Bodwin

You've probably said it after blowing it royally! You have no doubt shared it with a friend who was relaying his struggles of failure to you. It's one of those comments that offers at best an artificial hope, which is as disappointing as a cold cup of coffee. The adage is "Nobody's perfect!" True, after scoring an 99% on a test, you realize that you aren't going to achieve a perfect score in the class. True, you shouldn't be bummed out about that. But many times, this adage is carried over into spiritual and social arenas (I consider everything spiritual in some way, because people are eternal.). I think many people are falsely comforted after sinning or failing to 'beat' a sin pattern when they realize that no one else is perfect either. Is this the Biblical model of hope? The truth that "Nobody's perfect" must drive us to a greater reality, namely, that there was One who was perfect, and His righteousness is available! Romans 5 disc

See this post by John Piper himself on here.

From time to time, I will hear sermons, devotionals or conversations regarding the topic of "change" or "sanctification," which in short is becoming more like Jesus Christ and less like the darkness from which we have been called out. (I don't mean messages with application of change, but rather messages on "change" as the theme.) Recently, I heard another one of these messages preached. The text was I John 1:5-10, regarding our response to the truth that "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." The preacher did a great job of following the text closely, but after discussing the fact that "if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves," he promptly went to discussing sin in another context. To his credit, he did come back to mention that we can be forgiven (v. 9). However, what was left in the middle was of most importance in the scheme of the passage, having seen that God is light. Verse 7 has as its ending, "an

Crush , used as a noun, is defined as being "a brief, but intense infatuation for someone." Some call this phenomenon "hero worship" in ministry circles, but this label seems inappropriate in some cases. Sometimes people are referred to as "[insert name]-ites." This name comes as a result of a person choosing to follow another person without reserve. But, you see, a ministry crush is in no way this thing called "hero worship." Recently, very recently, in fact, a fearsome foursome met (of which I am part) discussing a mutual ministry crush we have. We do not worship this pastor, author, etc., but we choose to identify with this man in the larger realm of Christianity. I would like to think that that night this fearsome foursome coined the term "ministry crush." Whereas hero worship involves an infatuation, a ministry crush (maybe even courtship - ministry courtship) is a brand of ministry discipleship. I hope this articulate, exhaustive

In another week or so, I am set to begin a 3-week block class entitled, "Philosophy of Youth Ministry." When I saw the books to be used, I was excited. The first was, "Age of Opportunity" by Tripp. I had heard of the book and I am pretty sure my church has used it in a parenting class. But I had never read it. So, I am through the first chapter now. If the rest of the book builds on that, (and I suspect it will) it will be a great read. Through other reads (Scripture and other books), as well as talks with pastors and youth workers, I have become increasingly aware that our confessional theology and our practical theology are incongruous when it comes to dealing with teens. In other words, what we would say we believe does not align with what we actually believe, which is revealed by what we practice. Tripp says in his book (chapter 1, obviously) that most (probably 99.9%) parents see child-raising as a survival contest. Tripp consistently argues that the teen years

As far as 'seasons' go, the first of September basically signifies the unofficial start of the NFL regular season. I am an avid Fantasy Football participant, and here are my NFL 2007 predictions: NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) NFC South: New Orleans Saints (11-5) NFC North: Chicago Bears (12-4) NFC West: Seattle Seahawks (10-6) NFC Wild Card: Dallas Cowboys (10-6) ; St. Louis Rams (9-7) AFC East: New England Patriots (11-5) AFC South: Indianapolis Colts (12-4) AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (13-3) AFC West: San Diego Chargers (15-1) AFC Wild Card: NYJets (10-6) ; Cincinnati Bengals (11-5) AFC Championship Game: San Diego Chargers d. NE Patriots (31-24) NFC Championship Game: Dallas Cowboys d. Chicago Bears (27-24) Super Bowl: Chargers d. Cowboys (27-17) (I will concede now that I am a huge Cowboys fan. I will plug-in some Colin Cowherd here as well: "Fan is short for FANatic.")

On August 14th, I was privileged to attend "Youth Leaders Cafe" sponsored and hosted by Positive Action for Christ. (www.pafc.org) If you are unfamiliar with Positive Action for Christ (PAFC, henceforth), I would encourage you to check out their website. The topic covered at this edition of the YLC was "Training God-Focused Parents" referring to the parents of the teens in a given youth ministry. Frank Hamrick, the founder, president, primary writer, and visionary of PAFC was the speaker. His philosophy of youth ministry at it's core is, "Growing kids to, above all else, know God." It seems in some ways on the surface to be overly simplistic. Alot of times, people ask me, "But what about music and dress (et al)?" It's interesting to me that we have attempted to quantify christianity and being 'godly' to a look or some established external guidelines. I went to a Christian high school. At almost every Christian school, there are k

I give credit to CC for the title, but I could not think of a better label for the effect of a certain song in my life. (btw, the previous quote cannot be taken out-of-context in order to argue that all music has "effect" on all people!) Before I get hung up there, "A Debtor to Mercy" (Toplady/Kauflin, SovGrace) has had an enormous impact on me, not for its musical beauty, but rather the words of the song which the music paints effectively. I guess the aspect of this song that causes my spirit to rejoice is the fact that there were things I needed, which I could not earn or gain for myself. Yet, through Jesus, I have all those things. (the righteousness of God, the forgiveness of my sins, God's unending mercy, the promise and evidences of eternal life.) This song causes me to praise God. I curse the day when the message of this song affects no change in my cold, depraved heart. Here are the lyrics. I hope this can be your 'Lifesong' as well. (the title i