excerpt from one of my favorite short stories “The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. “This is a delightful spot,” he said, “we must ask the Hail on a visit.” So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.” (The Selfish Giant, by Oscar Wilde)

"Youth Ministry: What's Gone Wrong?"

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Youth Ministry specialists are noticing that as technology accelerates, spiritual apathy among young people is increasing. Many teens are biblically illiterate, bored, and find the church to be irrelevant. Parents are frustrated. Youth leaders are burned out. And high school and college students — if they ever attended — are leaving the church by the droves. What on earth has gone wrong?

Dr. David Olshine, director of the Youth Ministry, Family and Culture program at Columbia International University explores what needs to change and offers practical advice to youth ministry leaders in his new book, “Youth Ministry: What’s Gone Wrong?”  

Olshine is the author and co-author of 19 books and is a regular contributor to Youth Worker Journal. He is ordained in the United Methodist Church and has served for over 30 years as a youth pastor and lead pastor of a college-town church. He is also the co-founder of Youth Ministry Coaches, an organization that helps the church strategize for youth ministry.

“Youth Ministry: What’s Gone Wrong” is published by Abingdon Press and will be released in October. It’s available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble

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