Hip hop artist Sho Baraka shared his testimony with us as part of our Red Revolution study. Watch Baraka’s testimony to hear the roles music and his family played in his coming to Christ. … [Read more...]
Transitioning from Lecture-Based to Discussion-Based Small Groups (Part 2)
Read Part 1, “Characteristics of Discussion-Based Small Groups,” HERE. How to Lead a Discussion-Based Small Group I am convinced that everyone can lead a discussion-based study. It all starts with preparation. The first step to prepare your study is to be personally impacted by the material you’re studying. If you can’t answer the question, “How does this impact me?” then keep studying and keep praying. This is essential because as a leader, you need clarity on the importance of the study or the … [Read more...]
Transitioning from Lecture-Based to Discussion-Based Small Groups (Part 1)
As I read through the Gospels, I see something very interesting. Jesus often taught the most profound truth with simple questions: Who do they say that I am? Where are your accusers? Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Do you want to get well? Each of the questions led to deep truths. Now that you’ve thought for a moment about how Jesus taught, I have a question for you: If Jesus led with questions, why do we lead with propositions, outlines, and neatly tailored thoughts? If we’re going to lead people to … [Read more...]
Are Potential Employers Looking You Up Online?
The information age changes at such a rapid pace. No wonder our parents and grandparents glaze over when we say things like “She just tweeted me” or “I just blogged about that” or “I’m gonna send an e-blast to all my friends” or “I can’t get this wallpaper downloaded!” To them, tweeting is a sound a parakeet makes. Wallpaper is something you hang, angrily, with a family member. A blog might be something you clear from your drain. And an e-blast … whatever that is, it … [Read more...]
BeachReach: BeachReach 2009 in Review
Collegiate Staffer Heather Manning road tripped down to Panama City Beach last March to experience the round-the-clock fun that is BeachReach. She captured the people, places, and pancakes in hopes of inspiring you, our faithful readers, to follow in her footsteps and get down there for Spring Break 2010. Prayer requests stream in via text each night as students meet Spring Breakers in the vans, on the beach, and on the strip. In ‘09, 91 people made first-time decisions to accept Christ. Grass-roots advertising let Spring … [Read more...]
Fight for Joy
I have pictures I took as a kid (OK, maybe even as a teenager) of battle scenarios. Using my extensive collection of G.I. Joe’s, I would set up elaborate battle scenes on top of the family pool table. Those scenes included ground wars of epic proportions, complete with the appropriate amount of carnage you’d expect in a fight of such intensity between the Joe’s and Cobra. In the early photographs, from my artistic “dork” period, the only thing that was missing was the aerial assault. And then it … [Read more...]
Mentoring: Intentionality vs. Formality
Jesus’ call to His disciples was, “Follow Me. Walk where I’m walking. Go where I’m going. And along the way, I’ve got some things to teach you.” Jesus didn’t necessarily seek out a fig tree, a field, or a farmer. He was walking by those things, and He used those moments that naturally occurred to teach spiritual truth. But He had to be walking with people in order to have that opportunity. When people from an older generation invite those younger than them into their lives, they have that … [Read more...]
Finding God in Your Small Circle
Where you are right now might really hurt. You might be wishing for a spouse or a child. You might be wishing you were done with school, or done paying off loans, or done caring for a child or relative. You might wish you weren’t locked into car payments, house payments, boat payments, or credit card debt. You might wish life were more exciting, more rewarding, and more glorious. I once visited a monastery and met a monk, who explained life in the monastery in this way: “God draws a circle around every one of us. It may be … [Read more...]
Gotta Stay Connected
A while ago, I canceled the internet at our house. I know what you’re thinking, “How do you survive without the internet?” Well, I’ve got my laptop so I can get a signal most of the time and I’m online all day at work, so I manage to get by. But recently my wife has decided to go back to school to get her Master’s in Childhood Education and some of her work will need to be done online. So, I guess I’ll be getting the internet hooked up again pretty soon. When I do, I’m not sure my older desk top is going to survive. I can’t even … [Read more...]
Lenten Days
It all started with a cinnamon roll in the high-school cafeteria. Cherilyn Crowe, then a teen, had attended a Baptist church her whole life. So when a Lutheran friend mentioned something about “giving up” the pastry for Lent, Crowe was intrigued. “At first I thought it was kind of funny,” Crowe says. “But then I thought, I’m going to do this too… . You wouldn’t think that not getting a cinnamon roll at lunch would be profound. But it was, in some small way, something I could do, some … [Read more...]
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