by Motte Brown on 10/31/2007
Townhall.com's Bob Burney reported yesterday on a multi-year study of the programs and "seeker sensitive" philosophy of ministry of mega church Willow Creek Community. And the results aren't good for churches that replaced "sin, salvation and sanctification" with "Starbucks, strategy and sensitivity." The report reveals that most of what they have been doing for these many years and what they have taught millions of others to do is not producing solid disciples of Jesus Christ. Numbers yes, but not disciples.... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 10/31/2007
A little while back, I blogged about the concept of the seven year itch in marriage. Today, a report out of London says that itch is occurring earlier and that "married couples are at their greatest risk of divorcing just before their fifth anniversary." "The crisis point for the modern marriage is arriving sooner," said Aiva Jasilioniene, who helped conduct the study. She said the early years of marriage can be tough because they are often characterized by challenging experiences... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/31/2007
I cannot conclude this series without considering the formidable task of trusting God with relationships in the absence of possibilities. When there's a promising online match, a friendship that appears to be blossoming into more or an interesting fellow you met at that last wedding you attended, trust is a bit easier. There's something tangible to rest your hope in (even if it never goes anywhere). But what of the dry spells? I discussed this in an article I wrote... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 10/31/2007
"When I was their age, I was a bunch of grapes." So said Cheryl Cirenza, noting the contrast between her pre-teen Halloween costume and the trashy lineup her daughters are sorting through. Consider: Playboy Racy Referee, Sexy Super Girl, Funky Punk Pirate, Fairy-Licious Purrrfect Kitty, Devilicious, the list goes on. So reports the Washington Post in Preteens Trading Fairy Wands for Fishnets. The controversy continues. According to the story, Cirenza's grapes get-up dates back to... the days when Halloween was... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 10/30/2007
Last year I wrote a defense of my unapologetically dark house on Halloween. It was in response to a blog Tim Challies wrote in which he said that dark houses on Halloween are poor witnesses for Christ (a stance he has since softened). It made for good blogging but I came to regret my unfriendly tone directed toward Tim; particularly when I ran into him a few months later at a conference. The following excerpt should give you an idea... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 10/30/2007
With what is perhaps impeccable timing, my Netflix queue recently delivered up the documentary Hell House just in time for Halloween. This 2001 film profiles Trinity Church of Cedar Hill, Texas, which has put on the ultimate Halloween haunted house since 1991. This "haunted" house, which the church itself has dubbed Hell House, is really a series of short vignettes depicting various symptoms of a fallen world: gang violence, drug dealing, homosexuality, rape, abortion, suicide, and even a full-on rave... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 10/30/2007
And I'm too poor to be a metrosexual. Part of my job is to attend conferences for 20-somethings. It's a humbling experience for a balding 30-something. Everybody there looks so cool; especially their stylishly disheveled hair. I don't even have a soul-patch. But according to Carl Trueman, that may be a good thing. In his Reformation 21 blog "To Baldly Go," Trueman says that aging ministers to 20-somethings are way too interested in cool, and put too much emphasis on... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 10/30/2007
This time last year we were debating on the Line about the merits of participating in Halloween. In addition to commentary about the slutty and grotesque nature of current costumes -- even for small children -- we went back and forth about trick-or-treating vs. staying home. This year we're going to branch out (after getting candy, preferably chocolate, from our closest neighbors, of course) and attend a Reformation Day celebration at Motte's church. Should be fun. The kids are excited... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 10/29/2007
A couple of weeks ago, Ann Coulter appeared on a CNBC talk show and got herself into trouble for what she said. Shocking. I don't often watch or listen to Coulter, but I've heard enough about her to know that some of what she says is either extreme or can be taken out of context to seem that way. Her latest trouble-causing statement was about how Christians are "perfected Jews." (She also went on about how some interracial couples have... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 10/29/2007
I love December -- snow, Christmas and blockbuster films. This year it's The Golden Compass, the first in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, a story many are comparing to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling. He even hails from Oxford. In Shedding Light on His Dark Materials, author Kurt Bruner writes: Unlike Tolkien's works of Christian imagination or Rowling's relatively innocent fun, many of Pullman's spiritual undercurrents run in direct opposition to the God of... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/29/2007
One reason it is difficult to trust God with relationships is a lack of confidence or distrust in the opposite sex. Christian singles may be hitting the same barriers to marriage as those with a worldly mindset -- hesitancy to commit, lack of viable choices in partner, a desire to establish wealth and possessions first -- but here's the honest truth: Christians need to have a radically different perspective about the opposite sex, dating and marriage. Consider Corinthians 5:17-19: Therefore,... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 10/27/2007
Sorry to bring you such a downer on the weekend, but did you see this sad story in the Buffalo News by Ken Ilganus? I am 24, live with my parents, can't find work and am floundering in a sea of debt five figures high. I think of myself as ambitious, independent and hardworking. Now I'm dependent, unemployed and sleeping under the same Super Mario ceiling fan that I did when I was 7. How did this happen? I did... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/27/2007
A good amount of what we believe about relationships is just off. And that includes what we believe about divorce. According to David Popenoe, co-director of Rutgers National Marriage Project, the following are myths: Because people learn from their bad experiences, second marriages tend to be more successful than first marriages. Not true. Living together before marriage is a good way to reduce the chances of eventually divorcing. Not true. Divorce may cause problems for many of the children who... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 10/26/2007
We published a TrueU article yesterday which talks about how much television has influenced the way we do politics in the U.S. It's quite amazing, really. The author, Michael Bauman, first talks about how much time we spend watching TV and how it really has changed our reality into fantasy: In the aftermath of television's conquest of our eyes and of our waking moments, its artificial reality became the measure by which we judge reality itself, much the same way... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/26/2007
Guys -- you're explaining something to your girlfriend, and while her eyes seem uncertain, her nodding is telling you that she understands and agrees. Right? Wrong. Apparently, the going research indicates that a woman's nod is different from a man's nod: Body language differs by gender. Men tend to stare as they listen and nod to signify they understand. Women may nod when they don't yet understand to encourage the speaker to keep talking. So my wife's nodding to me... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 10/26/2007
Growing up in an historic part of North Carolina, I remember hearing lots of ghost stories -- about ghosts of Blackbeard the Pirate, about something called "the devil's footprints," about strange lights in a place where a train wreck occurred and more. I was never quite sure how to reconcile those stories with my Christianity. I thought at the time maybe those paranormal activities fit in somehow with the things I had heard about demons and evil spirits. I haven't... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/26/2007
I often notice people becoming uptight when we begin discussing the issue of trusting God with relationships. This is because they equate trust in God with passivity. But since when did "trusting God" mean "do nothing?" We're all rather attached to eating, right? But do we sit at home waiting for meals to come to us? No, we work to purchase food. Similarly, if you want the job, you apply for the job. If you want to get involved in... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/25/2007
Several weeks ago Thabiti Anyabwile explored the issue of authority in "Question Authority," an article we bloggged about on The Line. Among the six types of authority he identified, he mentioned "authority in the local church," specifically "pastoral authority." Now what does that really look like? Are we required to do whatever he asks of us? Are we free to disregard his counsel? The answer to both questions, of course, is "no." This week Michael Lawrence takes on the difficult... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 10/24/2007
For those of you who don't know, the bloggers of the Boundless Line live in Colorado. And, in case you haven't heard, the Colorado Rockies just happen to be in the World Series. Suddenly this state has thousands of avid baseball fans who are rushing to the stores to buy as much black and purple gear as possible. I am one of them. The bandwagon is here and I have jumped on and found a seat. (I even get to... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/24/2007
After years of researching relationship statistics, studying principles for godly relationships and analyzing what the opposite sex is thinking (or attempting to), it sometimes seems as if I've reduced dating and marriage to a sterile series of rules and decisions. In recent years, I've veered toward viewing relationships in a depressingly pragmatic way: Find someone with godly character and as little baggage as possible and make a choice to intentionally pursue marriage with that person. While intentionality is good (and... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/24/2007
Dorotholomew* regularly exchanged e-mails with her husband, who's serving in Iraq. But these ones were a bit odd. He was saying that he needed to update some financial matters, and had forgotten his passwords and could she remind him what they were. She saw no good reason to distrust this e-mail, sent from her husband's Yahoo mail account, and so she forwarded them to him. Providentially, she received a rare international phone call from her husband within a couple of... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 10/24/2007
I love looking at old photos. I try to imagine what was going through people's heads as they posed for photos 25 years ago, 50 years ago, a hundred years ago. So imagine the thoughts that went through my head when I came upon a collection of photos posted on the Web site of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. This photo album once belonged to a Nazi officer named Karl Hoecker, a member of Hitler's SS and adjutant to the commander... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/23/2007
Last week I published an article from an author who was married to a woman. The thing is, the author is a woman. If you're interested in gaining a heart of compassion for those in the gay lifestyle, if you're wanting to grow in empathy for their struggle, if you'd like to see what our redemptive Lord can do with a broken life given over to sexual sin, check out "Out of Lesbianism." The Lord is kind and forgiving. Read more.
by Motte Brown on 10/23/2007
It's official. Marriage makes you fatter. USAToday.com reports on a study from the Obesity Society comparing weight gain among single and married young adults in their late teens and early 20s. What they found was that getting married adds about 6 to 9 pounds more than singles the same age. Here's USA Today's lead quip, Young adults might want to change their wedding vows to say they are taking each other "for better or girth." Funny. Researchers suggest that single... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/23/2007
My next installment was going to deal with God's perspective on romance, but I'm going to hold off on that. From the comment section of my last blog, it's evident people are interested in this issue of free will versus God's sovereignty in relationships, which Scott Stanley talks about here. Stanley seemed to play both sides in his discussion, but he concludes that whatever your view on God's sovereignty versus man's free will, you should be careful to avoid the... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 10/23/2007
Writing from one of the biggest porn producing regions in the country, L.A. Times columnist Meghan Daum says that the porn age has lost its sexiness. She writes that "sexiness itself, which is rooted in mystery, has been replaced by the far less interesting -- and less titillating -- 'porniness.'" "As the Porn Age marches onward," she writes, "it seems only logical that fake sex between fake people will become increasingly humdrum." She explains how it's already driving viewers to... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 10/23/2007
I had my first cup of Starbucks 14 years ago in Washington, D.C. It was a skinny iced latte with a pack of Equal stirred in after the fact. (I didn't learn till a decade later that if you want an iced latte sweet, you have to add the sweetener while the coffee's still hot or it just sits on the bottom of the cup.) I remember wondering what the hype was all about. But like so many coffee lovers,... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/22/2007
I've recently been thinking a lot about God's participation in my love life. Mostly, I've been wondering to what extent He cares about it. There was a time when I believed that the Lord was carefully preparing and refining my future spouse and orchestrating the exact events that would bring us together. I still want to believe that, but it's a struggle. Does God really care about who I marry? Is my waiting period part of His plan or just... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 10/22/2007
For couples who've been dating a year or more, it's as simple as this: Get married or break up. Here's an excerpt from Scott Croft's "From 'Hi' to 'I Do' in a Year" explaining why. To put it simply, "not acting married before you're married" ... gets exponentially more difficult the longer a pre-marital relationship persists. If ... our goal is to move positively toward God-glorifying lives (rather than simply to "walk the line" by attempting to satisfy our fleshly... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 10/19/2007
Last month I wrote about your online footprint. I never thought about countries having one as well. Based on statistics provided by Google, Inc., Reuters lists some random keywords and the countries that searched them most. Here are some of the results , "Sex" - 1) Egypt 2) India 3) Turkey "Hangover" - 1) Ireland 2) U.K. 3) U.S. "Burrito" - 1) U.S. 2) Argentina 3) Canada "Viagra" - 1) Italy 2) U.K. 3) Germany "Jihad" - 1) Morocco 2)... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/19/2007
I was just taking a look at the Newsweek article Denise posted on a few days ago, which examined the age-old question: Can money buy happiness? The answer is no, of course. Denise highlighted one reason for this cited in the article -- this issue of overwhelming choice we keep talking about. With increased wealth, comes increased choice. And increased choice does not equal happy. While those suffering abject poverty experienced greater happiness when boosted into the middle class, a... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 10/19/2007
Is your path to marriage all in God's hands or are you supposed to be playing a big role? That's one of the most common questions we get at Boundless. How you've been approaching God's role in your path may have a lot to do with your theological convictions -- whether you lean more toward a sovereignty or a freewill perspective. Dr. Scott Stanley, a marriage researcher who grew up Southern Baptist and then became a Presbyterian has spent many... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/18/2007
I enjoyed reading this dialogue between The Year of Living Biblically author A.J. Jacobs and Slate religion writer (and professing Christian) Matt Labash. Although, I take issue with Labash's irreverent tone at points, I found the conversation fascinating. If you recall from my earlier post, Jacobs (a professing agnostic from a Jewish background) spent one year doing his best to follow 700 rules he identified in the Bible. Then he wrote a book about it. From reading this dialogue, it's... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/18/2007
Gamblers engaged in unethical practices? Tell me it isn't so. Turns out that folks at the popular online gambling site Absolute Poker have allegedly been caught cheating their customers. According to Freakonomics, one of the part-owners of Absolute Poker was allegedly telling a friend, in real time, what the other players' cards were. As a result, that friend had a severely unfair advantage, and was winning money hand over fist from those gullible enough to squander their money there. Gambling... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/17/2007
After this weekend, I know what it feels like to hold the minority opinion. I participated in an acting workshop where it was clear marriage, faithfulness and sexual propriety -- let alone virginity -- were not virtues. Discussing and/or including immorality was presented as the norm -- and even required -- for the acting community. I found myself wondering how all these opinions, many of which I do not hold, became "the norm." In this New York Times Blog opinion... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 10/17/2007
First jobs out of college can be absolutely dull. Mine was. Or at least most of it was. A large part of my day was spent entering data into a DOS system to generate constituent response letters. I used to tell my wife that a chicken could do it if you sprinkled enough feed around the F9 key. It's just difficult to do well on tasks we find boring. But according to Lifehacker.com, it's a skill worth developing if you... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 10/16/2007
I just blogged about a Newsweek article that mentioned that money doesn't buy happiness. The idea behind the "money buys happiness" theory has to do with wealth giving you more options. You can decide between vacationing in Florida or in Austria. You can buy a Mercedes or a BMW. You can eat at a steakhouse or McDonald's. It's up to you. What has been found, though, is that too many options is paralyzing. When you have so many things to... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 10/16/2007
Well, it's been confirmed by Newsweek, so it must be true: Money doesn't buy happiness. According to the article, studies have shown that while money does make people happier when it lifts them out of extreme poverty, there isn't that much difference in the happiness levels of the middle class and the extremely wealthy. (Although, I wouldn't be opposed to trying the "extremely wealthy" gig for awhile and letting you know how it turns out. ;-) One of the things... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/16/2007
The top article on Fox News today is disturbing: "Forecast: Sex and Marriage With Robots by 2050." It sounds like the twisted plot of a sci-fi movie, but it's not. This prediction comes from researcher David Levy at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. In his thesis, "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners," Levy conjectures that robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 10/15/2007
My jaw dropped when I read this lead from WorldNetDaily.com's "'Mom' and 'Dad' banished by California." "Mom and Dad" as well as "husband and wife" have been banned from California schools under a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who with his signature also ordered public schools to allow boys to use girls restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa, if they choose. WorldNetDaily.com has since inserted the word "effectively" before "banned." But it was so over-the-top I had to... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 10/15/2007
As a rebellious teen, I had no use for my father's advice. He was an old, out-of-touch grownup during a time we were being told to trust no one over 30. At the same time, I loved military history and devoured books on the topic, including, when I was about 15, To Hell and Back. No, it's not a Frank Peretti novel. This book contains the memoirs of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of World War II, who was... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/15/2007
In her latest Boundless Answers column, Candice talks about how to become a writer. Her sound advice includes an encouragement to just sit down and write, to read, to start a blog, and to pray. Let me add some to her answer: Write what you know. And be honest about what you're writing. Readers can discern when you're being phony. A corollary: Use words within your vocabulary. Kill your beauties. You might have a few spots in your article that... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 10/12/2007
If true, Ramzi Yousef's conversion is fascinating considering his ambitious plans to kill Americans. According to the 9/11 Commission report, Yousef was an engineering explosives mastermind who thought his bomb was a failure because it didn't bring down one or both of the World Trade Center buildings. His ambitious plan was to kill tens of thousands of Americans by blowing up one building and have it come down on top of the other. Instead, only six people were killed in... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/12/2007
The Kingdom of Heaven includes people with all sorts of backgrounds. The heaven-bound include sinners who've done drug, who've lied, who've stolen, who've committed sexual sins, who've cursed God ... and who've murdered. The man who wrote most of the New Testament facilitated -- even encouraged -- the murder of Christians millennia ago. Notorious serial murderers Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy and "Son of Sam" David Berkowitz turned to Christ for salvation, crediting Him for redeeming their catastrophic lives. And... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 10/12/2007
I once had the opportunity to sit in a Bedouin tent in the desert as they made coffee, starting with the raw, green coffee beans to finished cup of extra-strong Arabic coffee. The smells that emanated from that goat-hair tent during the process surely are but a small reflection of what heaven will be like. Upon serving, the Bedouins said that good coffee should be black as the night, as strong as a warrior, and as bitter as marriage. Hmm,... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 10/12/2007
The past month has been busy for me with vacation, trips for work and moving. (I hate moving, by the way.) During one of the weeks I was out of town, I visited my home -- Minnesota. This trip was a bit different for me, though, because my mom recently got remarried and moved to the tiny town of Deer River. 900 people (which I think may be a stretch of the numbers). One stoplight. Bazillions of deer. I'm originally... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 10/11/2007
We're having some issues sending out this week's Boundless e-newsletter, so let me just go ahead and publish it here. Enjoy! * * * After weeks of rehearsals, my church's series of Easter services was finally upon us. I was looking forward to the second song in particular, when dozens of children would storm down the aisles and join in the singing. It was months later that I realized that a new friend of mine, Glenn Packiam, had a hand... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 10/11/2007
This last week I wrote a TrueU article about the path to forgiveness. It's a tough one, let me tell you. In the article I talk about listening to an old Psalty song (remember him?!) about forgiving 70x7 times. It seemed easy back then, when the biggest offense committed against me was my brother eating the last cookie. But as we grow older, forgiveness can get more serious. It oftentimes involves a lot more than just saying "I forgive you."... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 10/11/2007
What do airports and Disney World have in common? They both serve millions of people every year and everyone must stand in line before they can get on a ride. But if you're like most travelers, you would not equate airports to the "Happiest Place on Earth." Still, MSNBC reports that airports and Disney share more in common than you might first think: Airports and Disney parks operate or coordinate parking and transportation services, restaurants and shops. And both entities... Read more.
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