by Ted Slater on 09/28/2007
Christian bloggers need help. We need encouragement, we need information about how to embrace new technologies and make the most of existing ones, we need advice on how to improve our effectiveness and hone our messages. We need the fellowship of other Christian bloggers. On Nov. 8 and 9, Boundless Line bloggers Steve Watters, Motte Brown and I will travel to Las Vegas to be with our peers -- and our mentors -- wrestling with how best to honor the... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/28/2007
Tonight my dad will be inducted into his high school alma mater's football hall of fame in Union, South Carolina. I was surprised because he never talked about his sports exploits growing up. I remember only occasionally my mom mentioning that he was quite the athlete. And though I've never been considered "quite the athlete" myself, this part of my dad's life says something about me. Why? Because as professor and author Dr. Leon Kass believes, for a large part... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/28/2007
I smiled with acknowledgment while reading "The Facebook Commandments" on Slate. Author Reihan Salam discusses the dilemmas and potential pitfalls associated with the social networking site. After admitting that the "Great Facebook Purge of 2007" was a dismal failure -- lowering his friend count from 274 to 258 -- he goes on to discuss how one can manage an account with style and grace. An important skill to learn, considering the tool's popularity. At around 40 million members, from high... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/28/2007
You've probably heard the term "helicopter parents" in the context of parents constantly hovering over their children in college. Maybe you've seen a few. An article in Thursday's Wall Street Journal describes different types of helicopter parents: The Blackhawk Parent: Among the most damaging types, this parent "comes in with guns blazing," demanding action, says Patricia Somers, an associate professor at the University of Texas, Austin. ... The Toxic Parent: These parents meddle in intrusive ways that imply the student... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 09/27/2007
In what may be the Boundless article with the longest title ever, Evangelical Outpost blogger Joe Carter has brought a vivid and convicting light to the corrosive effects of "information technology" overload. My world is a bleary byteful swirl of e-mail, participating in online forums, reading and writing blogs, deleting a mountain of spam, checking my e-mail, answering my cell phone, investigating a particular IP address, reading the online news, checking my RSS feeds, editing some Mentor Series audio files,... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/27/2007
Ever think about who's checking out your online footprint? You should. Especially if you're looking for a job. Today's Wall Street Journal has an article about how employers are checking out a candidate's "references" before the interview. Here's an excerpt, The trend, which started mostly with Web-savvy recruiters in the technology industry, is now spreading to other industries such as human resources and financial services, says Cathy Henesy, talent acquisition leader at appliance maker American Standard Cos. Recruiters typically use... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 09/27/2007
In a tradition that began in 1990, millions of students gathered together yesterday to pray for those both near and far from them. What started in a small town in Texas by some teenagers has grown into an event observed by students in every state in the United States and in more than 20 countries around the world. Prayer, needless to say, is a good thing. Time spent communicating with an invisible Being, while in a sense intangible, is not... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/27/2007
In "The Rise of Raunch," T. Suzanne Eller considers the loss of decency in a generation of young women immersed in a hypersexed culture. She writes: On a recent Oprah Winfrey Show, the popular host spent an entire hour discussing the "culture of raunch," the increasing vulgarity permeating our media, fashion, and celebrity culture. One of her guests was Ariel Levy, author of Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Levy, 30, prompted a national debate when... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 09/27/2007
I am interested in the discussion related to Tom Neven's post, "A Christian in the Truest Sense of the Word." I completely agree with Tom about how the word "Christian" has become fairly trite. It is attached to music, magazines, movies -- whatever -- as long as it is wholesome and family friendly. But unfortunately I know people who profess belief in Christ and His atoning work on the cross, but according to their actions, I just don't see how... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/26/2007
I think what Denise and the Focus on the Family Institute students are doing today is courageous. The use of public displays of aborted fetuses is controversial even among pro-lifers -- with some saying it plays right into the hands of pro-abortioners who claim we're only interested in shocking women, not helping them. Should such criticisms be considered? Not according to author and pro-life advocate Randy Alcorn. He writes, The question we should ask is not, "Why are pro-life people... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/26/2007
Did you hear the story about the Bosnian couple who met online -- only to be repulsed when they met in person? It wasn't that they found each other unattractive. Apparently they were attracted enough to marry each other at one point. But they were looking for someone else when they each went online under fake names and had an "affair" with each other -- each complaining about their miserable marriage and thinking they had finally found their soul mate.... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 09/26/2007
Over the weekend I read a newspaper article about retirement. It said lots of couples don't talk about it either because they make assumptions about how it will all work out or they don't think about it or they try to avoid it. I saved the story because I know, being just 37, that retirement feels like it's too far into the future to even think about, let alone plan for. The article made me rethink this. I was waiting... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 09/26/2007
I will be out of the office on Wednesday as I head up to Greeley, CO to participate in an on-campus abortion exhibit with the Focus on the Family Institute students. The exhibit, which is run by an organization called Justice for All, travels to campuses and sets up an extremely graphic abortion exhibit on campus squares. Although they set up signs warning people of the graphic pictures ahead, most people are shocked by what they see when the photos... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/26/2007
I appreciated the discussion generated by Collin Hansen's profile of pastor Mark Driscoll. Some of you wholeheartedly supported his methods of inviting unbelievers into the fold. Others pointed out that he might be compromising by dabbling in worldly practices. For me, this brings up a related issue: What should be the church's response to unbelievers living in sin? To what extent should we welcome them into our congregations and ministries? Have you ever had that uncomfortable feeling when an unbelieving... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 09/25/2007
I just had lunch with a friend who has been praying boldly, for husbands for her single friends and for herself, since January 2006. God is faithful. She beamed with joy and love while she talked, her left hand sparkling with her engagement ring, not yet a week old. In listening to her tell the story of her romance, including all the ways God blessed her with answered prayers, I was reminded again that He wants Christian men and women... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/25/2007
Ted and I attended LeadNow+Fusion conference in Dallas last week for 20-&-30-something leaders. Donald Miller was one of the keynote speakers and workshop leaders. I've only read a little from Miller but having heard so much about him and his popularity, I was eager to hear him speak (and if I'm honest, I was primed for criticism). He opened the conference with a talk on marketing Jesus. It was good. Though there were parts that made me shift in my... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 09/25/2007
I woke up at 5 a.m. this morning, fully intending to pray, write and then faithfully run on the treadmill. Two out of three ain't bad, right? I just didn't feel up to the run. Too tired. Still a little run down from last week's flu bug. So I spent extra time on the other two. And then Steve told me about a review in the Wall Street Journal that says exercise may not be as useful for weight loss... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 09/25/2007
I was recently reading a series of tributes written by teens for their youth pastors. One girl described all the great things her youth leader was doing and finished the accolade by saying, "He's a Christian in the truest sense of the word." And that gave me pause. Based on all the admittedly praiseworthy actions of this pastor, the girl judged him to be a Christian of some higher order, apparently more "Christian" than others who don't do these things.... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/24/2007
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to follow every rule in the Bible? A.J. Jacobs did. The self-proclaimed agnostic (who, through the experiment, became a "reverent agnostic"), spent one year doing his best to follow 700 rules he identified in the Bible. He did it for his book The Year of Living Biblically, which will be released next month. (Jacobs previously wrote The Know-It-All, a book recounting his year reading Encyclopaedia Britannica.) He grew a beard (a... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/24/2007
As an English major, my favorite poem was T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and my favorite line was this: "There will be time, there will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." I thought of that line as I read one of the best reflections I've seen written to date on the rapid adaptation of online social networking. Writing in The New Atlantis, Christine Rosen raises great questions about lives... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/21/2007
First Christianity Today associate editor Collin Hansen brought us "Young, Restless and Reformed," and now he examines a controversial proponent of the movement, Mark Driscoll. Driscoll, 36, is the pastor of the 6,000-member Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Wash. Hansen looks at why conservatives and liberals alike won't accept him. Driscoll now uses Sunday services to equip church members to be missionaries in Seattle. The approach requires a high degree of cultural assimilation, a trait he shares with other emerging... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/21/2007
You may have heard about the challenge married couples often face seven years into their vows. A German politician named Gabriele Pauli made a dramatic suggestion this week for those couples: The Seven Year Itch, argues Germany’s most glamorous politician, could be cured by making marriage vows valid for only seven years, thus legislating away what is regarded as the most unstable phase of a relationship. Interestingly, Pauli is someone who left her first marriage at the seven year mark.... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 09/21/2007
It's an un-hip thing to talk about. We're naturally resistant to the thought that there are people in our lives who hold a degree of authority over us. Some even suggest that the New Testament downplays the relevance of authority. Throughout the Bible, though, we do find references to various types of legitimate authority. Jesus affirmed a man who recognized his being both in and under authority, for example. Other Scriptures validate civil authority, parental authority, husbandly authority, and even... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/20/2007
Have you noticed the news seems more and more like a tabloid? Consider today's most read articles on Fox News: Seven Disabled People, Including 5 Children, Imprisoned in Pa. Horror House; Woman Claims Doctor 'Spilled' Cancerous Tissue into Stomach; Bin Laden Declares War on Musharraf in New Audiotape; Man Bit By Rattlesnake After Putting It in His Mouth to Impress Ex-Girlfriend. OK, admittedly, that last one sounds entertaining. But this is news? In his column "Listening for the Whisper," Mark... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/20/2007
Last year, Paul Washer (an itinerant preacher and the General Director for HeartCry Missionary Society) stunned the audience of a youth event in Alabama with a piercing message about sin among Christians and our need for true repentance. The hour-long version of that message, labeled "Paul Washer-Shocking Message (full length)" has been viewed over 175,000 times on YouTube. Various excerpts and mashup versions of that message as well as a related interview with Kirk Cameron have been viewed by thousands... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 09/19/2007
Hi, my name is Tom, and I'm an addict. I don't have a problem with the bottle or with any kind of pharmaceutical product, legal or illegal. No, my problem is with games. I'm addicted to them. When in high school I was obsessed with bowling, to the point where if I saw a group of people standing around, I automatically calculated where I'd need to aim the bowling ball in order to knock them all over. I was a... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/19/2007
Research reported in USA Today shows a GPA drop among college students who play video games: First-year students whose roommates brought a video game player to college studied 40 minutes less each day on average, according to a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Those 40 minutes of lost study time translated into first-semester grades that were 0.241 points lower on the 4.0 grade scale. The study's authors, Todd Stinebrickner, an associate professor of economics at the... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 09/18/2007
There's a good chance you've seen the video of the college student whose disruptive exchange with Senator John Kerry yesterday led him to be tasered and handcuffed. In case you haven't, you can view a version of it here; please note that this version of the video has been intentionally edited so as to remove the events that led up to the young man's being arrested. Because of what I'll call inquisitiveness, I've found myself watching four different videos of... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/18/2007
In my unrelenting quest to bring you the latest on footwear safety, I submit to you a new danger: first flip-flops, now Crocs. I have to admit, I have a personal vendetta against the awkward-looking shoes (sorry if you love them). But according to Fox News, Crocs are the common denominator in a rash of adults and kids getting their toes stuck in escalators. One of the nation's largest subway systems -- the Washington Metro -- has even posted ads... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/18/2007
I've heard it said my entire Christian life, "Hate the sin. Love the sinner. " Is it biblical? Today Justin Taylor explores an article written over 60 years ago by John McKenzie who said we must hate the sinner as well as the sin. Here's why: There is a lawful hatred of the sinner; and indeed there must be, since such a hatred is the obverse of the love of God. The love of God hates all that is opposed... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/17/2007
WSJ online ran an article last week on Christians dating non-Christians. It begins by pointing out an obvious disconnect: In an episode of "Seinfeld" that lays bare the characters' secular sensibilities, Elaine is shocked to learn that her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Puddy, is a believing Christian. "So is it a problem that I'm not really religious?" she asks him upon realizing their differing worldviews. "Not for me," he answers. "I'm not the one going to hell." Though Elaine herself acknowledges... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/17/2007
"Don't be stupid. It's only blood." That's how obstetrician-gynecologist and abortionist Sheldon Turkish allegedly answered Rose Acuna when she asked if there was a "baby in there" after six to eight weeks of pregnancy. Apparently, Acuna wanted to make an informed decision before going through with an abortion. But Turkish wanted to decide for her by referring the life growing inside of her as "just blood" and making her feel like an idiot for even asking. And according to the... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/17/2007
Anthony Kronman is a professor of Law at Yale who sees both a longing for meaning among today's students and a failure by schools to provide it. Writing in the Boston Globe over the weekend, he observed: In a shift of historic importance, America's colleges and universities have largely abandoned the idea that life's most important question is an appropriate subject for the classroom. In doing so, they have betrayed their students by depriving them of the chance to explore... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 09/14/2007
Reading Motte's recent blog, God Wanted You to Read This ,touched on something that has bugged me for some time, but not precisely for the reason Motte blogged. Quoting Tim Challies, Motte speaks about the tendency of some preachers and writers to claim that you are listening to or reading said person at that precise moment because God willed it. "Bludgeoning with providence" (Challies' term) is certainly a good name for it, but I have a different one: taking God's... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/14/2007
A few weeks ago we received an email from Focus's Editorial Director of Youth Outreach, Tom Neven, expressing interest in guest blogging for The Line. We thought, Wow. Tom Neven, an author of two books who's written for The Washington Post, Time-Life and many other publications wants to blog for Boundless. That seriously upgrades our talent! Needless to say we were thrilled with his proposal and would like to welcome him as our new guest blogger. Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/14/2007
If you're eager to make the world more green, what do you do about babies? That's proving to be a tough question for some environmentalists. On one end, you have Alan Weisman and his book The World Without Us recommending aggressive depopulation as a way to cut back on the "human carbon footprint." On the other hand, you have some environmental realists worrying about what would happen if only environmentalists stopped having babies. Here's how Daniel Engber laid it out... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/14/2007
While scanning my usual blog haunts to find topics, events or news items which I believe may be of interest for our Boundless Line readers, I happened across this one from Mere Comments. It's about an article from an old acquaintance of mine, Kevin Offner, on making the most out of college. As Mere Comments describes, Kevin is "a veteran of the college campus, and a veteran working with InterVarsity." And though this is more for college freshmen, I believe... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/14/2007
In yesterday's Boundless article "What, No Paycheck?" David Barshinger considers if American Christians -- particularly the twentysomething generation -- have lost Christ's spirit of service. He starts with the example of a couple in his church: Zane and Marsha are initiators. They aren't afraid to take on low-profile, behind-the-scenes projects. They're eager servants, and this kind of commitment stands out among young people in my noncommittal generation. Yes, my generation includes me, a seminary graduate who sometimes gets frustrated about... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 09/13/2007
Since I started a conversation about difficult passages in the Bible, I thought I'd continue it here. You know, just for the fun of it. Back in college, I had to write a paper about the story of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6. I later turned some of my thoughts on it into a TrueU article called "Holy Justice." Here's the gist of it: David is king, and he decides to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Two... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 09/13/2007
If you'd asked me two days ago, "are you a reader?" I would have answered with a robust and confident "Yes!" That was before I read Suzanne's blog post about Dr. Mohler's formidable reading regimen. For all my love of books and reading, I have a long way to go. Thankfully, at the moment, I do have the fun category well in hand. My latest enjoyable read is a collection of essays called Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant.... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/13/2007
According to the congressional testimony from the commander of the troops in Iraq, General David Petraeus, the new war strategy is working and if things continue along this course, America's goals might still be achievable. You may have missed it since very few of the leading news organizations reported it. Instead, the media opted to focus on the political posturing of the Democrats who had the unenviable task of defending their bring-our-troops-home-now-because-the-war-is-lost strategy in the face of measurable progress in... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 09/12/2007
We are reading through the book of Job as a staff in our daily devotions. Job is a crazy book. Crazy. First of all, Job doesn't deserve the affliction he's going through. But the interesting thing is that he knows he doesn't deserve it. All of Job's friends are trying to show him that God is always just in what He does, so there must be some hidden sin that Job is suffering for. But Job insists that he is... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 09/12/2007
It's among the most venerated and versatile gifts God in His mercy has given us: the humble tomato. Consider that the following simply would not exist without them: ketchup, salsa, BLTs, spaghetti sauce, tomato/onion/mozzarella/balsamic salad, tomato bisque, gazpacho, fried green tomatoes, pizza and lasagna. Innumerable meals would be made bland were it not for the tomato. Once thought to be extremely poisonous, we now know that they're quite healthy, among other things containing the powerful antioxidant lycopene. They're an enigma,... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/12/2007
I am a wannabe reader. For some reason, I never developed an addiction to books, though I desperately wish I had. My job involves massive amounts of reading, which causes me to associate reading with work instead of pleasure. But perhaps a bigger roadblock is the matter of choosing. With limited hours for reading and unlimited choices (Eccl. 12:12), picking something worthy to read seems an overwhelming task -- and so I read nothing (or Boundless). These reading tips by... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 09/12/2007
On Monday, John Thomas answered a question from a 23-year-old young man who wants to know how to grow into biblical manhood. Today I found another angle on this question: an answer from Carolyn McCulley who herself often acts as older sister to the single Christian men in her church. Her suggestions for attaining manhood from a woman's perspective are a helpful addition to John's answer. In her list of very practical steps are: serve when it's inconvenient, cultivate godly... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 09/12/2007
A new report from the Census Bureau shows a smaller percentage of Americans marrying in their twenties. A USA Today analysis of the numbers showed that 73% of men in their twenties have never married (compared to 64% in 2000) and 62.2% of women that age had never married (compared with 53.4% in 2000). The reporter tied this six-year jump to trends we often hear about: The trend toward delaying marriage has emerged over several decades as economic and social... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 09/12/2007
Last week, Tim Challies wrote a lament about the trend of prominent Christian authors taking too many liberties with God's providence. Here's an excerpt from his blog "Bludgeoning with Providence." ... Consider the dedication from Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life: "This book is dedicated to you. Before you were born, God planned this moment in your life. It is no accident that you are holding this book. God longs for you to discover the life he created you to... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 09/11/2007
Early this year, I blogged about the low esteem Russia seems to have for children demonstrated by the country's high abortion rate (rated by the Washington Post as the country with the third highest abortion rate behind Cuba and Romania). Now it seems some in Russia are seeking to turn that tide by attaching greater value to children by ... handing out major awards. According to an article on CNN, they are offering prizes for procreation: Ulyanovsk Gov. Sergei Morozov... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 09/11/2007
As one who knows intuitively the benefits and challenges of working from home, I was heartened by an article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal that explores why work-from-home employees are often more loyal to their employers, more satisfied with their work and even productive in their outcomes than on-site staff. The article, "Seeking Loyal, Devoted Workers? Let Them Stay Home," reports on the results of a survey of 10,000 workers by Kenexa Research Institute. Jack Wiley, executive director of the... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 09/11/2007
Six years ago today a few of us were sitting with three representatives from Wells Fargo to revise requirements documentation for a voice application we were developing for them. We were discussing use cases and scope creep and other such businessy things. An AIM window popped up. Joshua, a former roommate of mine, had written, "Do you know what's going on?" Impatient with his ambiguity, and trying to keep my mind on the financial discussion we in the room were... Read more.
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