Friday, September 23, 2011

Youth Ministry is Dangerous?


I was recently encouraged to watch a short documentary on the effects that modern youth ministry has had on our youth.  The film, Divided, takes up this issue by, shortly, examining the development of age segregated ministry and the lack of biblical foundations for youth ministry.  Here’s a few of the most pertinent points of the movie.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Insights from Frodo and Gandalf...


I’ve recently begun reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to read these three books.  In high school, I read The Hobbit, a tale that functions as a prequel describing how the Ring ends up in the unlikely hands of the hobbits of the Shire.  The Hobbit gives a considerable amount of it’s time to describing how Bilbo Baggins acquires the Ring from Gollum.  Gollum, we find out, once was a Hobbit himself.  His discovery of the Ring led him to murder his friend to possess this precious Ring.  The Ring does a number on Gollum, transforming him from a jolly Hobbit to a slimy creature that eats raw fish and can’t stand the light. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Rocks on the River...


Probably one of my favorite trips we take with our Youth Group is our annual float trip.  The trip entails two nights of camping and one fun filled day on the Current River in central Missouri.  Of course, the whole weekend revolves around our time on the river.  Each year our experience on the river varies.  Some years we have a younger crowd of teens, many of whom have never been in a canoe on a river.  Other years our teens are river veterans who are able to navigate the bends and curves, the calm water and the not so calm water.  Some years, the river is low and lackadaisical with the energy of an overweight man right after the Thanksgiving meal.  Other years, the river is high and full of energy like an adolesant girl hyped up on pixie sticks at a Justin Bieber concert.   Even as you step into the river, ready to shove your canoe into the cold, cold water you can’t entirely anticipate what the river will be like.