Our culture has subconsciously conditioned us to accept three things when it comes to viewing life. First, the culture we are born into is the lens through which we must interpret life. Second, the culture of the world is the second one we must embrace in order to make sense of the one we are born into. And last but not least, the culture of our faith-Christianity-should be little more than an accent to the first two cultures. The majority of people live like this, operating according to those first two cultures and only seeing their … [Read more...]

I'm learning to stand the more that I fall down, It's the law of inversion, and it's all turned around, And I'm staggered by the clash inside my soul, So purposed for good but inclined for evil It's justice and mercy the old dichotomies, All along the frontlines of my heart in both doubt and belief The sinner and saint, the old arch enemies, All at war, in me I was born depraved, but created for the divine, With death in my bones, in my heart eternal life, I'd love for eden, but I'd kill for Rome, I'm … [Read more...]

The difference between a small group and a Bible study is what happens after the group meeting ends. As a leader, your responsibilities don’t end when the group meeting is over. What’s left to do? Lead your group to build close relationships with one another. This is done best by doing what you love to do together. For some groups, that may mean sports. For others, it may mean meals out and movies. There is no formula for relationship building, so the best thing you can do is create an environment that allows and … [Read more...]

A year ago a Christian college near Chicago asked me to speak to their students. It was that university's spiritual-life week: three days set aside for the students and faculty to focus their attention on God things. … Like with many speaking opportunities, when I visited this university, I met a number of students who could relate to my personal narrative, including Zack, a twenty-one-year-old senior. The shy religion major approached me after the final evening. "I have to be honest with you, man; I didn't like you the first … [Read more...]

The Nashville Connect Conference event was an amazing opportunity for the Threads team to spend time with ministry leaders who have a desire to reach the young adult generation. Here is a message from attendee Ken Jewett, College & Young Adult Pastor at Hermitage Church of the Nazarene: The Connect conference is a quality event. The team brought the latest information on young adult ministry. The opportunity to hear directly from a number of the authors creating the latest resources was a real treat. With the relaxed environment … [Read more...]

I heard an interesting observation once about the difference in how men and women answer the request, "Tell me about yourself." Guys tend to immediately start jabbering about what they do-their talents and accomplishments, their job, how they spend their leisure time, etc. Girls, on the other hand, generally take the approach of focusing on who they are in relation to what kind of family they grew up in, brothers and sisters, how they relate to their friends, whether they are extroverted or introverted. In all reality girls answer … [Read more...]

Leading a great discussion starts with you. Preparation is the key to ensuring that the group time is meaningful and worthwhile. Start with your mindset as you prepare for the study. First, realize that you are preparing for a discussion not a lecture. Your goal should be to bring out other’s stories and to help others learn rather than just not tell your stories and let everyone know what you have learned. I do this by studying with two perspectives in mind. First, I study to see what God teaches me. This is key because we are … [Read more...]

I admit I am a confirmed big three sports fan (baseball, football and basketball) in that order, but occasionally I see something riveting in another sport. This past Friday night, one of those moments took place. Danny Way, Bob Burnquist and Jake Brown went head to head in the Skate Big Air competition in X Games 14, and I have never seen anything close to the drama they created. First of all, they started off a ramp five or more stories high inside the Staples Center in L.A. and then they proceeded to attempt to kill themselves … [Read more...]

The first time I heard a minister mention the concept of “bouncers,” it made me bristle. In order to keep a church’s young adult worship gathering free of what he described as “stalkers,” several men were stationed around the church to make sure no one gave any women any unwanted attention. If a man even remotely looked like he was making a woman uncomfortable with his presence, the man was taken aside and given a friendly warning to discontinue his contact with the lady. If a second warning was … [Read more...]

There is not a single person I know who is more competitive than I am. Basketball, softball, fantasy football, picking winners in Saturday night UFC fights, whatever. You name it, I compete. One of my worst vices is that in the heat of competition is everything locks down—compassion, respect, fear of injury, everything. It’s a classic case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Blake Wolf Central Washington softball players Liz Wallace (left) and Mallory Holtman carry Western Oregon’s Sara Tucholsky around the bases after … [Read more...]