Are the students in your youth group prepared to defend their faith? Or even back up one step, can they even understand why they believe themselves? I want to tell you about a project I was able to be a part of that could make a big difference for your students. It is the apologetic study bible for students and here is a video that talks a little about it. Sean McDowell is the editor and did an outstanding job and I contributed five articles to it (Feb 2010). Knowing what we believe is a good start…but we must go beyond that to the why.
Tag Archives: Thinking Christianly
Being like Jesus…
Quite a thought…but that is the goal of the Christian life (i.e., becoming more like Jesus cf. Rom.8:29). Dallas Willard offers us some sage advice, “We cannot behave ‘on the spot’ as Jesus did and taught if in the rest of our time we live as everybody else does.” But that leads us to the needed, but uncomfortable question of how am I living?
Handling Social Media With Your Kids
I came across this article and it has some helpful suggestions. I am not an alarmist and am not arguing we return to the carrier pigeon–though there are days when it would probably be faster and more effective–but we do need to be wise. And children and teenagers lack one very essential ingredient for living well–experience. And the only way to get it is by living longer and/or trusting that your parents have acquired some wisdom along the way. These aren’t the 10 commandments or anything, but if you are currently allowing unlimited /unmonitored access to your children in the area of social media, then you should reevaluate if this is truly wise course of action.
So here is some of the article by Jim Burns, PH.D…
“Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you’re aware of the rise in popularity of social media with teens. From texting on cell phones to websites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, today’s kids are engaging in social media at an ever-increasing rate.
I probably don’t have to say this, but the reality is: Social media is not a fad, and has become part of the fabric of American youth culture. It’s estimated that during this year (2009), 15.5 million teen Internet users (75%) will use social networking websites. Facebook alone is said to have 300 million active users worldwide. and is the third most-visited website on the Internet, behind Google and Yahoo! In the course of a month, some 24% of all Internet users visit Facebook. And, two other social media sites, YouTube and MySpace hold the fourth and fifth spots as most visited websites in the U.S. Still, parents have to make choices about whether they will allow their adolescent kids to use these websites. And, if they allow their kids access to these sites, parents must provide both boundaries and oversight to their usage.
Talking to your kids about social media should be a top priority. Here are some of my thoughts on handling social media in your home.” (More…)
For the adults on facebook, here is a recent post about the possibility of facebook addiction and wisdom by Mark Roberts. Click here
What is a Worldview?
Ronald Nash helpfully defines a worldview as “a conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality.” Everyone has one–whether we have thought about very much or not is a different question.
So What is your worldview? How would you begin to answer these questions? What are you basing these answers on?
Why are you here?
What is real?
How do you know things and what can be known?
What is good? Who is really well off?
Is there anything beyond the grave or is this life all there is?
A Prayer that Works…
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.—Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT)
These words have given and continue to give me hope in the power of God.