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What happened to summer? I remember those "lazy hazy crazy days of summer" from my youth - don't you? These days, it seems like June has barely started before August is coming to an end. And who decided that school should start in early August instead of after Labor Day, as nature intended? There's just one thing about the end of summer that I celebrate: college football season begins. (Not sure which team to cheer for this year? Feel free to join me in visiting http://seminoles.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/fsu-m-footbl-body.html regularly!) Michael
Duduit, Editor
In an interview with ForMinistry.com, author Sally Morganthaler observed, "To move from human-centered religion toward transcendence we need God, brokenness and communion. For example, we might go back to the many forms of prayer and repackage them in a language reflective of our own community. Prayer is illumination. That is really important for why people come to church. Assuming that we need a God bigger than us to guide us makes a huge statement. In the '80s, I noticed a shift in church-goers. The people we were reaching were responding to other parts of the service than the outline form message. People were wanting less information about God. "People
simply wanted to sit in a transcendent sacred space and feel held,
nurtured and beckoned in that place. Talking to them about what
impacted them most, they spoke of celebrating the Lord's table,
anointing for healing, longer periods of prayer, or the more intimate
type of singing that we were doing. They seemed to enjoy songs that
lead into times of confession or even songs of lament where we would
take Psalms and reword them. God is omnipresent, but when you worship
corporately, even embracing each other's brokenness, something will
happen that you can't experience anywhere else." (You
can read the entire interview by going to: http://www.sacramentis.com/articles/text/interviews/forministry.html.)
Music is major influence for "mosaic" generation On a recent edition of the radio program "For Faith and Family", pollster George Barna discussed the significant cultural influence music exerts on the Mosaic generation (those born between 1984 and 2002): "Music is really interesting because essentially that is the language of our culture. If you need an example of how that works just think about churches. Even in churches this is true. What is the biggest war we have in churches? It doesn't tend to be theological. It tends to be over what style of music you're going to use in the worship service. We've had all kinds of fights, but music is the way that we suggest to somebody, Hey, I understand where you're coming from. I speak your language. This is the feel; this is the sound that constitutes who you are and what you're about." "One of the ways I would describe it is every generation has to have it's own private language that people over 30 can't penetrate. And that's really what today's music is doing for young people. They have icons within the culture that we don't understand - many of whom we don't appreciate - but they're important to the Mosaics because it helps them to develop a life philosophy. Many of those individuals become role models for them. It helps them to identify some of their values and lifestyles. And, it also helps develop a sense of community among themselves. So it's hugely important."
ILLUSTRATION: Discipline needed for success John Maxwell relates the story of Bobby Jones, a legendary golfer who won a major tournament at twenty-one. By age twenty-eight, he had already won the grand slam and retired. Jones had an uncle who said that by the time he was fourteen, Bobby was probably already the best golfer in the world. He certainly was popular. However, Jones was also known for his temper because he would throw his clubs when he got irritated. Jones's uncle sat down with him and said, "Bobby, your problem is you've mastered the game of golf, but you haven't mastered your emotions; and until you master your emotions, you'll never be a champion in golf." Maxwell observes: "We have choices when it comes to our emotions: we can master them, or they can master us." (from Leadership Wired newsletter) |
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ILLUSTRATION: Teen sexual activity declining According to a July 28 CNSNews.com story by Rick Docksai, sexual activity among teenagers is now on the decline, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their findings were compiled in the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) report, a national report of the general health status of America's youth. The study also found increased use of contraceptives and a reduced rate of unwanted pregnancies. According to the report, the total number of high school students who claimed to have had sex in their lifetime was 44.6 percent. This is a nearly ten percent drop from the results of the 1990 YRBSS, in which 54.3 percent of high school students claimed to have had sex. For the first time in over twenty years, high school students who choose to remain virgins are no longer in the minority. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Be sure to mark your calendar for the National Conference on Preaching, May 6-8, 2003. The conference will be held at the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. The theme is on preaching and worship. Plan to bring your entire worship team for a time of new insights, refreshing worship and spiritual renewal. For more information visit our web site at http://www.preaching.com. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ILLUSTRATION: Students Don't See Western Culture as Superior Eighty-four percent of college students today do not believe that Western culture is superior to Arab culture according to a newly released poll funded by Americans for Victory Over Terrorism (a project by Empower.org) and former Secretary of Education William Bennett. The story was reported by George Livadas on the Accuracy in Academia website. According to the poll, 70 percent of American college students would not serve in the armed forces if sent abroad, while 48 percent openly declared that they would evade a draft. Ironically, 79 percent of college students believe that the U.S. "has the right to overthrow" Hussein. Rather than holding terrorists solely responsible for their actions on September 11, college students partially blamed the U.S. government for the attacks, as 57 percent of college students stated that United States policies are "at least somewhat responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks". Livadas observes, "Despite the War on Terror and the events of September 11, college students remain adamant in refusing to judge anyone or anything foreign based upon their actions. The once educational and beneficial idea of multiculturalism has been taken to such extreme levels that college students, who formerly studied different cultures to gain a better perspective of their own values and culture, now embrace and praise all societies but their own." "The disturbing results of the poll show us that not only are most college students today unwilling to fight for true American values and freedoms, but they are unwilling to even acknowledge the great achievements of American society. This tendency for American academics to blame the U.S. for the world's problems, while praising oppressive foreign cultures simply because they are not our own, will ultimately result in the weakening of our nation." (to read the complete story go to: http://www.academia.org/news/defend.html)
AND FINALLY . . . China is enlisting armies of ducks to prevent a plague of locusts engulfing swathes of valuable cropland, but the birds will probably end up in restaurants, according to a June 11 Reuters dispatch. The Manasi locust station in the northwest is about to unleash 4,000 hungry ducks into surrounding fields to munch their way through as many of the insects as they can. "Ducks are the best way to get rid of locusts because they have such a big appetite," Xiao Hongwei said. "After two or three months, they typically weigh around two kilos and can be sold to markets and roast duck restaurants" to be eaten wrapped in thin pancakes with plum sauce and spring onions. All
of which demonstrates the old adage: no good deed goes unpunished! ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Not
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