Conflict. It’s been with us for thousands of years. And we hate to break it to you, but it’s not going anywhere. It’s just a natural part of life and of every relationship – no matter how warm and fuzzy the bond may be. But there’s hope. You just have to learn how to deal with conflict in a healthy kind of way. With that said, the following tips will hopefully get the ball rolling on what is sure to be something you’ll face time and time again. Communication Is Key You had to see this one coming. Open, … [Read more...]
One Slum at a Time
In Mumbai, India, Vidya Verma* edges in closer as the American students share a Bible story. "I am hearing every word," Verma says. Verma and her husband Ankur,* who live in the slums of Mumbai, are immigrants from another state in India. Like all of their neighbors, they are Hindu. Millions of South Asians live in slums. And, unlike the lucky lead in the film Slumdog Millionaire, most of Mumbai's slum population never get a ticket out of the mud, mire, and moneyless life. Students from Tennessee Tech University recently went to … [Read more...]
Free Art Friday
Today's FREE art is another Facebook cover photo. Stay tuned each Friday for more visual treats. If you have ideas, we'd love to hear them. Just comment below. (To access the whole cover photo, just right click on the image and choose "Save Image As." Then you'll be able to save it onto your device for upload use.) … [Read more...]
Do You Stand Up For Christ? :: Acts 4:13, 18-20
Before and after photos are fascinating, and weight loss photos are some of the most dramatic. The hit NBC show "The Biggest Loser" has shown us just how shocking such a transformation can be. When you view the before and after photos of the show's finalists, it's sometimes hard to believe they're the same person. That's what it's like to look at Peter in the Book of Acts compared to Peter in the Gospels. For all of his faith and love for Jesus, in the Gospels he's impulsive and often motivated by his emotions; he displayed fear and … [Read more...]
Evangelism Made Easy
If you're anything like me, witnessing comes super-easily. It seems I can winsomely turn every conversation I have back to the foundations of the gospel, have people laughing, nodding their head in agreement, crying, and saying, "Amen!" within just a few minutes. I quote a verse, and people cry out, "Please, more truth, Ben!" I sing a hymn while walking down the sidewalk, and people never look at me like I'm a freak … nay, they begin singing along, raising their hands in worship. I just have to encourage them not to close their … [Read more...]
Fall Break: Cheap & Chic Trips
Need plans for Fall Break? We have a few ideas that might be helpful. Tour Where You Be Go all Lonely Planet on your own city with wcities.com (also a phone app) for cool attractions, concerts, and activities. Milk Your Student Discount Try studentuniverse.com for trips by air or rail. See "FarePlay" to get trip deals from your city. Rock the Rental Instead of shelling out for a hotel with buds, check out the site vrbo.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner) and score a mucho cheapo cabin or condo for your group. Seat-of-your-pants … [Read more...]
Created to Care
Stewardship. It's one of those old, churchy words you probably don't hear often - but it's a word ripe with meaning and purpose. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines stewardship as "the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care." This definition hits the nail on the head: a steward is a manager of someone else's resources. The biblical foundation for stewardship recognizes everything we have comes from God and, consequently, … [Read more...]
Seeing the Unseen
Mama Rose is a friend of mine. She's 73 years old, I'm 35. She's 100 percent Cherokee Native American; I'm about 1/6 Cherokee Native American. We both grew up on the East Coast. Mama Rose didn't finish high school; I have a Ph.D. I live inside a nice, warm condo in New Orleans; Mama Rose doesn't. We became friends three years ago when she came to my church on a Monday morning to have breakfast and take a break from the streets. Our story, however, starts a year before that … but I'm getting ahead of myself. GLOBAL … [Read more...]
Being a Leader & How It Happens
The first leadership role I remember being elected or selected to was president of my church youth group. I don't think there were any formal duties and the biggest qualification, it seemed, was to not be afraid to get up front, tell everyone to be quiet, and make some announcements. I attended a Junior college and decided to run for president of the student body my freshman year after being on campus all of two weeks. I lost the election by four votes. Later on in the school year, I started dating the girl on campus I'd been making … [Read more...]
Surviving the Dog Days
The "dog days" are the hottest days of summer - the days when you're doing everything you can to prevent being outside for extended periods of time and don't want to do anything but stick your head in the freezer. They're long, rough, and seem like they'll never end. Those same adjectives can also be used to describe our spiritual seasons. Sometimes we feel as if things couldn't get any worse, and all we want to do is give up. Our spiritual dryness turns into "dog days." One person who could relate to spiritual dry spells was David. … [Read more...]
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