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Aspects of Aging with Grace
Snarky. Snarky. Snarky. I heard this word from different sources recently. I was not familiar with the definition of this word, but I did not like how I identified with the context in which the word was used. Snarky is an adjective describing someone who is subject to whims, ill-temper, crankiness as well as given over to curt irritable speech. Ouch! I was convicted of having some snarky thoughts and words. As with most sins, this one is subtle and limited. I realized I was on the brink of joining a club I did not want to be a member of—the Domineering Old Ladies Club (DOLC).[1] This club’s members think…
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What’s “organic” ministry and why do many next gen leaders embrace it?
Recently, my students, future ministers, gave oral reports on ministries they visited and evaluated. For the first time, I heard several of them use the word "organic" as an adjective to describe healthy ministries, and lacking "organic" as a negative. What is organic ministry anyway and why are so many of my students drawn to it? I remember an older woman who exploded, "Organic!"– I'm beginning to hate that word. If everything is organic, how do we ever get anything done?" Her frustration grew out of several conversations with younger women, and, in her opinion, this organic thing was throwing up roadblocks to effective ministry, specifically mentoring in her case.…
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Stay Encouraged…The Next Generation of Christians Needs You!
“…we face a generation of young people who no longer hold to what most evangelicals consider to be the true foundations of the Christian faith: belief in the deity of Christ, the reliability of Scripture, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus.” Josh McDowell and David H. Bellis, The Last Christian Generation (Holiday, FL: Green Key Books), 27. The preceding observation by Josh McDowell and David Bellis is sobering to say the least. The reality is that we are progressively living in a world where the basic tenants of the Christian faith are no longer believed, taught, or consistently championed. Relativism has taken root and has such a stronghold in our…
