I love the photo above. Which is better. In my view, the iPhone smokes the Crackberry. Others believe the Crackberry tears the iPhone to shreds. It's really in the eye, or hand, of the beholder. Regardless of your opinion, one thing is true, both of these phones have revolutionized the way we communicate. Because we know that communication is powerful.

I learned this by accident early on in my student ministry career. As a young, 22 year old punk, I found that people looked at me as a cute, immature kid. And while that was, and sometimes still is, true, I also found that when I began communcating what was going on in the student ministy, things changed.

And as I continue to work with students and their parents on a daily basis, I'm reminded nearly everyday that communication is powerful. Parents deserve information. They deserve to know what we're teaching their kids. They deserve to know the details of events. They deserve to know the itinerary of mission trips. And they deserve to know why little Johnny got in trouble. Parents deserve information. And I think we all know and would agree with that truth.

So when I learned to communicate to the students' parents, things changed. Here's what I found:

It Helped me to be seen as someone who's credible

Promoted a team atmosphere between the me and the parents

Kept me accountable for my responsibility to lead their child

Helped ease their mind regarding their child's safety

Helped to promote discussion between the parent and their child

And the same still holds true today. Just like the differences between the iPhone and Crackberry, there are different ways and tools to communcate to parents. It doesn't matter what style or tools you use, it simply matters that you communicate. Because communication is powerful.