It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that our students are living in a pleasure-driven youth culture. While pleasure is not all bad, chasing after it in the pursuit of "true" happiness will only leave them (and us) empty.

True happiness comes from living a life with Jesus at its very center, with His passion and purpose flowing out of it.

In this Youth Leader's Coach, I want to challenge you to frequently pause and ask yourself, and help your students ask themselves, the million dollar question, "Will what I'm pursuing result in true happiness or merely temporary pleasure?" For fun, we'll also take a look at ten things science tells us will make us happier people. Interestingly enough, none of them are new thoughts.

If you're in youth ministry, you know counseling is a significant part of the job description and can be one of the most rewarding things you do. All too often, however, it can feel like a huge black hole...a total waste of time due to the lack of results.

It doesn't have to be that way! While one of my college degrees was in counseling, allow me to share with you 12 things they never taught me in the classroom. The wisdom I've gained through my ministry run will not only help you crawl out of the black hole and get some decent results, it will also save you time...something there never seems to be enough of.

At today's high school and middle schools, I don't think we have a bullying problem, but a respect problem. Students already know that bullying is wrong. What will be the game-changer for them is to help them mentally focus on learning to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes." Why? Because when I take a minute to "walk in your shoes," my attitude towards you totally changes.

In this month's Youth Leader's Coach, "God's Answer to Bullying: Change Your Shoes," I'm walking through how we can help our students really "Love their neighbor the same way they love themselves." There isn't anything much more powerful that teaching your students to take the time to know the STORIES of those that surround them.

LeBron James is one of the most respected men in the history of basketball. He once stated his life goal as this, "I want to be the greatest basketball player of all time. And that's my motivation. It's not simple, but for me it is. That's my mind frame." And believe it or not, my friends, we all have our own LeBron James to coach to be the best.

Who are the " LeBron James'" in our ministry world? They are people who have an immense level of leadership, influence or giftedness that we are tasked with leading for a season. Our goal in leading them should be to make them the VERY BEST THEY CAN BE within the time we are trusted to lead them.

So in this month's Youth Leader's Coach, "Coaching Your Own LeBron James," I'm sharing some pragmatics on how to effectively lead those who are highly gifted, influential leaders. This is a "do not miss" resource. So grab a coffee and listen in.