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...]
Finding Your One Path
This is a tale for readers like me who have tried to seize every good opportunity and worn themselves out in the process. The week before I started college, my mom rented a beach house in Gulf Shores, Alabama. With unimaginable greatness only a few days away, I slipped out for a moon-lit stroll to pray about the exciting unknown. I walked for a while before pausing to consider all the other footprints lining the beach. Thousands of steps surrounded me. Overwhelmed by the multitude of steps, I lost sight of my own. The foreboding … [Read more...]
A Letter to Yourself
If you've ever attempted to watch television in another country, beware. Granted, the world beyond our shining seashores has adopted much of our American pop culture over the last few decades, so it's not entirely impossible to find something on the telly in English. But channel surfing takes on a whole new meaning across the pond. Still, having a friend who has years of experience riding these electronic waves of confusion and babble is beneficial, so I turn to him to be my “TV guide,” if you will. Just the other night, … [Read more...]
Let’s Talk About Sex
Sex is powerful and personal, emotional, and even spiritual. And did we mention how complicated it is? Join author Gregg Matte as he unpacks 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 to help us better understand God’s purpose and design for sex and sexuality – whether you’re single, dating, or married. In Birds and Bees: A conversation about God, sex, and sexuality, you can lead your group in discussing hot-button cultural issues, including homosexuality, lust, singleness, and divorce. You can also address the wounds we all have related to … [Read more...]
When Change Happens
About four months ago my good friend Sarah was offered her dream job with a reputable company. Not only would she be raking in a larger paycheck, but she would be doing something she absolutely loved, all the while putting her college degree to work for the first time since graduation. She called me one night to talk about the decision to leave her job at the time for this new position. "It's such an amazing opportunity," she said, her voice bubbling over with excitement. "But in all honesty, I'm scared to try something new. I've … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- …
- 86
- Next Page »