I spent the past week at camp with more than six hundred teenagers.
I’m exhausted.
My feet hurt. My voice is a little rough. I came home needing more sleep than I’ve had in years. And it was all worth it.
Although after spending a week walking into the middle school boys’ bathroom, I’m convinced sanctification still has a long way to go.
It also reaffirmed that some mysteries of the universe may never be solved. Why was there a wet sock on the ceiling? How did toothpaste end up on a light switch? And who looked at a perfectly good trash can and thought, “Nah, the floor feels right.” I’ll tell you. 60 middle school boys!
These are questions theologians, scientists, and camp counselors may spend generations trying to answer.
But, more than dealing with a messy bathroom and being tired, I came home burdened.
Burdened for these kids.
Every generation faces its own challenges, but Gen Alpha is growing up in a world unlike any before it. They are surrounded by screens, notifications, algorithms, anxiety, loneliness, and a thousand competing voices demanding their attention every waking moment. It’s easy to look at that reality and become discouraged.
Yet after spending a week with them, I find myself filled with hope.
Real hope.
My spiritual gifts are serving and mercy. Serving sounds noble until you actually have to do it. Then you discover it requires humility. It means taking a step back. It means making yourself last and focusing on everyone else. It means carrying chairs, cleaning up messes, staying late, showing up early, and often doing things nobody notices.
As someone whose job involves marketing authors and helping others build platforms in Christian publishing, serving can sometimes feel counterintuitive. Our culture constantly pushes us toward being seen, being heard, being noticed.
Serving asks us to become less. And that’s not always easy.
But somewhere during the week, God reminded me why it matters.
Our camp speaker, Pastor Chad Kincer, spent time in 1 Kings 18 and 19. We talked about Elijah. We talked about listening for God’s voice. We talked about how God wasn’t found in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in the gentle whisper.
I think I expected to hear that whisper during worship or maybe during one of the messages.
Instead, I heard it in places I didn’t expect.
I heard it while sitting around dinner tables.
I heard it during conversations with students.
I heard it during board games and late-night discussions and the laughter.
I heard it while playing Spikeball and attempting to keep up with teenagers despite being a 48-year-old dad who probably should know better.
These kids were incredible.
They were funny. They were kind. They were thoughtful.
They welcomed me into conversations. They included me in games. They tolerated my jokes and my attempts to be athletic. They showed genuine interest in people around them.
And somewhere in all of that, I saw glimpses of what God is doing in the next generation.
The headlines rarely tell those stories.
The internet certainly doesn’t.
But I saw them.
I saw young people asking hard questions about faith and life. I saw students encouraging one another. I saw kids genuinely laughing without a phone in their hand. I noticed kids getting bored and having a blast while fighting to find something new to do. I saw teenagers worshiping sincerely. I saw kids who wanted to know God.
That gives me hope.
I’m thankful for my wife, who said yes when I asked about going to camp—even though it meant being away during our wedding anniversary weekend.
Twenty-two years in, I don’t take that lightly. You see my parents didn’t go to church; I had to find my own way there. My family wasn’t involved in student ministry, but most of my friends’ families were. That shaped something in me early on—I wanted to be present as a dad in ways I sometimes missed growing up. She’s understands that, and it matters to her too. Even though I still struggle to stop and be present.
The longer we’re married, the more we realize faithfulness isn’t always built in grand gestures or social media moments. It’s built in ordinary days, steady choices, and the quiet decision to keep showing up—far beyond anniversaries alone.
Day after day.
Year after year.
The same is true of ministry.
The same is true of serving.
The same is true of following Jesus.
Is it easy. No. It’s not always simple.
And it was something I was reminded of this week. Put the phone down myself. And show up.
So yes, I’m tired.
But I’m burdened for these kids and the world they’re inheriting.
But I’m also hopeful.
Because after spending a week with six hundred plus teenagers, I came away convinced of something:
God is still at work.
And if Gen Alpha is any indication, He isn’t finished yet.
Realm Makers is just a few weeks away!
Join us June 25–27 in St. Louis for the Realm Makers Conference and Book Expo, the premier gathering for Christian fantasy, science fiction, and speculative fiction readers and writers.
This year’s event features an incredible lineup of guests, including legendary Christian and former Disney animator Tony Bancroft (The creator of Pumba and director of Mulan), bestselling Star Wars novelist Kathy Tyers, and dozens of industry professionals, publishers, editors, agents, and creators.
More than 100 Christian science fiction and fantasy authors will be on site, making this one of the largest gatherings of faith-based speculative fiction creators anywhere.
Whether you’re a reader looking for your next favorite book, a writer hoping to connect with fellow creators, or simply someone who loves great stories, there’s still time to join us for the conference, the book expo, or both.
I’ll be running around doing administrative duties during the conference Thursday and Friday, but at the Book Expo on Saturday, I’ll be signing books at both the Descendant Publishing booth and the Interstice Publishing booth. If you’re attending, stop by and say hello!
Hope to see you in St. Louis.
My schedule for WriterCon has been released. I’ll be teaching two sessions- both on Sunday. If you are an author, or aspiring authors Writer Con is a great conference with over 400 authors attending. See my schedule below.
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