Author Archives: troycarruthers

I just spoke at a teen camp where one of the campers asked me if I would be having a “sad chapel.” When I asked what she meant she said, “Well… you know… when you ask us to think about … Continue reading →

So Pink’s latest song has been playing over and over in my mind all day. Its title… “Effing Perfect.” As you may have guessed, the original version uses the actual f-bomb continually throughout the entire song. This, of course, is … Continue reading →

I began my career as a youth minister 21 years ago. I enrolled as a youth major at Bethany Bible College and under the tutelage of Dr. Danny Gordon, the journey began. What has changed since then? I almost wish … Continue reading →

I recently watched a video of a presentation given by a renowned speaker and atheist, Christopher Hitchens, who made the following case: religion poisons people and our society. I thought I’d write a reaction to it. But before I do … Continue reading →

I never thought I’d compare a porn addict to someone who is too busy. But they have more in common than I thought… Yesterday in a youth ministry class we were talking about theology and ministry. The point was made … Continue reading →

So we had a fairly spirited discussion on the science topic, mostly concerning evolution. I thought it might be good to simply write another entry to kind of answer some of the objections. Isn’t this fun?? First, it does appear … Continue reading →

In the 17th centuries, Galileo went to bat for Copernicus asking that the church not condemn his idea of heliocentrism (the Earth revolving around the sun rather than the other way around). This seems silly now that the church ever … Continue reading →

Hearing the “I believe in Santa Claus” song on the radio today I was reminded of the talk I had with my oldest daughter a few years ago. She was asking lots of questions about who really puts the presents … Continue reading →

“The things these kids are into these days!” I hear this line often. I also hear people say to me that they wonder how I do it. What they mean is that they wonder why I don’t slip into despair … Continue reading →

For almost 100 years youth ministry has involved games. Everything from basketball to hide-n-seek to shaving balloons, they have become fixtures in church youth ministries all over the world (…kind of strange, isn’t it?). We are not completely sure why … Continue reading →