by Candice Watters on 01/31/2008
Online dating services may be getting too big for their britches. Not content to spotlight the things they do relatively well (i.e., introduce users to a large pool of potentially like-minded single men and women ) they make wild claims of being able to help you find "your soul mate," "the perfect love you were born to meet," "satisfying marriage" and more. But not only that. They now claim, in view of their moderate success, that they can do so... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/31/2008
Steve poses a good question about the next generation of the church. One trend I've noticed in my generation is a desire to take Christ to the culture instead of forcing them to come to us inside the church. Eric Simmons' article "Meeting God in the Saloon" talks about that very thing. He recounts an unexpected opportunity for evangelism that happened when he and a buddy were passing through Colorado on a cross-country road trip: We were dead tired, we... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 01/31/2008
Consider the haiku. It is the poetic embodiment of the Japanese penchant for beauty in simplicity. A haiku consists of three unrhymed lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively, and traditionally described something in nature. Of course, something so elegant could not be left well enough alone. Hence the "spam-ku," the delicate art of Japanese poetry turned to praise the quintessence of mystery meat. An example: Ate three cans of SPAM But there's still room for Jell-O I love... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 01/30/2008
"Baby Boomers are no longer the future of American religion. As they grow older, they are rapidly becoming its past. The future now rests with younger adults." This is how Robert Wuthnow kicks off his book called After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religion. He continues: Baby boomers are now moving past their mid-life crises, becoming empty nesters, and retiring. To be sure, their influence on American religion remains strong. With the... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 01/30/2008
The elder President Bush once referred to political momentum as "the big Mo." And it appears that one presidential candidate has finally gotten some heading into "Super Tuesday" -- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). As today's Wall Street Journal reports, Sen. McCain inevitably gains an important edge in momentum and fund raising heading into "Super Tuesday" next week, with primaries and caucuses in more than 20 states across the nation. Even before the Florida win, polls in three of the largest... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 01/30/2008
Madison Avenue hates women. Can I say that without controversy? The female physique has been used to market everything from cars to power tools. In fact, this blog title derives from Big Tobacco's generous decision to allow women to share in the same ghastly death as male smokers. But even with today's crass exploitation of the female image, it's hard to believe that we live in a relatively enlightened age when it comes to women and advertising. Have a look... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 01/29/2008
Jacob Douvier, whom we see commenting regularly on The Line, has started a series on his blog highlighting A Puritan Catechism. Questions addressed include: What is the chief end of man? What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify him? What do the Scriptures principally teach? What is God? This systematic collection of 82 doctrinal points was compiled by Charles H. Spurgeon, a man I greatly admire. Feel free to stop by Jacob's blog to leave... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 01/29/2008
I appreciate the feedback I received from my "just choose one" plea at the end of the roundtable discussion of our first podcast. For those who haven't listened (and really, you should), I was responding to the generally accepted "I just haven't found the right one" defense from single guys in their 30s. And before you start hatin' on me here, let me explain what I meant. I've been married 10 years. And over the years I've learned that I... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 01/29/2008
A frequent comment on BoundlessLine is the question, "Why do you talk about marriage so much?" Initially, this question makes me wonder if people really don't know that Boundless is a service of Focus on the Family, a group that specializes in Christian marriage and parenting principles. Our editorial mix for years now has been divided between 1) Christian worldview, 2) Christian community, 3) stewardship of time, money and calling, 4) purity and 5) vision and preparation for marriage and... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 01/29/2008
Last night I watched 60 Minutes and saw a fascinating interview with the FBI agent who was Saddam Hussein's main contact after being captured by the U.S. George Piro -- an agent who had only been employed by the FBI for five years before this assignment -- was picked because he had been born in Lebanon and spoke fluent Arabic. They also thought Hussein would respond to a young Arab man (even if he was working for the U.S.). I... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 01/29/2008
Are there any errors in the following paragraph? In order to insure the magazine's success, Candace Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many complements. If so, tell me what they are. Read more.
by Tom Neven on 01/28/2008
An actual e-mail I received from "Robert Mueller III, Director of the FBI," exactly as I received it: We believe this notification meets you in a very good present state of mind and health. We the Federal bureau of investigation (FBI) Washington, DC in conjunction with some other relevant Investigation Agencies here in the United States of America have recently been informed through our Global intelligence monitoring network that you presently have a transaction going on with the Central Bank... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 01/28/2008
Not one to stop with just half the story, journalist and author Kay Hymowitz presents the other side of the "Child-Man in the Promised Land" problem in "The New Girl Order." The evidence Hymowitz presents is overwhelming: single young females a la Sex in the City are no longer a New York City phenomenon. They're everywhere. Hymowitz writes: Carrie Bradshaw is alive and well and living in Warsaw. Well, not just Warsaw. Conceived and raised in the United States, Carrie... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 01/28/2008
We often get grief whenever we talk about an article or stat documenting trends among young adults. Our readers often say it's not fair for us to assume that general trends are also true of the Christian sub-set of the population. And that, indeed, should be true. Christians are supposed to be different and various studies by Barna and other Christian researchers do prove that Christians don't neatly parallel a general audience -- although they've found the margin of distinction... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 01/27/2008
The gift of singleness, as it were, has subtle associations with the intricacies of both climate change and certain individuals' concern over social justice. Some might argue that there's merely a correlation, with no causation, but both global warming theorists and progressive activists would disagree. In fact, because some marry in their teens, and others marry in their mid- to late-30s, the consequences are much more dire -- especially for those who've chosen to "date" rather than "court." And especially... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 01/26/2008
iTunes | FeedBurner/RSS Do single men have an obligation to pursue the single women in their church? And do single women have an obligation to say yes? Or at least to seriously consider all offers? These are some of the questions we grapple with in the inaugural episode of The Boundless Show, our weekly audio companion to the Boundless Webzine. The Boundless team has been working for months finding voices and tweaking formats in order to leverage a growing, on-demand... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/26/2008
There are many stories of mothers choosing life for their babies; Lorraine Allard is just one of them. According to FoxNews, the 33-year-old Allard learned that she had advanced liver cancer when she was four months pregnant with her fourth child. Allard, of St. Olaves in the U.K., had a choice: Delay treatment to save her baby, or terminate the pregnancy to save herself. She chose the former, waiting until the fetus was viable before scheduling a Caesarean section. "If... Read more.
by Heather Koerner on 01/25/2008
I really liked Gary Thomas's Boundless article today, titled "Why I'm a Big Fan of Hell." In it, Thomas takes on those who would whitewash Hell out of the Christian message: "Attacking hell, though popular and seemingly compassionate, is not a parlor game; it is a full frontal assault on God's goodness, sovereignty, lordship and love." It reminded me of something I discovered a few months ago: The young reader Bible that my daughter and I read each night has... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/25/2008
When I wrote about Heath Ledger's death this week, emotions ran high in the responses. Several of those commenting were concerned that I was presuming to know anything about Ledger's life or spiritual condition. One person wrote: So, Heath Ledger "hadn't yet discovered peace and hope and joy."? Suzanne, since these are your words, I wasn't aware that you were a close personal confidante of Mr. Ledger. In fact, I was under the impression that you didn't know him nor... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 01/25/2008
John Fuller (who happens to be both a friend and vice president of Focus on the Family's Audio and New Media division) wrote a powerful blog post a few days ago reflecting on a beautiful life that's come to a close for now. Just as God shined through the young girl's helplessness, Christ has regarded my own helpless estate ... and shed His own blood for my soul.... He's given me permission to re-post it in its entirety below.... *... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 01/25/2008
For the first time in 15 years, teen pregnancy is on the rise. According to the report on abcnews.com, Despite millions spent on ad campaigns and abstinence-only programs, for the first time in 15 years the teen birthrate rose, according to government statistics for 2005 to 2006, the most recent numbers available. That translates to 750,000 women who have become pregnant at least once before age 20. How can this be? 18-year-old expectant mom, Teka Steward, a Young Life member,... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 01/25/2008
Jesus is my Savior, my Lord. He was present at creation, and even before creation He enjoyed the fellowship of the Trinity. He is from everlasting to everlasting. Eternal. He is my destination, my heaven, and provides meaning in all the little things and big things that make up my life. He holds both the whole world and the tiny tiny baby in His hands. But He's not all I need. I need a bit of food every once in... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 01/24/2008
A couple of weeks ago, Ted mentioned that the makers of "Facing the Giants" were making a new movie called "Fireproof." This week, a group of people from Focus on the Family had the opportunity to see some scenes from that movie. Stephen Kendrick and Jim McBride came out representing the team from Sherwood Baptist (in Albany, GA) who play dual roles as church leaders and filmakers. Stephen explained that as the team prayed about what kind of story to... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 01/24/2008
It's been many months in the making. Long hours praying and pondering about what to include, and how best to say it. Receiving input from family and friends. Typing and re-typing deep into the night after the kids are in bed and early in the morning before the kids are up. The galleys arrive, and more last-minute tweaking. Dr. Albert Mohler writes a glowing forward to the book. And finally ... the book that Boundless founder Candice Watters has been... Read more.
by Heather Koerner on 01/24/2008
Yesterday, on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I read a study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute reporting that one in five women having abortions claim to be born again or Evangelical Christians. If that's correct, that would man that this last year over two hundred thousand of our Christian sisters had an abortion. Even if the number were half that, that is still a staggering number of women in crisis. It made me think, what must it be... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 01/23/2008
Denise's recent blog on the sanctity of human life covered a lot of bases when it comes to abortion and adoption. But as a lot of people noted, the concept of the sanctity of human life involves other issues, too. Boundless has several times tackled the issue of war here and here, and Focus on the Family has plenty to say on assisted suicide and euthanasia, particularly here. The death penalty, however, seems to be less clear-cut for many people,... Read more.
by Ted Slater on 01/23/2008
Someone suggested that I blog about this article: Russian scientist says Earth could soon face new Ice Age. It would be tempting to do so, to quote from the head of a space research lab at the Pulkovo observatory in St. Petersburg, who said that in 2008, global temperatures would drop slightly, rather than rise, due to unprecedentedly low solar radiation in the past 30 years, and would continue decreasing even if industrial emissions of carbon dioxide reach record levels.... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 01/23/2008
USAToday.com reports on a survey of 301 business leaders about the preparedness of college graduates entering the work force. And it seems they're giving them a failing grade. Aptitude is important, they say, but what they really want is for colleges to help students apply what they've learned in real-world settings. Forget transcripts, multiple-choice tests or institutional scores. The surveyed business leaders want faculty assessment of internships, senior projects or community-based work. "Too many policymakers and educational leaders are focused... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/23/2008
My friend came over for dinner last night, and we were talking about the death of actor Heath Ledger. He was just about our age. "It actually really threw me for a loop," my friend said. "Me too," I said. "I shed a tear." Maybe we felt like we knew him because his films have been part of our lives for the past 10 years and he was our peer. Ledger's death is being called accidental, but he certainly had... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 01/22/2008
Recently my walk with God has been ... dry. I've lacked excitement, joy and hope. I think part of it has to do with the fact that 2007 was a somewhat difficult year for me, and it has made me kind of numb to everything. Last week our department had an offsite and most of it was spent in personal prayer. Honestly, it was difficult for me to get into, but once I did, the Lord did some work on... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 01/22/2008
Today's Washington Post praises RU-486 for transforming abortion in America and offers its rise as "good news" in light of a competing report that the number of abortions are at their lowest since 1976. According to the Post, At a time when the overall number of abortions has been steadily declining, RU-486-induced abortions have been rising by 22 percent a year and now account for 14 percent of the total -- and more than one in five early abortions performed... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 01/22/2008
So here's something I've been thinking about recently: Animals -- what's their deal?! It started because we've been reading Heaven by Randy Alcorn in my Bible study. He has a Q&A section, and in it, he addresses whether or not animals will be in heaven. Alcorn points out passages in Isaiah that speak of specific animals finally being at peace with one another in heaven. There are passages in Revelation that speak of animals as well. I'm fairly convinced that... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/22/2008
In "A Hole in Our Holism," CT writer Stan Guthrie tackles the issue of Christians balancing social consciousness and evangelism. He points out that the late D. James Kennedy, who founded Evangelism Explosion (E.E.), clearly had a passion for winning souls. Guthrie asks: Do we who remain have that same commitment to good, old-fashioned soul-winning? Historian David Bebbington has identified four emphases of our evangelical movement: conversion, Christ's redeeming work, the Bible, and social engagement and evangelism. Right now our... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 01/21/2008
I was 13 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. There was no Internet, no blogs, no 24-hour cable news. If you missed the broadcast news that Thursday evening -- you had only ABC, CBS and NBC to choose from -- you might not hear the news until you got the next morning's newspaper. I stood there in the early morning dampness of April 5, 1968, folding newspapers for my paper route, every new paper to fold revealing... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 01/21/2008
The primaries over the weekend did little to produce a Republican or Democratic frontrunner. McCain and Romney sort of canceled each other out with victories in South Carolina and Nevada respectively. And though Hillary won Nevada by 6 percentage points, Obama got more delegates. I see two stories from this weekend. First, the South Carolina results were really more of a defeat for Huckabee than a big win for McCain. Any momentum Huckabee had after Iowa seems long gone. I... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/21/2008
On the Desiring God blog John Piper exhorts: Don't Waste Martin Luther King Weekend. The point of this weekend is not to celebrate all that MLK was. You need not belabor his sins. The point is to lift up some magnificent things he stood for and some necessary and amazing achievements of the civil rights era in which he was a key leader. We are Christians and can see these things in the light of providence and the gospel. Let... Read more.
by Heather Koerner on 01/18/2008
As soon as I saw the words, I knew this would not be pretty. In the "letter to editor" world, starting the letter off with someone's name is the real world equivalent of your mom using your middle name. You know you're in trouble. But there it was -- "Heather Koerner." So, what happened? Well, I got a bee in my bonnet about a local happening, sent a letter to the editor about it and got an, um, response. It... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 01/18/2008
I agree with Steve. We need to live transformed lives "so that those around us will know we've been with Jesus." But I think it's difficult to do if we aren't committed to a church. In Mark Dever's What is a Healthy Church?, he explains that church membership and church discipline are essential components of making disciples who won't "bring disrepute onto the gospel." Which seems to be a problem if we are to believe unChristian. On the benefits of... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 01/18/2008
Earlier, Denise blogged about the book unChristian. It's been unsettling for me reading that book to think about how others see us as Christians and to then process the implications for how we should then live. And so I was encouraged to come across a thought in The Beautiful Fight by Gary Thomas. Under the sub-title Walking Billboards he writes: "When [the Sanhedrin] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 01/17/2008
Okay, let me admit upfront that I'm not much of an American Idol fan, and I haven't paid much attention to the show over the previous six seasons. In fact, I don't watch much TV outside of football, hockey and Lost. (I used to be a big fan of the Stargate series, but they jumped the shark several seasons before they finally gave it a merciful death.) I've watched bits and snatches of Idol in the past, but the style... Read more.
by Denise Morris on 01/17/2008
January is Sanctity of Human Life month, and it's a great time for us to think about abortion, euthanasia, orphans, and other quality of life issues. For some information on the details of the abortion debate, I'd encourage you to check out this article by Francis Beckwith. He also has a great book called Politically Correct Death that I highly recommend. I wrote an article awhile back about the sanctity of human choice -- the idea of "personal rights" that... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/17/2008
Tom makes a good case for his analysis that twenty-somethings are too young for a crisis and ... well, a little bit whiny. But as your comments reflect, the Quarterlife Crisis remains a crisis nonetheless. As many of you pointed out, cultural influences and our families have set us up to expect more -- a lot more -- than we will likely get. And when that realization hits -- it's a blow. In my article "Set, Go ... Ready," I... Read more.
by Candice Watters on 01/16/2008
Bonnie Eslinger doesn't believe in marriage. She says she doesn't "need a piece of paper from the state to strengthen [her] commitment to Jeff" or "a white dress to feel pretty." She says that and a lot more in a short essay in Newsweek magazine designed to raise a ruckus. And it has. On both sides of the debate. Dr. Albert Mohler blogged about it on Tuesday, concluding that Eslinger's article, "Yes to Love, No to Marriage," is an "eloquent... Read more.
by Motte Brown on 01/16/2008
Well, he won Wyoming too but the pundits seem to ignore that one. Anyway, Mitt Romney got the "big" win he needed last night. And it was a decisive 39 percent to McCain's 30. But all it means is that the race for the Republican nomination is as wide open as ever. McCain's distant second confirmed the trend this year that there are no bumps from primary victories. So we go from state to state, wondering whether any candidate will... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/16/2008
David Carlson at the Point brought this Mark Earley commentary to my attention. In it, Earley discusses our strained relationship with sleep. Judging by the response to my previous post "Get Some Sleep," which dealt with the correlation between rest and a high GPA, sleep -- and its proper place in our lives -- seems to be a hot topic. Society certainly goes to great lengths to decrease its power over us. According to a recent article in Wired Magazine,... Read more.
by Tom Neven on 01/15/2008
Steve's blog on the so-called midlife crisis comes when I've become aware of another alleged time of adversity: the "quarterlife" crisis. Briefly, the quarterlife crisis hits people sometime after college and before they turn 30 when they realize that, well ... life is hard! I first became aware of it while interviewing Tim Elmore, a protégé of leadership guru John Maxwell. "It's 25-year-old people who are seeing counselors and therapists because they haven't yet made their first million, haven't yet... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 01/15/2008
Do you know anyone who has claimed to have a midlife crisis? Writing in the New York Times, Dr. Richard A. Friedman says we may be too generous in letting people use that euphemistic description. He writes, "With the possible exception of 'the dog ate my homework,' there is no handier excuse for human misbehavior than the midlife crisis. ... But you have to admit that "I'm having a midlife crisis" sounds a lot better than 'I'm a narcissistic jerk... Read more.
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 01/14/2008
Hope you're not sick of hearing about online dating. Camerin Courtney wrote one of the more insightful articles I've read on the subject. She begins by describing the opening moments of taking the online plunge: In the privacy of our own homes, we logged on, fed in our credit card numbers, and created clever screen names. We searched endlessly for electronic images of ourselves looking thin and content and non-desperate and spent too long figuring out how to post them.... Read more.
by Heather Koerner on 01/14/2008
Last night, the Jane Austen fest officially began in the Koerner household. If you didn't know, PBS is kicking off its Masterpiece Theatre year "with The Complete Jane Austen, featuring adaptations of all six Austen novels and a new biopic of her life." Ah, 10 uninterrupted Sunday evenings of pure Austen bliss. Persuasion started the series off last night. I was literally running in the door from church to make sure I got it recorded and as I watched it... Read more.
by Steve Watters on 01/14/2008
Some companies are known for having a family-like atmosphere, but have you ever worked for a company that was predominately built around a family? Last month, the L.A. Times ran a profile on the photo-sharing company SmugMug that was launched as a family affair. Seven members of the MacAskills (ranging in age from 23 to 63) make up what is now 28 employees of SmugMug. The article describes how they've made it work: They started on a shoestring budget in... Read more.
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