12:30 This is a rare treat but a real challenge. The next intercession set is led by some of the Borana students in the school of Ministry. This is extraordinary because, even a generation ago, the tribe was almost entirely Muslim. Now, close to 10% of them are followers of Jesus, which, in sociological terms, […]
Choices
A Guy’s Take: Beauty is a Choice
I am going to marry the most beautiful woman in the world. Just watch me. Who is it, you may ask? Well, I can’t tell you. Why? Because I don’t know who it is. How can I be so confident I’ll get such a beautiful woman? Now that is something I can tell you. First, […]
A Guy’s Take: Beauty is Not
Can’t we just give the ladies a break? I live and work in what is perhaps the Middle East’s capital of consumerism. I can’t go a single day without driving by numerous billboards of flawlessly airbrushed models promoting real estate and all manner of clothing brands. Every time I walk through one of the city’s […]
Healing is not Your Job (Healing School 12)
God is sovereign. It’s one of the most comforting and most fearful aspects of our faith. It’s comforting for us to realize God’s will is going to get done, whether we succeed or fail. On the other hand, it’s discomforting to think that we can do everything we want or think we have to do, […]
Jesus: Don’t Judge? (pt. 2)
Okay, maybe judgment isn’t such a bad word after all. What, then, could Jesus mean by His words in Matthew 7:1? Well, first, who is Jesus talking to in Matthew 7:1? Check the context. Four verses later, He addresses his audience as, “You hypocrite.” Now, I will be the first to admit that I and […]
Jesus Says NO to Self Defense?
There is plenty in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount to wrestle with. Does he really mean, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and threw it away”? Does he really mean, “Blessed are those who mourn”? Wait … um, doesn’t the Bible also command me to rejoice? (See Philippians 4:4; Nehemiah […]
Millennials (Pt. 3): Passion Tea and Passing Trains
This generation—we’re all on a train, really. The conductor on the intercom said the next stop is Destiny . . . but mile after aimless mile meander by the window, and the passing grass looks browner every minute. Well, while we’re both seated here, let’s talk. Okay, barista, I know working at Starbucks is not […]
Millennials (Pt. 2): Take a Step Way Back
Life in the 21st century is hard. Meet Grant (no, not the guy in the picture). Grant is a 25 year-old millennial. Six years ago, he turned away from an engineering career to follow his heart and work with children. Now after two years of teaching in a public school district, he’s struggling hard to […]
Millennials and “Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy”
A recent CBS article reported millennials are more educated but less skilled than their predecessors. Last year, I read a poignant yet hilarious article on WaitButWhy.com called “Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy.” Thinking of the trajectory of my career as an educator and my personal journey as a young millennial, it’s prompted me to do […]
What’s your Life Shaped Like? Part I
1. 2. Which is your life shaped more like? Is it the Christmas ornament box, or the solar system planetarium? Choose wisely. Now it’s time for some thoughts on our universe. The two books theory says you can learn about God in two ways: (1) what he explicitly tells man; and (2) what He created. […]