Are you encouraged or discouraged about teens? If you’re a teen, what is your perception of your peers? Are you hopeful? Or pessimistic? Not long ago, One Hope released a massive global study on the state of teens worldwide. In the report, we find reasons to be encouraged and causes for concern.
Spending time reflecting on what teens believe and do ought to help shape the way we pray for them and relate to them. I’ll process five sections of the report: Christian practice, struggles, social media, sexuality, and the meaning of life in teens’ lives and then draw some conclusions.
I can still remember the slightly musty smell of my childhood church’s cramped library. It was there I discovered World War II memoir of Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch watchmaker, The Hiding Place. In ten Boom’s memoir the reader has to wrestle with the question, “how can we forgive?”
If you know ten Boom’s story, you’ll likely remember how God brought ten Boom face-to-face with a Nazi guard years after her imprisonment. If you haven’t heard this story, it’s worth your time and ten Boom’s account is posted below.
Today, I have the opportunity to introduce you to my friend Tom Terry. Tom has a rare vantage point for some of the work God is doing around the globe. Tom is head of Global Broadcast Strategy for JESUS Film Project and manages English language radio stations for TWR. He also blogs on Bible study and theology at www.guywithabible.com. If this sparks a desire to partner in Tom's ministry, I encourage you to contact him at tom.terry@cru.org.
-John
If you were asked, "What is God doing in the world today?" How would you respond? Let me share my answer with you.l here.
I confess: I was never the biggest fan of the book of Proverbs. The 31 chapters chalk full of aphorisms always felt a little too self-helpy for my taste. I struggled with the lack of grace in the book, the apparent void for the need of the redeeming work of Christ. It felt like it bordered on the prosperity gospel: big promises without nuance. I found myself scratching my head in response to verses like “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Prov 10:4), and asking, “But what about the diligent born in Venezuela?”
But now I get it! Here is how my perspective on the Proverbs has changed.
I vividly remember freshman year, walking into the big leagues with 6-foot-tall basketball players roaming the same halls as myself. Looking to these 18-year-old giants, nay, men who had seemingly figured all things out as they were so very close to tasting the real world. The crowds of friends blocking the hallways, (would I ever be a part of that?), the guy and girl walking side by side, (will I ever have that?), the announcements of the valedictorian over the loudspeaker, and the waves of congratulations that followed their steps, (I wonder if people will ever recognize me?).
The blame game: Casey McCall asks, “What is it about our race that leads us to reflexively—subconsciously even—defer responsibility and search for excuses in the face of blame? I notice it in myself, in my children, and in people I counsel.”
When is a couple considered married? Robby Lashua responds to common questions, “When is a couple considered married? After the ceremony? When they sign the license? After sex? What verses support this?”
Who can forget the Genie?
Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
…take your order, Jot it down
You ain't never had a friend like me
If you were granted one wish, what would you wish for? Maybe you would wish for superpowers. Perhaps fame, money, or love. For many, the answer would be happiness.
There once was a man who was offered a wish by God. God came to King Solomon and offered him whatever he wanted. “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you’” (1 Kings 3:5).
Ed Catmull is one of the geniuses behind Pixar, the incredible animation company that revolutionized what we expect from animated films. The first 80+ pages of Creativity, Inc. are about Catmull's own story and the founding of Pixar. The rest of the book tilts more toward what the title promises: leadership strategies to unleash creativity. I enjoyed Catmull's story, but if you want to jump to the leadership strategies, you can leapfrog the first part.
Catmull's strategies won't strike anyone as particularly innovative. You'll likely have heard or intuited a lot of what he says, but what I found particularly inspiring was the tenacity and single-minded focus Catmull and the other leaders at Pixar had in implementing simple but profound ideas. And perhaps most impressive is Catmull himself, clearly a leader who embodies the ideals he puts forth.
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