Sometimes it’s weird how theory meets reality.
Last night at small groups we talked about "Issues for Girls." Our conversation centered around some of the struggles and weaknesses that girls face in dating and relationships. One of the points we discussed was that sometimes girls will think things like, "If I don’t do what he wants [...]

This past week we were blessed by the presence of over 30 guests from South Oakland Shelter. SOS is a ministry that helps people who are at a challenging place in life. These are people just like you and me who have lost their job, their homes, and sometimes even their families.
As I reflect on [...]

Last night, while Michelle was at a meeting, Matthew and I traveled to a nearby park.
We spent a significant amount of time at the swings, where Matthew made friends with a young adult who was on a swing as well. It helped that she worked at Tim Horton’s (the home of one of Matthew’s favorite [...]

This past weekend, 8 students, my family, and I traveled to Beamsville, Ontario to attend the 2008 Great Lakes Youth Rally. It was a great weekend where I saw old friends and made new ones.
We left Friday morning and headed to Port Huron, where we would cross the border into Canada. Crossing the border into [...]

Wednesday night at 180 Connections, we talked about baptism as change. We explored the idea that in baptism we are declaring to God and the world that we are refocusing our life.
I want to challenge you to consider your focus. If you have been baptized, have you reoriented your life to pursue a path of [...]

This is the final short paper for my Philosophy of Religion class. This has been a great experience and I have learned so much. In this essay, I am considering Paul J. Griffiths’ thoughts on the uniqueness of religious doctrines.
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Griffiths answers those who subscribe to the pluralistic view of religions. His main point, and the [...]

It was nine years ago today. There are those pivotal moments in your life that you never forget. Weddings. Births. Deaths.
April 16, 1999, was the day of the phone call that would reverberate through the rest of my life. My dad had called earlier in the evening and I could hear it in his voice. Something bad [...]

This week we are getting ready to make a journey to Canada. I am speaking at a youth rally up at Great Lakes Christian College (which is actually a high school) in Beamsville, Ontario. It should prove to be an interesting weekend.
As we have been preparing, our group has probably killed a few trees with [...]

Why is sin often so enjoyable? I mean, if you think about it, why else would we sin?
Sure, we know it’s wrong. We know that God doesn’t want us to do it. Sometimes, we even know that sin will have negative consequences. Yet, in spite of all that, we sin anyway. What’s up with that?
The [...]

Today I had the experience of being humbled by a 7-year-old.
So I am sitting in my house and my wife, Michelle, is checking her email. She tells me about an email she received from a friend explaining that several teenagers in our area were killed in a car accident. As Michelle is reading the email, she reads [...]