One of the most prevalent questions in the minds of many teenagers is “so what?” If presented with a great deal of information, even a tremendously beautiful view of the world, we as humans are so frequently compelled to try to figure out what to do with it all. This is why so many students will take an advanced algebra class and come home sighing to themselves and asking “when am I ever going to use t…
Let’s play a little bit of catch-up here. For people who are working through the stages of faith, and have navigated to this point, here are some things that we have established. First, I can trust God; he is active and present in my life even when things don’t seem perfect. Second, I have learned that my choices and actions have weight and value in the Kingdom of Christ –my personality, complete with …
While I’m certain Ed could speak much more to this particular assertion, it is nearly universally held that one of the major tasks of adolescence is the formation of an identity. Think back to your time in middle school or high school. I’m willing to bet that a healthy chunk of your time was spent trying to figure out exactly who you were. Sometimes this takes the shape of finding yourself among lik…
If you’ve spent any time in Christian circles, you’ve likely heard the question, “Have you asked Jesus into your heart?” It’s an easy way of inquiring about the complexities of beginning a life of devotion to and relationship with Jesus. I made this decision the summer before my freshman year of high school, and to be honest, very little changed. I think this is the case for lots of us. We have an emotio…
Who likes talking about sin? I mean other than the preachers who you see on TV, who for whatever reason seem to really love banging their fists on their pulpits and making a big deal about how terrible we all are, nothing will quiet a room quite like saying “let’s talk about sin.” But my experience has been that if you’re going to understand a person’s theology, you almost have to start at how they unde…
