by Renee Fisher If you've seen any chick flicks recently, you might get the impression that singleness is a sickness to be hastily cured. It's easy to go with the cultural flow by buying into the frustration of waiting around, hoping to meet someone, and wondering why you're alone. But despite popular opinion, there's nothing wrong with being single nor with the desire to share life with a significant other. Singleness is more than a waiting room to meet Mr. or Mrs. Right, so how can you make the most of this unique season of life? … [Read more...]
Mentoring College Students
by Ryan Vanderland Mentoring is one of the hot-button words floating around college ministries right now. More and more people are realizing that one-on-one relationships are vital for the mental, emotional, and spiritual health of students. Within a college ministry context, Chuck Bomar has written extensively on the necessity of mentoring relationships. In his book, College Ministry from Scratch, Bomar outlines only two measures of effectiveness within college ministries as we help studnets "move toward Christlikeness." The first … [Read more...]
Theology Thursday: Knowing Jesus
Never trade Jesus for the idea of Jesus. Those words dropped like a gospel sledgehammer during a chapel service yesterday here at Lifeway Christian Resources in Nashville. Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church in Texas, said that provocative phrase in the sermon he preached from Philippians 3. I'd like you to take a minute to let that phrase sink in: Never trade Jesus for the idea of Jesus. Read it and re-read it. Don't let its sting distract you from its desire to unearth the truth in your heart. All too often Christians … [Read more...]
Ten-Minute Takeaways
by Jim Whaley I examine a ton of discipleship material each semester as we prepare for our collegiate church/campus ministry small groups. And I’m a huge Threads proponent. I do my very best to be exclusive with Threads material. Sometimes it’s hard, but for a large majority of our small groups, we do use Threads. When I first saw Holy Vocabulary though, something clicked. Even though it’s laid out like a “typical” small group resource, having each “word” stand alone gave me a whole new … [Read more...]
Everyday Faith
Our study on the centrality of Christ in our lives comes to a close with an appropriate topic-everyday faith. As we study a few passages in Colossians 3 and 4, we'll see what a life marked by Jesus' transforming power looks like, specifically in regards to our character, our homes, and our witness to the world. Here are the Web links for the week: If you'd like to take your study of Colossians further, listen to some of pastor Matt Chandler's sermon series on Colossians. Effective Evangelism with Young Adults On a housekeeping … [Read more...]
Theology Thursday: Questioning Adam and Eve
Quick question: Who were the first human beings to ever live on the earth? If you've ever set foot in a church, skimmed over the first couple pages of the Bible, or feasted your eyes on a flannelgraph presentation, then you probably have a quick answer: Adam and Eve. That's the "traditional" answer for Western society - not just the Church - and it's been that way for thousands of years. In recent years, however, a lot of people have started to debate the traditional view. This got started as a discussion among scholars and … [Read more...]
Theology Thursday: Respectful Disagreement
There are lots of people within the Church today who disagree on lots of things. And that's okay. That's natural. That's human. What's not okay is that many of those people don't know how to disagree. Or, more accurately, many people don't know how to go about the process of disagreeing in a way that offers mutual respect and maintains the unity of the Church. Such people often look at disagreements as opportunities to pounce, sneer, control, and win. I am one of those people, by the way. I have a lot of strong opinions and ideas … [Read more...]
Brand Perspective
Below is a fascinating video of a 5-year-old girl's reaction to some of the major “brands” from around corporate America. I thought it was sweet (especially the “cheetah” part), but also a revealing window into our culture. I wonder how many brands I would have recognized when I was 5, for example. The video also got me thinking about Christianity and the Church. What are the primary “brand” images and/or logos have come from Christians in recent generations? The cross is probably the biggest. … [Read more...]
Collegiate Summit 2012
So, if you were stranded on a deserted island for a month and got to pick three people to be with you, who would you pick? Not so fast, there are a few rules: No family members and no celebrities can be included. Now, who'd you pick? Truth is, all three of my picks would be collegiate ministry friends. Our tribe is a strong, loyal one. We get each other. We support each other. We share a calling, and often times a skill set. Plus, we would have interesting conversation and lots of laughs on a deserted island. Good news-you don't have … [Read more...]
Theology Thursday: It’s All About Jesus
By Micah Carter At the start of 2012, I managed to stumble across a number of "read through the Bible" plans that caught my attention. One of those plans was to read the entire Bible in 90 days. I thought: Whoa! The idea seemed daunting, but also intriguing, so I decided to tackle the plan. (I'm happy to report "so far, so good" on my progress nearly 20 days in.) Reading huge chunks of Scripture at a time has allowed me to see the text with a wide-angle lens instead of a microscopic view. And the more I see of the big picture within … [Read more...]
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