Tau Zeta Chi Fraternity

Rise to Serve: Calling Believers to Civic Involvement

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Sun, 06 May 2012 05:37:00 +0000

Wow! A live presentation on Christians in politics!!!

I did a beta-presentation (rehearsal) of Rise to Serve week before last to the local leadership of the Wisconsin Family Council. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the feedback was tremendously helpful.

Five great question of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Rise to Serve: Calling Believers to Civic Involvement

Well folks, here's the latest. I did a beta-presentation (rehearsal) of Rise to Serve week before last to the local leadership of the Wisconsin Family Council. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the feedback was tremendously helpful.

Rise to Serve is a 45-minute multimedia presentation combining my speaking with PowerPoint, video and audio.

Section one lays the biblical/cultural foundation for civic involvement.
Section two addresses objections to believers getting involved in politics.
Section three lays out practical ways believers can engage according to their gifts, resources and availability.
Q&A of 20-30 minutes is recommended following the presentation.

I'm pursuing several leads within central Wisconsin communities to work with churches to equip believers in this important area. It's timely, too, isn't it? If this description triggers something with you, contact me by email at evanofthenorth@gmail.com and we'll see what might work out!

Thanks so much!

Evan

The McDowell Legacy Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:58:00 +0000

Great insights from a new generation apologist, Sean McDowell. Thanks, Sean, for encouraging our 20-somethings to stand strong in faith!

Evan

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Like Father, Like Son

Josh McDowell’s son Sean is blazing new trails as an apologist to his generation. He offers great insights and advice in this interview about his life and ministry.

With such bestsellers as More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict in the 1970s, Josh McDowell sparked interest in Christian apologetics among both believers and spiritual seekers, creating a wave of popularity that has only increased over the decades. His son Sean (who, incidentally, was a seminary classmate with my son Kyle) is enthusiastic about training Christians and reaching seekers today.
Here’s a Q&A in which Sean talks about growing up as a McDowell, the lessons he learned from his dad, the challenges of reaching his generation, and his new GodQuest apologetics curriculum, published by my friends at Outreach.

• Your dad just celebrated fifty years of great ministry and is still going strong. As an apologist to a new generation, how is your approach similar – and different – to your father’s?
One of the things I deeply respect about my dad is his effort to continually be effective and relevant. Even though he is 72, he is at the top of his game. His message is still filled with Biblical truth, but he’s adapted the delivery for a new generation. One similarity between us is that we both use a variety of technological means to reach this generation (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube, etc.).
My father is first and foremost an evangelist. While I love evangelizing, I am a teacher at heart. Thus, I am working on my Ph.D. in apologetics so I can eventually teach at the college and seminary levels while continuing to work with high school students.
As far as our approaches, my dad cut his teeth in the free speech movement of the 1960s. He would debate, seize opportunities at Marxist rallies, and speak at unreceptive places like Berkeley. So he is very outspoken, bold, confident, and assertive. He was a “radical” for Jesus in the 60s. Although I debate and speak, I am more relational and conversational in my approach. It’s tough to be dogmatic about many things today, especially since there is always another perspective simply a Google away.
• What are the biggest obstacles to faith for the young people you encounter today? How do you address them?
There are three hurdles that I encounter the most – and these questions tend to be similar for both Christian and non-Christian youth.
First, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? While this is partly an intellectual issue, I’m convinced it’s much more of an emotional topic for young people, even though few realize it. Whenever a young person asks me why there is suffering in the world I often say, “What a great question. I’m curious, of all the questions you can ask about God, why this one?” Typically I hear stories of divorce, abuse, neglect, and other hurts that cloud their ability to relate to a loving and caring God. I listen to their hurts, try to empathize, and when the time is right, share how the Christian worldview uniquely addresses evil and suffering.
Second, how can you say Jesus is the only way? The Internet has changed everything. Kids today are exposed to more worldviews in a week than their parents were throughout their entire adolescent years! Many kids also have friends who are Muslims, Wiccans, atheists, Mormons, and so on. One major study of youth revealed that 48% of evangelical youth believe Jesus is only one way to God. I’ve found it important to clarify the nature of truth so students realize that religions make objective claims to truth, not simply subjective claims. Students also need to realize that truth is exclusive by nature and that all worldviews are exclusivistic. And finally, Jesus uniquely claimed to be God and offered evidence to back it up (John 20:30-31).
Third, is homosexuality really a sin? This generation has been hammered with the message that homosexuality is a fully legitimate means of love, that people are “born that way”. And those who disagree are dubbed homophobic. Many in this generation also have friends who are openly gay, so it’s a personal question as well. They are often torn between their beliefs and relationships with their gay friends. In my experience, the best approach is to teach the truth with compassion.
• For the past twenty years or so there has been a lot of discussion about postmodernism and its effect on culture, especially students. What’s your assessment of that topic?
I tend to agree with William Lane Craig. He says people are relativists in ethics and religion but not in science or technology. Kids often say, “That’s true for you, but not for me” when discussing morality, but never in reference to math! As Craig points out, this is modernism, not postmodernism. Postmodernism is unlivable and self-contradictory.
In fact, what’s ironic is that the church has undergone an apologetics renaissance during the very period people have dubbed “postmodern”. If we were really in a postmodern culture, there would be no need or interest in apologetics. But the interest is off the charts! Many Christians were led to believe that apologetics is not important anymore in our so-called postmodern culture. What happened? The New Atheists wreaked havoc on unsuspecting Christians for the past decade.
With that said, I don’t want to entirely dismiss postmodernity. There are certain strains of postmodernism in our culture—suspicion of truth and distrust of reason—that must be addressed. As sociologist Christian Smith pointed out in Souls in Transition, younger generations do have some postmodern leanings.
• You teach at a Christian high school. What’s your overall evaluation of Christian young people these days?
It’s really difficult to generalize about all Christian students. Certainly they are tech-savvy, have shorter attention spans, and are hyper stimulated. There are also signs that many in this generation are emotionally hurting because of the continued breakup of the traditional family. Sadly, the moral differences between Christian and non-Christian youth are negligible. Many studies show minimal differences in the behaviors of Christian students and their non-Christian peers.
But I am also very hopeful about Christian young people. I meet many teens and young adults around the country, and get to teach many others, who are future great leaders for the faith. There is a significant segment of youth who really want to make a difference. Many are “doing the hard things” and rebelling against the immorality and low expectations of our culture.
• If you could encourage a young person interested in apologetics, what would you tell him or her?
First, start small. Take it one book or one tough question at a time. Give yourself time to grow and learn. Don’t feel like you have to figure it all out overnight. Second, make sure you are actually doing apologetics and evangelism, not just studying apologetics. It’s easy to read Christian blogs, watch Christian videos, go to Christian conferences on apologetics but never actually do it. And third, find a mentor.
• You worked with Outreach to create GodQuest. Tell me about this resource and what you hope it will accomplish.
Like you, Lee, I really have a passion for the local church, and it saddens me to see the level of spiritual confusion in our culture. A recent study showed that 43% of Americans say that it doesn’t matter what religious faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons. My heart is especially burdened for youth, and I think that many Christian youth are simply not prepared for the intellectual challenges that come their way. As a consequence, 59% of them disengage from the church after high school.
Even though there has been an abundance of great apologetics resources, there was still a need for a top-quality, easy-to-use introductory apologetics course that walks through the big issues (existence of God, reliability of the Bible, problem of evil, the uniqueness of Jesus, etc.). GodQuest is perfect for small groups, youth groups, churches, Christian school classrooms, and families. It’s a six-part DVD series with interviews by experts (such as you and my dad!), quality graphics, illustrations, and teaching sessions by me. I was even on site at the Dead Sea Scrolls caves for the lesson on the reliability of the Bible. We have guidebooks for participants, a leader’s guide, and additional resources to make it an entire church-wide series.
I’m humbled that over 2,000 churches have utilized GodQuest in its first few months. It was created in a way to either strengthen Christians in what they believe, or invite non-Christians to participate in an exploration of the reasons for the Christian faith. I have personally received reports of young people coming to Christ through GodQuest. I hope that many pastors and youth pastors who may not feel like experts in apologetics will nevertheless use the series to help strengthen their congregation and reach out to their communities.
• Not long ago, you did your first debate with an atheist. I listened to it online and thought you did great! How did you feel about that and do you anticipate doing more of these?
Thanks for listening to it! I prepped for that debate more than anything else in my life. It was quite stressful, but also a lot of fun, and an amazing learning experience. I could have done better in the cross-examination, but overall I feel very good about it.
I probably won’t debate again until I finish my Ph.D. I just don’t have the time! But when I’m done, I will jump at the opportunity to debate the right person. I am somewhat torn on debates, though. They certainly generate a lot of interest. But people tend to enter them with their minds already made up. I’ve found debates tend to embolden Christians more than convert non-Christians. However, this debate did open up relationships with many skeptics that I would not have been able to build otherwise. And the reports from Christian students who were encouraged by the debate have been quite humbling.
• What was it like to grow up as Josh McDowell’s son? What are some of the key values he instilled in you? What are some lessons you learned from his ministry that you’re applying to yours?
The older I get the more grateful I am for such a loving and caring father. And for those who don’t know his story, he grew up with an alcoholic father in a highly dysfunctional family, so he had to learn how to be a husband and father. If he can do it, anyone can.
I always knew my dad was famous, but it didn’t really hit me until I was at Biola University. Growing up in Julian, a small mountain town in San Diego county, enabled me to escape much of the typical pressures facing “preacher’s kids”. But at Biola everyone knew who my dad was. In the middle of class, one of my classmates said, “Hey, we have Josh McDowell’s son here. His dad wrote a book on this subject. I wonder what he thinks.” Needless to say, I felt added pressure at times.
My dad was probably gone about 50% of the time, which was often tough. Even though he worked harder at being a good dad than anyone I know, he still missed some games, practices, and other school events. Sometimes I really missed him. In retrospect, I wouldn’t change my life for anything. The people I met, places I went, and opportunities I had were truly priceless.
Here are the first lessons from my dad that come to mind. First, work hard at everything you do. I have never seen anyone work harder than my father. His success is partly due to brilliance, but also due to his astounding work ethic.
Second, there are two sides to every issue. Rather than jumping to conclusions, my father does his homework. He really tries to see all angles of every issue before taking sides. He’s said to me many times, “Son, there is always another side. Be sure to listen before rushing to judgment.
And third, believe the best in others. My dad truly gives people the benefit of the doubt. I have often seen him try to see the world from other people’s perspectives to see why they acted as they did rather than assuming the worst.
• There are lots of parents reading this. What would you say to them?
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 offers the best parenting advice I have ever seen. The Shema is arguably the central passage of the Old Testament, and it was written to help the generation of Joshua maintain their faith in the foreign land of Canaan. A few things emerge that guide my own parenting.
First, love God with everything. Before trying to fix the behavior of young people, take an honest look in the mirror. All studies show that kids take their cues from their parents. We have more influence on our kids than Hollywood, MTV, and their friends. If we want kids who love and follow God we need to evaluate our own lives first. What am I most passionate about? Do I really love God? Would my kids say so?
Second, make God a part of the rhythm of life. My parents didn’t have formal devotional times, but they made God a natural part of all of our lives. We talked about God at different times, prayed together, and took family mission trips. God was not compartmentalized to Sundays, but a natural part of our family. I try to do the same with my own kids. Our culture separates faith from the rest of life, but Christianity is an entire world-and-life view.
Third, create a culture where kids are free to ask questions and doubt. Youth experts Kara Powell and Chap Clark report that kids who left the Christian faith had doubts that parents and other leaders did not give them room to process (Sticky Faith). I tell my son and daughter every night before bed that they can ask their daddy anything. Sometimes they stall with crazy questions so we don’t leave, but they do get the point!
• What would you say to youth leaders?
Studies show that three principles are most important for equipping youth today.
First, equip parents. Any effective youth leader must find ways to equip and challenge parents to reach their own kids. Rather than trying to be the “super youth leader,” will you find ways to make parents the heroes?
Second, kids need a biblical worldview. Studies are clear that kids with biblical worldviews are far more likely to live Christianly. Teach apologetics and worldviews, set up real interactions with non-Christians, and send kids to conferences such as Summit Ministries. You don’t have to be the expert.
Third, mentor students. While Jesus spoke to large crowds, he poured his life into twelve disciples with special focus on three (James, John, and Peter). Effective youth ministers find ways to connect adults and students together. Sadly, only about 1 in 4 students today report having a mentor. Yet kids with mentors are much more likely to live out the Christian walk for the long haul.
• One last question: can you tell me something about your dad that would surprise people?
A. Well, my mom beat my dad at bowling on one of their first dates. They’ve never been bowling since.
Sean McDowell is an educator, speaker, and best-selling author. He is the Bible Department Chair at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools, where he teaches classes on theology and apologetics. He is the co-author of Is God Just a Human Invention?, Understanding Intelligent Design and More Than A Carpenter. His GodQuestcurriculum is available through, Outreach Inc. He and his wife Stephanie live in southern California with their two kids, Scottie and Shauna.

Josh McDowell’s son Sean is blazing new trails as an apologist to his generation. He offers great insights and advice in this interview about his life and ministry.
With such bestsellers as More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict in the 1970s, Josh McDowell sparked interest in Christian apologetics among both believers and spiritual seekers, creating a wave of popularity that has only increased over the decades. His son Sean (who, incidentally, was a seminary classmate with my son Kyle) is enthusiastic about training Christians and reaching seekers today.
Here’s a Q&A in which Sean talks about growing up as a McDowell, the lessons he learned from his dad, the challenges of reaching his generation, and his new GodQuest apologetics curriculum, published by my friends at Outreach.
• Your dad just celebrated fifty years of great ministry and is still going strong. As an apologist to a new generation, how is your approach similar – and different – to your father’s?
One of the things I deeply respect about my dad is his effort to continually be effective and relevant. Even though he is 72, he is at the top of his game. His message is still filled with Biblical truth, but he’s adapted the delivery for a new generation. One similarity between us is that we both use a variety of technological means to reach this generation (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube, etc.).
My father is first and foremost an evangelist. While I love evangelizing, I am a teacher at heart. Thus, I am working on my Ph.D. in apologetics so I can eventually teach at the college and seminary levels while continuing to work with high school students.
As far as our approaches, my dad cut his teeth in the free speech movement of the 1960s. He would debate, seize opportunities at Marxist rallies, and speak at unreceptive places like Berkeley. So he is very outspoken, bold, confident, and assertive. He was a “radical” for Jesus in the 60s. Although I debate and speak, I am more relational and conversational in my approach. It’s tough to be dogmatic about many things today, especially since there is always another perspective simply a Google away.
• What are the biggest obstacles to faith for the young people you encounter today? How do you address them?
There are three hurdles that I encounter the most – and these questions tend to be similar for both Christian and non-Christian youth.
First, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? While this is partly an intellectual issue, I’m convinced it’s much more of an emotional topic for young people, even though few realize it. Whenever a young person asks me why there is suffering in the world I often say, “What a great question. I’m curious, of all the questions you can ask about God, why this one?” Typically I hear stories of divorce, abuse, neglect, and other hurts that cloud their ability to relate to a loving and caring God. I listen to their hurts, try to empathize, and when the time is right, share how the Christian worldview uniquely addresses evil and suffering.
Second, how can you say Jesus is the only way? The Internet has changed everything. Kids today are exposed to more worldviews in a week than their parents were throughout their entire adolescent years! Many kids also have friends who are Muslims, Wiccans, atheists, Mormons, and so on. One major study of youth revealed that 48% of evangelical youth believe Jesus is only one way to God. I’ve found it important to clarify the nature of truth so students realize that religions make objective claims to truth, not simply subjective claims. Students also need to realize that truth is exclusive by nature and that all worldviews are exclusivistic. And finally, Jesus uniquely claimed to be God and offered evidence to back it up (John 20:30-31).
Third, is homosexuality really a sin? This generation has been hammered with the message that homosexuality is a fully legitimate means of love, that people are “born that way”. And those who disagree are dubbed homophobic. Many in this generation also have friends who are openly gay, so it’s a personal question as well. They are often torn between their beliefs and relationships with their gay friends. In my experience, the best approach is to teach the truth with compassion.
• For the past twenty years or so there has been a lot of discussion about postmodernism and its effect on culture, especially students. What’s your assessment of that topic?
I tend to agree with William Lane Craig. He says people are relativists in ethics and religion but not in science or technology. Kids often say, “That’s true for you, but not for me” when discussing morality, but never in reference to math! As Craig points out, this is modernism, not postmodernism. Postmodernism is unlivable and self-contradictory.
In fact, what’s ironic is that the church has undergone an apologetics renaissance during the very period people have dubbed “postmodern”. If we were really in a postmodern culture, there would be no need or interest in apologetics. But the interest is off the charts! Many Christians were led to believe that apologetics is not important anymore in our so-called postmodern culture. What happened? The New Atheists wreaked havoc on unsuspecting Christians for the past decade.
With that said, I don’t want to entirely dismiss postmodernity. There are certain strains of postmodernism in our culture—suspicion of truth and distrust of reason—that must be addressed. As sociologist Christian Smith pointed out in Souls in Transition, younger generations do have some postmodern leanings.
• You teach at a Christian high school. What’s your overall evaluation of Christian young people these days?
It’s really difficult to generalize about all Christian students. Certainly they are tech-savvy, have shorter attention spans, and are hyper stimulated. There are also signs that many in this generation are emotionally hurting because of the continued breakup of the traditional family. Sadly, the moral differences between Christian and non-Christian youth are negligible. Many studies show minimal differences in the behaviors of Christian students and their non-Christian peers.
But I am also very hopeful about Christian young people. I meet many teens and young adults around the country, and get to teach many others, who are future great leaders for the faith. There is a significant segment of youth who really want to make a difference. Many are “doing the hard things” and rebelling against the immorality and low expectations of our culture.
• If you could encourage a young person interested in apologetics, what would you tell him or her?
First, start small. Take it one book or one tough question at a time. Give yourself time to grow and learn. Don’t feel like you have to figure it all out overnight. Second, make sure you are actually doing apologetics and evangelism, not just studying apologetics. It’s easy to read Christian blogs, watch Christian videos, go to Christian conferences on apologetics but never actually do it. And third, find a mentor.
• You worked with Outreach to create GodQuest. Tell me about this resource and what you hope it will accomplish.
Like you, Lee, I really have a passion for the local church, and it saddens me to see the level of spiritual confusion in our culture. A recent study showed that 43% of Americans say that it doesn’t matter what religious faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons. My heart is especially burdened for youth, and I think that many Christian youth are simply not prepared for the intellectual challenges that come their way. As a consequence, 59% of them disengage from the church after high school.
Even though there has been an abundance of great apologetics resources, there was still a need for a top-quality, easy-to-use introductory apologetics course that walks through the big issues (existence of God, reliability of the Bible, problem of evil, the uniqueness of Jesus, etc.). GodQuest is perfect for small groups, youth groups, churches, Christian school classrooms, and families. It’s a six-part DVD series with interviews by experts (such as you and my dad!), quality graphics, illustrations, and teaching sessions by me. I was even on site at the Dead Sea Scrolls caves for the lesson on the reliability of the Bible. We have guidebooks for participants, a leader’s guide, and additional resources to make it an entire church-wide series.
I’m humbled that over 2,000 churches have utilized GodQuest in its first few months. It was created in a way to either strengthen Christians in what they believe, or invite non-Christians to participate in an exploration of the reasons for the Christian faith. I have personally received reports of young people coming to Christ through GodQuest. I hope that many pastors and youth pastors who may not feel like experts in apologetics will nevertheless use the series to help strengthen their congregation and reach out to their communities.
• Not long ago, you did your first debate with an atheist. I listened to it online and thought you did great! How did you feel about that and do you anticipate doing more of these?
Thanks for listening to it! I prepped for that debate more than anything else in my life. It was quite stressful, but also a lot of fun, and an amazing learning experience. I could have done better in the cross-examination, but overall I feel very good about it.
I probably won’t debate again until I finish my Ph.D. I just don’t have the time! But when I’m done, I will jump at the opportunity to debate the right person. I am somewhat torn on debates, though. They certainly generate a lot of interest. But people tend to enter them with their minds already made up. I’ve found debates tend to embolden Christians more than convert non-Christians. However, this debate did open up relationships with many skeptics that I would not have been able to build otherwise. And the reports from Christian students who were encouraged by the debate have been quite humbling.
• What was it like to grow up as Josh McDowell’s son? What are some of the key values he instilled in you? What are some lessons you learned from his ministry that you’re applying to yours?
The older I get the more grateful I am for such a loving and caring father. And for those who don’t know his story, he grew up with an alcoholic father in a highly dysfunctional family, so he had to learn how to be a husband and father. If he can do it, anyone can.
I always knew my dad was famous, but it didn’t really hit me until I was at Biola University. Growing up in Julian, a small mountain town in San Diego county, enabled me to escape much of the typical pressures facing “preacher’s kids”. But at Biola everyone knew who my dad was. In the middle of class, one of my classmates said, “Hey, we have Josh McDowell’s son here. His dad wrote a book on this subject. I wonder what he thinks.” Needless to say, I felt added pressure at times.
My dad was probably gone about 50% of the time, which was often tough. Even though he worked harder at being a good dad than anyone I know, he still missed some games, practices, and other school events. Sometimes I really missed him. In retrospect, I wouldn’t change my life for anything. The people I met, places I went, and opportunities I had were truly priceless.
Here are the first lessons from my dad that come to mind. First, work hard at everything you do. I have never seen anyone work harder than my father. His success is partly due to brilliance, but also due to his astounding work ethic.
Second, there are two sides to every issue. Rather than jumping to conclusions, my father does his homework. He really tries to see all angles of every issue before taking sides. He’s said to me many times, “Son, there is always another side. Be sure to listen before rushing to judgment.
And third, believe the best in others. My dad truly gives people the benefit of the doubt. I have often seen him try to see the world from other people’s perspectives to see why they acted as they did rather than assuming the worst.
• There are lots of parents reading this. What would you say to them?
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 offers the best parenting advice I have ever seen. The Shema is arguably the central passage of the Old Testament, and it was written to help the generation of Joshua maintain their faith in the foreign land of Canaan. A few things emerge that guide my own parenting.
First, love God with everything. Before trying to fix the behavior of young people, take an honest look in the mirror. All studies show that kids take their cues from their parents. We have more influence on our kids than Hollywood, MTV, and their friends. If we want kids who love and follow God we need to evaluate our own lives first. What am I most passionate about? Do I really love God? Would my kids say so?
Second, make God a part of the rhythm of life. My parents didn’t have formal devotional times, but they made God a natural part of all of our lives. We talked about God at different times, prayed together, and took family mission trips. God was not compartmentalized to Sundays, but a natural part of our family. I try to do the same with my own kids. Our culture separates faith from the rest of life, but Christianity is an entire world-and-life view.
Third, create a culture where kids are free to ask questions and doubt. Youth experts Kara Powell and Chap Clark report that kids who left the Christian faith had doubts that parents and other leaders did not give them room to process (Sticky Faith). I tell my son and daughter every night before bed that they can ask their daddy anything. Sometimes they stall with crazy questions so we don’t leave, but they do get the point!
• What would you say to youth leaders?
Studies show that three principles are most important for equipping youth today.
First, equip parents. Any effective youth leader must find ways to equip and challenge parents to reach their own kids. Rather than trying to be the “super youth leader,” will you find ways to make parents the heroes?
Second, kids need a biblical worldview. Studies are clear that kids with biblical worldviews are far more likely to live Christianly. Teach apologetics and worldviews, set up real interactions with non-Christians, and send kids to conferences such as Summit Ministries. You don’t have to be the expert.
Third, mentor students. While Jesus spoke to large crowds, he poured his life into twelve disciples with special focus on three (James, John, and Peter). Effective youth ministers find ways to connect adults and students together. Sadly, only about 1 in 4 students today report having a mentor. Yet kids with mentors are much more likely to live out the Christian walk for the long haul.
• One last question: can you tell me something about your dad that would surprise people?
A. Well, my mom beat my dad at bowling on one of their first dates. They’ve never been bowling since.
Sean McDowell is an educator, speaker, and best-selling author. He is the Bible Department Chair at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools, where he teaches classes on theology and apologetics. He is the co-author of Is God Just a Human Invention?, Understanding Intelligent Design and More Than A Carpenter. His GodQuestcurriculum is available through, Outreach Inc. He and his wife Stephanie live in southern California with their two kids, Scottie and Shauna.

Free Online Bible Study Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:23:00 +0000

Each of these websites offers an array of free Bibles and reference tools. While there are thousands of wonderful resources for sale, these are a great place to start.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Free Online Bible Study Tools

Each of these websites offers an array of free Bibles and reference tools. While there are thousands of wonderful resources for sale, these are a great place to start.

http://biblos.com/

http://www.biblestudytools.com/

http://www.ebible.com/

http://net.bible.org/

http://www.biblegateway.com/

http://www.e-sword.net/

The Value of a Good Boss

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 04:52:00 +0000

Is a good boss worth more than a good job? Well, hopefully you end up with both. That's the best case scenario. It's hard to argue with the devastating impact of bad bosses.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

The Value of a Good Boss

Is a good boss worth more than a good job? Well, hopefully you end up with both. That's the best case scenario. It's hard to argue with the devastating impact of bad bosses. Bradley Moore's got a helpful article over at the Faith in the Workplace blog. Moore cites research saying, yes, your boss is a strong reason to stay at a job, stronger than even the job itself. Surprised?

Two things follow in my mind. One, place a high priority on seeking out a good boss when job searching. Two, when you are in a position of leadership and authority, be outstanding!

Here's the link to Moore's article...

The Most Powerful Management Trick

Here's a leadership tip: Do you know what people want most from managers?

Bradley J. Moore

Lee Strobel: Is Jesus a Copy?

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Have you heard these claims: that Jesus is actually a myth copied from other ancient religions? I get irritated by the low standards of journalism and scholarship which allow these bogus claims to float around unchallenged. There are mountains of evidence available to any genuine seeker of truth about the historic Jesus.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Lee Strobel: Is Jesus a Copy?

One of the skills I desire for Christian young adults is the ability to sort through frivolous attacks on Christianity. Is it important whether the Jesus-story is just a copy? Of course it is. Is there basis for the accusation? Well, in the case we're laying out today, uhh, no. I have friends and coworkers who hang their hats on this sort of weak argument. That's their choice, but I don't want goodhearted, Jesus-loving folk to be blown away by simpleminded attacks.

So here's Lee Strobel's refutation of the "Jesus is a copy of Mithraism" argument. It's very detailed and very effective. If this type of question is significant to you, read on.

**************************

Q. I have heard that the story of Jesus is just a copy of Mithras, “The Sun God” who was worshipped centuries before Christ was born. Is this true? Is there a relationship between the two? From what I have read, Christianity and Mithraism are very similar. – Tami

A. Thanks for your great question, Tami. Actually, I’ve received several in this same vein, so I want to give you a pretty detailed answer.

This claim about Mithras was popularized by Dan Brown in his novel The Da Vinci Code. Says one of his fictional characters: “Nothing in Christianity is original. The pre-Christian God Mithras… was born on December 25, died, was buried in a rock tomb, and then resurrected in three days.”

That can sound pretty challenging at first. Did Christianity merely steal its claims about Jesus from this earlier mystery religion?

I deal with this issue in my book The Case for the Real Jesus through my interview with a leading expert in this area: Dr. Edwin M. Yamauchi, whose doctorate from Brandeis University is in Mediterranean studies. He was a professor at Miami University of Ohio for more than 35 years until his retirement.

Yamauchi has been called “a scholar of scholars”; has studied 22 languages; has delivered nearly a hundred papers on Mithraism, Gnosticism and other topics at scholarly societies; and has written seventeen books, including the authoritative tome Persia and the Bible, which includes his findings on Mithraism. He was selected to deliver an academic paper at the Second International Congress of Mithraic Studies in Tehran.

Here’s an edited version of the discussion that I had with him in the basement of his Ohio house:

“Mithraism was a late Roman mystery religion that was popular among soldiers and merchants, and which became a chief rival to Christianity in the second century and late,” Yamauchi told me. “The participants met in a cave-like structure called a mithraeum, which had as its cult statue Mithras stabbing a bull, the so-called tauroctony.

“There are relatively few texts from the Mithraists themselves. We have some graffiti and inscriptions, as well as descriptions of the religion from its opponents, including neo-Platonists and Christians. Much of what has been circulated on Mithraism has been based on the theories of a Belgium scholar named Franz Cumont. He published Mysteries of Mithras in 1903. His work led to speculation by the History of Religions School that Mithraism had influenced nascent Christianity. However, much of what Cumont suggested turned out to be quite unfounded. In the 1970s, scholars at the Second Mythraic Congress in Teheran came to criticize Cumont.

“The Congress produced two volumes of papers. A scholar named Richard Gordon from England and others concluded that Cumont’s theory was not supported by the evidence and, in fact, Cumont’s interpretations have now been analyzed and rejected on all major points. Contrary to what Cumont believed, even though Mithras was a Persian god who was attested as early as the fourteenth century BC, we have almost no evidence of Mithraism in the sense of a mystery religion in the West until very late – too late to have influenced the beginnings of Christianity.

“The first public recognition of Mithras in Rome was the state visit of Tiridates, the king of Armenia, in AD 66. There is also a reference earlier to some pirates in Cilicia who were worshippers of Mithras, but this is not the same as Mithraism as a mystery religion.

“Mithraism as a mystery religion cannot be attested before about AD 90, which is about the time we see a Mithraic motif in a poem by Statius. No mithraea have been found at Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. The earliest Mithraic inscription in the West is a statue of a prefect under the emperor Trajan in 101 AD.

“The earliest mithraea are dated to the early second century. There are a handful of inscriptions that date to the early second century, but the vast majority of texts are dated after AD 140. Most of what we have as evidence of Mithraism comes in the second, third, and fourth centuries AD. That’s basically what’s wrong with the theories about Mithraism influencing the beginnings of Christianity.

“Gordon dates the establishment of the Mithraic mysteries to the reign of Hadrian, which was AD 117-138, or Antoninus Pius, which would be from 138 to 161. Specifically, Gordon said, ‘It is therefore reasonable to argue that Western Mithraism did not exist until the mid-second century, at least in a developed sense.’”

He picked up a photocopy of an article from a scholarly journal called Mithras, published by the Society for Mithraic Studies in the aftermath of the 1974 Iranian conclave of scholars. He read the words of E. J. Yarnold of Oxford University: “The fervor with which historians used to detect wholesale Christian borrowings from the Mithraic and other mysteries has now died down.”

Yamauchi continued: “As Ronald Nash and so many other knowledgeable scholars have concluded, the dating disproves that Christianity borrowed its tenets from Mithraism,” he said.

Indeed, Nash is emphatic: “The flowering of Mithraism occurred after the close of the New Testament canon, too late for it to have influenced the development of first-century Christianity.”

Manfred Clauss, professor of ancient history at Free University in Berlin, said in The Roman Cult of Mithras that it does not make sense to interpret the Mithraic mysteries “as a fore-runner of Christianity.” In his book Mithraism and Christianity, published by Cambridge University Press, L. Patterson concluded there is “no direct connection between the two religions either in origin or development.”

Gary Lease, professor of religious studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz and long-time executive secretary of the North American Association for the Study of Religion, noted that such eminent scholars as Adolf von Harnack, Arthur Darby Nock, S. G. F. Brandon, William R. Halliday, and Ernst Benz “have seen little evidence to support claims of such influence and mutual borrowing” between Mithraism and Christianity.

Said Lease: “After almost 100 years of unremitting labor, the conclusion appears inescapable that neither Mithraism nor Christianity proved to be an obvious and direct influence upon the other in the development and demise or survival of either religion. Their beliefs and practices are well accounted for by their most obvious origins and there is no need to explain one in terms of the other.”

So the weight of the evidence, including a close examination of the dates, fails to support the allegation that Christianity is based on the borrowing of concepts from Mithaism. But what about the numerous parallels between Mithraism and Christianity that popular writers like Brown have touted?
I pulled out a list of parallels between Jesus and Mithras and said to Yamauchi: “First, popular writers claim that Mithras was born of a virgin. Is that true?”

“No, that’s definitely not true. He was born out of a rock. The rock birth is commonly depicted in Mithraic reliefs. Mithras emerges fully grown and naked except for a Phrygian cap, and he’s holding a dagger and torch. In some variations, flames shoot out from the rock, or he’s holding a globe in his hand.”

I said, “And that means he wasn’t born in a cave, which some writers claim is a second parallel to Christianity.”

“Well, it is true that Mithraic sanctuaries were designed to look like caves,” he replied. “Gary Lease discusses that in his chapter on Mithraism and Christianity.”

I later examined Lease’s work. He makes the important observation that nowhere in the New Testament is Jesus described as having been born in a cave. This idea is first mentioned in the letter of Barnabas at the beginning of the second century.

Justin Martyr said in the second century that Mithras’ cave was a demoniacal imitation of the tradition that Jesus was born in a cave. However, Lease pointed out that scholar Ernst Benz “has shown conclusively that this Christian tradition does not come from a dependency on Mithraism, but rather from an ages old tradition in Palestine itself of holy shrines in caves.” Concluded Lease: “There is no doubt that the Christian tradition does not stem from the Mithraic account.”

Returning to my list, I said to Yamauchi: “The third supposed parallel with Jesus is that Mithra was born on December 25.”

“Again, that’s not a parallel, because we don’t know the date Jesus was born,” he said.

“What about the fourth parallel that Mithras was a great traveler or master with twelve disciples?”

“No – he was a god, not a teacher.”

“The fifth parallel is that his followers were promised immortality.”

“Well, that can be inferred, but certainly that was the hope of most followers of any religion, so that’s not surprising.”

“How about the sixth claim, which says that Mithras sacrificed himself for world peace?”

“That’s reading Christian theology into what’s not there. He didn’t sacrifice himself – he killed a bull.”

“The seventh parallel – and one of the most important – is that Mithras was buried in a tomb and rose after three days.”

“We don’t know anything about the death of Mithras. We have a lot of monuments, but we have almost no textual evidence, because this was a secret religion. But I know of no references to a supposed death and resurrection.” Indeed, Richard Gordon declared in his bookImage and Value in the Greco-Roman World that there is “no death of Mithras” – and thus, there cannot be a resurrection.

“Eight, Mithras was considered the Good Shepherd, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Logos, the Redeemer, the Savior.”

“No, again that’s reading Christian theology into this.”

“Ninth, there was a sacramental meal in Mithraism that paralleled the Lord’s Supper.”

“Common meals are found in almost all religious communities. What is noteworthy is that the Christian apologists Justin Martyr and Tertullian point out the similarities to the Lord’s Supper, but they wrote in the second century, long after the Lord’s Supper was instituted in Christianity. They claimed the Mithraic meal was a satanic imitation. Clearly, the Christian meal was based on the Passover, not a mystery religion.”

Lease agrees there is no connection between the Christian and Mithraic ceremonies. “Nothing in any of the sources we have leads to a viable theory that the origin of the Christian meal is to be found in Mithraism, nor for that matter may one derive the Mithraic meal from the Christian.”

He noted that the Christian sacrament “is centered in the Jewish tradition of the Passover feast and the specifically historical recollection of Jesus’s last acts,” while the Mithraic feast “has its origins in Mazdean [that is, Persian] ceremonies.” He concluded: “There is simply no need to link these two events together in terms of derivation or direct influence.”

I hope this information is helpful to you, Tami. If you’d like more details, or a rebuttal to claims that Christianity was based on other mythological figures, please check out my book The Case for the Real Jesus. Amazingly, despite so many critics who have tried to discredit Christianity with such charges of plagiarism, the allegations tend to quickly evaporate under scrutiny.

Have a question? Drop me a line at AskLee@LeeStrobel.com. We’ll answer as many as we can in upcoming newsletters.

Quick notice on a speaking presentation this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:43:00 +0000

Sunday, August 7, 2011, 10:00 am Community Service

Evan's message: "What's My Spiritual Center?"

Wisconsin Valley Fair

Marathon Park Exhibition Building

I'll be leading worship with three classic hymns with symphonic recordings done on my keyboard. Then it'll be a 15-20 minute chat based on the content of the first section of my book project. Not expecting a big crowd, but should be fun to share with a new cross section of the city.

Roughhousing

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:44:00 +0000

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Roughhousing

I want to share a great article on parenting I came across this week. At our house, today marks 10 days until our Megan marries her sweetheart, Tim. The second big question of the Tau Zeta Chi Fraternity is, "Who will I spend my life with?" Megan and Tim have answered part of that question by choosing each other.

Now the wait for grandkids begins! Tim has brothers, so he's an expert on the topic of roughhousing. I resonate with Therese Borchard's article below, but I wonder if anyone would push back with the dangers of roughhousing? The balance points and boundaries?

Arghhh! Have at it now, matees! (Don't you know that roughhousing is always better with a pirate accent?!)

__________

6 Benefits of Roughhousing for Kids

By THERESE BORCHARD

I’ve attended one play dates too many when parents flinch at the first sign of physical engagement between two kids.
“No wrestling, guys,” a protective mom will say, breaking up the fun. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
I understand the rationale. I realize kids do collect injuries when they clutch each other in a full nelson. But I’m not alone in thinking our culture has gone to the other extreme in the name of safety. In their refreshing book, The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It,authors Anthony T. DeBenedet, MD and Lawrence J. Cohen not only articulate the benefits of roughhousing, but also offer over a hundred fun exercises to try at home.
Here’s their claim: “Play—especially active physical play, like roughhousing—makes kids smart, emotionally intelligent, lovable and likable, ethical, physically fit, and joyful.” Let’s look at each benefit more carefully.

1. Roughhousing makes kid smart.
This is fascinating: Roughhousing fertilizes our brain. For real. This kind of physical play releases a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which really is like fertilizer for our brains. Roughhousing stimulates neuron growth within the cortex and hippocampus regions of the brain, responsible for memory, learning, language, and logic. Animal behaviorists have found that the youngsters of the smarter species engage in physical play, so it isn’t surprising that roughhousing actually boosts school performance. Who knows? If your kid wrestles everyday, he might win a scholarship to Yale!

2. Roughhousing builds emotional intelligence.
Because roughhousing helps children develop skills in reading the emotions of others—Is he going for my gut? Or is he going to grab me over the head?—as well as manage their own emotions—I am not going to hit him in the gut or grab him over the head—they are well prepared to navigate successfully through the emotional adult world: reading a boss’s mood, knowing how to challenge a co-worker, being able to hang with the family during the holidays. Moreover kids learn how to regain self-control, which makes them more confident in their emotional lives.

3. Roughhousing makes kids more likable.
This is true for four reasons. First, physical play builds friendships and other relationships, and this is especially true for boys, who don’t gush all over each other, much less say “I like you.” Roughhousing can be a declaration of friendship or affection not only for elementary school boys, but for young men, as well. Second, kids who roughhouse are able to distinguish between innocent play and aggression; therefore, it helps children develop social and problem-solving skills. Third, youngsters who physically play learn how to take turns. If they are playing right, each person will get a chance to chase, and to be chased. No one person should be “it” the entire time. Finally, roughhousing teaches kids the concept of leadership and negotiation. Think about the rules that go into physical games. Everyone needs to agree, which is wonderful preparation for professional success as well as committed relationships.

4. Roughhousing makes children ethical and moral.
Interestingly enough, the animals with the highest level of moral development also engage in the most play, especially physical play. One way we can measure moral behavior in animal play is by observing “self-handicapping,” when the stronger animal holds back his strength when playing with a weaker or smaller opponent. Humans do this too, and especially parents, when physically engaging with their children.
Write DeBenedet and Cohen:

When we roughhouse with our kids, we model for them how someone bigger and stronger holds back. We teach them self-control, fairness, and empathy. We let them win, which gives them confidence and demonstrates that winning isn’t everything. We show them how much can be accomplished by cooperation and how to constructively channel competitive energy so that it doesn’t take over.

5. Roughhousing makes kids physically fit.
This one is obvious. But physical fitness isn’t just about body strength, say the authors. It involves complex motor learning, concentration, coordination, body control, cardiovascular fitness, and flexibility. So free play is going to offer different benefits than, say, gym class.

6. Roughhousing brings joy.
As a species, humans are hard-wired for roughhousing, so the body and mind are happy when we let it happen. According to studies in neuroscience, when the play circuits in the brains of mammals are activated, they feel joy.

Negotiating Salary - It's Worth It!

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Sat, 07 May 2011 04:12:00 +0000

You go through all of the hard work of pounding the pavement and hunting down job openings. You drop off your resume. A few days later, you get the phone call: they want to interview you! You do your research and fully prepare, and the interview goes great. They say, "We'll be in touch." Your work is done, right? Wrong!

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Negotiating Salary - It's Worth It!

When they call you back, if you're favored enough to be offered the job, there will be a thirty second conversation about salary that could make a difference of thousands of dollars for your over the next few years.

I freely confess that I've been less than wonderful in my own salary negotiations over the years. I'm getting much better. Dr. James Allen back at NCBC tried to tell us to make our case as graduates for what we needed to live on. In church work it's tricky because talking salary seems so unspiritual. It's not. Whatever type of work you consider, no one will represent your interests better than you.

How to make it happen...
Let me direct you first to an outstanding free podcast on iTunes. Look for the GTD Virtual Study Group, and don't worry about what GTD stands for unless you want to branch off into a productivity and time management series. Just find the April 21, 2011 podcast entitled: Special Edition: Interview with Jim Hopkinson. It's an outstanding 28 minute interview based on the book in the picture above.

Here are a few of my takeaways from the interview:

Research - Research the normal salary for the position on salary.com, glassdoor.com and payscale.com.
Wait! - Don't write a desired salary on your resume. They might screen you as either too high or too low before they even meet you.
Wait some more! - Try not to talk about salary until you've been offered the job. If they ask what you're hoping to make, tell them you'd like to know more about the expectations of the job before discussing salary.
Redirect - If they ask what you're making now, it's really none of their business. Say something like, "There wasn’t much research for people moving from bookkeeper to event planner. What did you have in mind?” They have a job and a budget, they should be forthcoming at some point.
Share your research - Once they offer you the job, be prepared to talk about the range of salaries you found in your research and why you feel you should be in the upper end of that range, for example.

Jim Hopkinson's two major goals for the interview process are to be able to say afterward:

I was prepared.
I did what I could.

Obviously, some of the jobs out there aren't resume- and salary-negotiation-type jobs. But when you get to that point, be ready! It will pay you back for decades to come!

Happy 18th Birthday, New Adult

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:14:00 +0000

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Happy 18th Birthday, New Adult

I'm going to link over to Jackie Burrell at the Young Adults blog today. She's written an important post on legal considerations for new adults: those who've just turned 18. Our Wade just turned 18 (Happy Birthday again Wade!), so this is all very relevant!

So, it's the thrill of freedom and the weight of responsibility all at once. The legal ability to buy and sell stock as well as sign contracts, that's neat. Signing up for selective service, that's important. You get the idea.

I see this as the beginning of civic leadership. Being legally of age to vote is a big deal, but it also carries the responsibility to understand and choose wisely.

Here's the link. Thanks Jackie!

Picking a College

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:11:00 +0000

We've been watching old episodes of the Bill Cosby Show on Netflix lately. I'm thrilled that Jason finds them just as entertaining as I do. Colleen seems to enjoy it or at least tolerate it enough for the guys to keep watching.

Today's big drama was Denise--second oldest daughter--making the big announcement to the family on where she'd be going to college. She got five acceptance letters: Cal Berkeley, NYU, University of North Dakota Minot, University of Hawaii, and Hillman. Ah, Hillman, alma mater of her father and grandfather. I'm not sure where Clair studied law.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Picking a College

Today's big drama was Denise--second oldest daughter--making the big announcement to the family on where she'd be going to college. She got five acceptance letters: Cal Berkeley, NYU, University of North Dakota Minot, University of Hawaii, and Hillman. Ah, Hillman, alma mater of her father and grandfather. I'm not sure where Clair studied law.

Anyway, the pressure was on. The final two in Denise's book were NYU and Hillman. Grandpa Russell Huxtable sat her down on the coach and extolled the very numerous virtues of Hillman. And, in the end, tradition won the day and Denise extended the Huxtable Hillman legacy.

My story was pretty different coming out of high school. I applied at some Ontario universities. I remember a modest scholarship offering to Queens University and a more significant scholarship to the University of Western Ontario business program. I remember making a chart of what was important to me in a college and assigning mathematical values to calculate the best choice. The scholarship made it pretty likely that it would be Western...

...until I decided to visit my big sister at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis. I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere. It was this amazing God's presence thing combined with a focus on academics and mission and purpose. I'd never seen anything like it.

I remember Mom asking me on the way back up to Canada, "So, do you think you'll go there?" I said, "Yeah, probably." So much for the mathematical calculations.

I would have a much nicer house and car today if I'd gone to Western. But I wouldn't be me. The spiritual mentoring of my years in Minneapolis can never be replaced, no matter how wonderful it would have been to be a Western Mustang.

So, what's your method for picking a college?

Studying in the Closet

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:11:00 +0000

So where do you like to study?

The worst place for me was always the library. I always felt stuffy and stifled. North Central Bible College had a great library, but I only used it to pick up books and get out quickly.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Studying in the Closet

So where do you like to study?

The worst place for me was always the library. I always felt stuffy and stifled. North Central Bible College had a great library, but I only used it to pick up books and get out quickly.

When I moved into the Orfield Apartments in downtown Minneapolis with Tim Creek and Troy Anderson, I found my study place on the couch.

Yes, that would be the hide-a-bed couch the we were "blessed" with by some friends on the third floor of a different building, so long as we would do the moving. Yikes! We made it though, and I would usually study on that couch with my feet up on a stool and books on my lap. Stylin'!

Before all of that luxury, though, was Carlson Hall--the guy's dorm.

View from the roof of Carlson Hall. Orfield Apartments are the grey buildings just left of center.

One of my dorms on Carlson Hall’s 4-East had a really deep closet. About eight feet deep! Behind the clothes rack, I put a desk and a chair in there. Add a gooseneck clip-on lamp and a fan and I had serious privacy!

Curious fellows would poke their heads in once and a while to see how things were going. That was the Neary, Neary and Nehring room: me and the Neary brothers, Dan and Randy. I won't even go into the triple decker bunk bed or the "hang soda cans from the ceiling tiles on strings of paper clips" decor.

That was the semester, actually, when I slipped, fell, and missed a month of college with head trauma. Explains a lot, I know.

Got any study spots more interesting than my 4-East closet?

200 Hours in 200 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:54:00 +0000

This is not going to be a play by play like I did with my weight loss goals last year, but I have a new personal target. This time it's related to completing the first draft on my book, All I Needed to Say. 200 hours in 200 days gets me, hopefully, through my first draft by September 4. I'm on day 14 and my hours are at 18:25. While I've been at this for months already, the focus I've been getting from this new goal has added some real productivity to my daily words-on-the-page output.

If you're new to this conversation, my book is a father's parting words to my children (and all Christian kids) as they launch out from home to independence and the big choices in life.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

200 Hours in 200 Days

If you're new to this conversation, my book is a father's parting words to my children (and all Christian kids) as they launch out from home to independence and the big choices in life.

Life:

What will be my center?

Love:

Who will I spend my life with?

Learning:

What will my worldview be?

Labor:

How will I provide for myself and my family?

Leadership:

What impact will I make in the world?

The book is passionate and personal. It reflects a very intense desire to pursue God in all areas of my life. It also chronicles snapshots of the drama of the last 25 years of my life.

The idea for the first draft is to scrape the stuff out of my soul and get it on the page as roughly and quickly as possible. I am not polishing. That will come later.

Want a sample from this week? My first section--Life: What will be my center?--uses mountain imagery. On this road trip of life, the first stop is a nearby mountain overlooking the broad landscape of our life decisions. So I've included a chapter entitled: "I'm climbing a mountain. What could possibly happen?" Remember, it's rough...

Retreat to heal and strengthen.

Mount Hermon’s towering 9200 foot peak marked the northern boundary of Israel. On a clear day, Mount Hermon is visible from Jesus’ childhood town of Nazareth. Hermon is snow covered most of the year, providing spectacular vistas throughout Galilee. Waters run down from the mountain into the Jordan River valley.

Photo overlooking Rosh Pina, near Nazareth.

The Sons of Korah penned the words to Psalm 42.

My soul is downcast within me;

therefore I will remember you

from the land of the Jordan,

the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep

in the roar of your waterfalls;

all your waves and breakers

have swept over me.

By day the LORD directs his love,

at night his song is with me—

a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42:6-8)

This is the “As the deer pants for streams of water” psalm. We still sing it. The serenity of the natural beauty it depicts still brings us to a place of spiritual healing and rest. The roar of the waterfalls might well have been the Banias Waterfall still popular for tourists at the base of Mount Hermon.

Banias Waterfall at the foot of Mt. Hermon

And King David, the warrior worshiper, wrote these musical words in Psalm 26:

Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house;

you give them drink from your river of delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light. (Psalm 36:5-9)

When David wrote these psalm lyrics, he knew of the highest mountain range in Israel: the triple peaks of Mount Hermon. And from the slopes of Hermon, you can see the depths of the Mediterranean Sea stretch out to the west. Fountains and rivers “of delight” spring out from Mount Hermon on their way to the Jordan River.

This is creation. You might say, this is the paradise we haven’t lost.

Hermon means sanctuary. The mountain heights inspired David to sing of God’s love, faithfulness and righteousness. They inspired the Sons of Korah to the spiritual communion of deep calling to deep.

When you’re battered and bruised, find God in the mountains. When you’re physically spent and emotionally wrung out, climb the ancient slopes. Receive healing and strength.

Confessions of a Green Card Republican

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:37:00 +0000

So I'm a Christian guy getting involved with politics. I'm becoming a very informed and active citizen.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Confessions of a Green Card Republican

Life is so interesting these days. Wisconsin is international news and Wausau is in the heart of the drama. Protesters continue to storm the capitol in Madison while the Republican governor and senators remain entrenched in support of the budget repair bill. I helped get Senator Pam Galloway elected. I helped get Governor Scott Walker elected. I'm a card carrying Canadian Republican.

You heard me.

I sang God Bless America at the close of the Lincoln Day Dinner on Sunday, hosted by the Republican Party Marathon County. I help maintain the RPMC website. I was announced this week as the chairman of the RPMC Public Relations Committee. I issued my first press release today to Wispolitics.com, defending Senator Pam Galloway's review of medical excuses given on the street in Madison.

So I'm a Christian guy getting involved with politics. I'm becoming a very informed and active citizen. I am wholeheartedly conservative. That includes deep conviction in the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, free markets, the rule of law, and national sovereignty. I believe these are the principles most effective in bring freedom, peace and prosperity to a nation.

OK, that's something about me perhaps you didn't know. If you haven't already hit the "unfriend" button on Facebook, stay with me a bit longer. I have hundreds of friends whose brains are frying over this post. I also have hundreds of friends who are pumping their fists in the air and singing "On Wisconsin." And there are still hundreds more friends who don't give a flying flip about anything political.

Have I found your group?

Part of my conviction about coming of age in democratic societies like Canada and the United States is that citizens are called to step out and lead. I don't mean that we should attack anyone whose views differ from ours. Colleen and I have dear friends in Wausau that are rabid Obama supporters. And there's a very awkward tension in the state right now between supporters of the public union leadership and supporters of Governor Walker. Neighbors and friends are political opponents, and it's OK.

Some of you may write me off as narrow-minded, but that's not my intention. I don't see people as Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Progressive Conservative, NDP, Green Party, or any other political affiliation. But when we are free people, that is a slice of who we are.

I'm not ashamed of it. I believe that if we don't stand up and lead in our local caucuses, we will lose our nations to something that's much less than free.

I'm careful with God talk in a political post because I don't want to send the message that Republican = Christian. I would love to see people of deep faith, compassion and commitment to truth assuming leadership of all political parties.

I'd truly love to hear from conservatives, liberals and non-political types. How do my ideas strike you? Do you gain or lose respect someone who steps into politics? Does your faith keep you from civic leadership or push you to it?

Tonight's Grammy to Steve Martin

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

I'm using a vignette from Steve Martin's Father of the Bride in a key spot in my writing project. So we watched the movie tonight as a family. I still have the VHS tape...less than impressive. The quality of the drama overshadows the low definition presentation.

It struck me that this movie goes right to the heart of my TZX ambitions.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Tonight's Grammy to Steve Martin

We have the lovable young adult daughter, Annie--recently graduated and fresh home from an adventure in Rome. Then we have the lovable, over-protective Dad, George--oscillating between dynamo and dork while never losing his daughter's affections. This is all about leaving home.

George routinely flashes back to Annie's growing-up years. Boy, do I understand that. As I age, I find more and more moments to be haunted with the meaning and emotion of who we used to be. Selective memory is a good thing, but who we are includes who we were. True love, true forgiveness, and true redemption are magnified when we skim quickly through the many chapters of our life stories.

That said, it's not hard to understand how a doting father like George Banks would tend to blow a gasket when he feel his daughter being pulled away. Annie and Papa George have this camaraderie and helpfulness through this whole "I'm getting married to someone you've never met before" tension.

The marriage is a big deal, but the central theme of the story is George and Annie and their relationship as she leaves the nest. I like the way Annie drew her boundaries but still stayed connected. I like the way George worked through his unwillingness to accept the changes. Annie ultimately left home, but the father-daughter bond was honored even as it was reshaped.

As our Megan prepares for her July wedding, I'm so thankful that she's experiencing love as a bride-to-be and as a daughter forever. Thank you, Jesus, for a fresh re-telling of the story of Love.

African Miracles: Do They Mess With Our Worldview?

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 04:19:00 +0000

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

African Miracles: Do They Mess with Our Worldview

I haven't seen a great number of miracles first hand. I've seen a few, but I never looked at them as evidence for anyone but me. It was personal. I'm more of a mercy guy than a miracle guy, but for decades I've always believed.

It's very interesting to me that Africa, South America and even parts of Asia seem so much more active with miracles. I wonder sometimes if our medical advancement in the west is another sort of divine compassion.

Anyway, I want to share part of an email I got from an African evangelism team called Christ For All Nations. Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda see miracles most every night. This is a sampling.

I'm interested in your response. Do these types of miracles fit in with what you believe about God? Do they mess with your worldview at all?

For my part, I'm thrilled that God would step into these far away places, and sometimes some near places, and do something we can't explain any other way. Thanks God.

This message recently came in from Evangelist Daniel Kolenda direct from Lokoja, Nigeria.

Dear Evan,

Another historic Gospel Campaign has just come to a climactic conclusion here in Lokoja, Nigeria. Tonight Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke preached a clear Gospel message on repentance and the great majority of the 150,000 present prayed with him to receive salvation and forgiveness from sin. The cross is the centerpiece of the Christian faith and everything else must revolve around it. When the cross is preached, a resounding “Amen” can be heard from Heaven in the form of signs, wonders and miracles.

- An 8-year-old girl, deaf and dumb from birth heard and spoke tonight for the first time in her life!

- A man who had been an occultist for the past 24 years was crippled by some debilitating disease. During the campaign here, he surrendered his life to Jesus and then, last night, he brought his cultic fetishes to be destroyed. Minutes later, during the prayer for the sick he received a miraculous healing and can now walk!

- A young lady who was crippled for 6 years had to be carried back and forth to the meetings all week. I saw her sitting in the second row during the Fire Conference and, although I did not know what was wrong with her, I felt prompted to pray for her. I went down and laid hands on her in the name of Jesus. Tonight she walked up on the platform on her own…totally healed!

There were many wonderful testimonies tonight…too many for us to hear, but one thing is certain; Jesus is at work in Lokoja!! Before the meeting came to a close, Evangelist Bonnke pronounced a prayer of blessing over the crowd and the people received it in faith shouting a mighty “AMEN” after each declaration. As we begin the long journey home, we go with a strong sense of fulfillment, knowing that we have been about our Father’s business.

Together in the Harvest,

Evangelists Daniel Kolenda and Reinhard Bonnke

Together with the whole CfaN team

Packers, Presidents and Prime Ministers

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:21:00 +0000

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Packers, Presidents and Prime Ministers

Nine days until Super Bowl forty-five. Here in Cheeseland the chatter is nonstop and the excitement is palpable. (I never knew what that word meant until I started working with medical doctors.) In the middle of all the talk about whose quarterback has the edge and whose defense is more dominating, I had a random thought today.

For some of these players, Sunday, February 6 will be the most glorious day of their lives.

In other words, it's all downhill from there. It's a shallow thought, in a way, but grown men will cry and spray champagne when they win that day. Obviously it's a big deal.

The oldest player on the Packer roster is Donald Driver at 35. The Steelers have two guys who are 36. You can't even be president of the United States until you're 35. John F. Kennedy was the youngest at 43. Canada's youngest prime minister was Joe Clark, a day shy of 40.

So it's fair to say that political glory begins where sports glory ends. The overlap is statistically almost insignificant. To make it more interesting, name me a player who has carried significant societal influence beyond retirement from sports. The list is short.

Bill Bradley was a US Senator and presidential candidate after basketball. That's pretty good. Michael Jordan became a sportswear tycoon. That's pretty good too, but not as glorious as 6 championships and 5 MVP's. Commentators don't count. Sorry.

The compelling aspect of Brett Favre's story is that he seemed to understand better than anyone that once your football career is done, your glory is gone. Just like Apollo Creed and Rocky, if you're not a fighter then what are you?

In a way presidents, prime ministers and quarterbacks face the same fate in different life seasons. Once you're a former president, what are you?

Let me go a bit deeper now...perhaps you're ahead of me. Public glory is far from the pinnacle of human existence. I sometimes wonder if I've got it all on Brett Favre. His career glory has finally ended, mine has barely begun. Meanwhile, I've enjoyed a fairly quiet life tucking my family in to bed almost every night.

I've got dreams, he's got memories. Which one of us is really living?

We idolize the stars who rocket to success, but God's path to lifelong maturity and leadership is typically longer and includes failure. That's a 30-something realization I would love for every 20-something Jesus-follower to begin to grasp. There's freedom in it, and hope.

So, yes, I'm all into the hubbub of the run-up to the big game. But true glory? None of that will really happen that day. Punters and presidents can all make a difference in the world, but fitting into God's redemptive plans for humanity is out there for every one of us!

My Favorite Apps

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 04:52:00 +0000

I'm a software trainer. That's how I put bread on the table. Gadgets? Love 'em! I've been a PDA guy (personal digital assistant) for a decade and an iPhone guy for a year.

Gadgets aren't for everyone. I get it. Remember, I'm a software trainer. But for the right person, awesome!

If you're looking at the iPhone to enhance your success as a person and as a leader, here are some of the apps I heartily recommend.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

My Favorite Apps

I'm a software trainer. That's how I put bread on the table. Gadgets? Love 'em! I've been a PDA guy (personal digital assistant) for a decade and an iPhone guy for a year.

Gadgets aren't for everyone. I get it. Remember, I'm a software trainer. But for the right person, awesome!

If you're looking at the iPhone to enhance your success as a person and as a leader, here are some of the apps I heartily recommend.

If you're looking at the iPhone to enhance your success as a person and as a leader, here are some of the apps I heartily recommend.

Holy Bible - Had to start here. It's extremely handy to have your Bible handy at all times and in a variety of translation. I mostly use it in church to track along with the sermon. Then I flip over to Evernote to text in the takeaways for that Sunday morning.

Do I use it when I'm speaking? No, I'm too much of a notes guy. I like everything prepped and printed in advance.

The reading plans are very helpful too. I'm not a January 1 through December 31 reading plan devotee, but I like to use the thoughtful scripture sequences here and there.

Evernote - I mentioned my note taking app. I've tried out a handful of note apps and Evernote has won me over, at least for now. It's a fantastic idea capture device.

Great tip - use the camera to capture information instead of writing it down! And here's the mind-blower for me: Evernote can read the text of your photo! It uses OCR to search the text you've grabbed in your snapshot, so your photos will pull into a keyword search. That's what separates Evernote from the next best thing.

Another great feature is Evernote's combination of app and cloud (online, web-based) access. So all of my saved notes are available from any online workstation. Backed up and ready to go!

Toodledo - This is your to-do list on steroids! As a Getting Things Done system user, I've found Toodledo to be my favorite app with PC sync capability. I can list tasks by priority, length of time to complete, due dates, location, context, tag, goal, star, folder and status. So it can be as simple or complicated as you like.

While it's not free, this is the heart of my organization system and worth the $10 for sure.

The latest Toodledo update includes a location feature which uses the iPhone GPS function to pop up and tell you when you're in the neighborhood to run an errand on your list. Nice!

UYH - This is Use Your Handwriting. The icon says todo because you use your finger to write down 5 or 6 lists for later reference. I find this most useful at work when I want to visit medical staff in our clinic hallways and jot down little reminders of what I need to follow up on later.

The latest UYH update allows longer notes, subfolders, and the ability to email any of the notes to yourself or others. I wouldn't take college notes with it, but I'd jot myself reminders for sure.

Fluent News - There are hundreds of good news sites and apps, but Fluent News has the features I enjoy most so far. Their selection of stories seems objective enough and helpful.

My favorite feature, though, is the push notifications (automatic pop-ups) with significant headlines throughout the day. Seems to be about 3-4 headlines per day, plus the opportunity to scan the full list of headlines. Fluent told me today that Brett Favre turned in his retirement papers. We'll see...

I've got scores more apps, but these are my front line. How about you?

Passion Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 04:27:00 +0000

I was thinking about the Passion group today. Sometimes I feel like asking, "Where are the young adults laying it all out there for God?" And the statistics say that young people are leaving the church in droves. But there are bright spots. Very, very bright spots. I'll take Passion over stats.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Passion Conference

The Passion Conference website is here. More links and info for the April 1-3, 2011 conference in Ft. Worth, TX.

What About Moving Back Home?

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:53:00 +0000

Jackie Burrell over at 20-Somethings blog comments that around 60% of single, young adults end up moving back home at some point. Elsewhere it's listed as high as 85%! Boomerang kids.

Obviously, money is a factor. All that rent money is better spent on Doritos and iTunes, right? Ah, the expectations of each generation might differ a bit. A bit o' tension.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

What About Moving Back Home?

Jackie Burrell over at 20-Somethings blog comments that around 60% of single, young adults end up moving back home at some point. Elsewhere it's listed as high as 85%! Boomerang kids.

Obviously, money is a factor. All that rent money is better spent on Doritos and iTunes, right? Ah, the expectations of each generation might differ a bit. A bit o' tension.

Burrell gives some helpful advice for making it work. Stop over there if you're looking for helpful details and links. Let's interact right here, though, with her main points.

1. Set a Time Limit - While it might not be in stone, this is common sense on both sides. Mom and Dad feel the spirit of Bill Cosby coming over them as they sense a sinister plot by the kids to take over the house. A time limit can bring some peace. And for son or daughter, do you really want to move back in with no plan to leave. Uh, no.

2. Set Goals - Paying off debt? Mending a broken heart? Pursuing a bachelor's degree? Many parents will feel better knowing those goals are being pursued. Setting a personal best in killing zombies on the Xbox? Not so much.

3. Discuss Rent - At our house, we've talked about free rent as long as the kids are full-time students. Burrell says about half of the boomerang kids pay significant rent. Finding a way to make it fair help keep tempers in check.

4. Set Chores - See #3.

5. Discuss Guests and Booze - The amazing thing about 20-somethings is how much of life they life between midnight and 4 a.m. Make the crowd bigger, add some party aids, and mom and dad's morning coffee may need to be a little stronger. Yeah. Talk about this too.

6. Make a Contract - Sounds a bit extreme, but I tend to agree with this too. Clear expectations is the common thread in all of these points and writing them down is the ultimate clarifier. Have everyone sign it at the bottom.

So what do you think? Too regimented for your house? Boomerang kid, do you like the idea of a contract? Boomerang parent, do you?

New Year's Day and the Big Picture

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:37:00 +0000

I love the big picture. Stepping back from the forest to look at the trees... What could be better?!

I'm not a new year's resolution cynic. Today is January 1 and I'm pretty much wasted from a 15-hour blizzard cruise back from Canada yesterday, but I'm still fired up about the blank slate which is 2011.

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

New Year's Day and the Big Picture

I love the big picture. Stepping back from the forest to look at the trees... What could be better?!

I'm not a new year's resolution cynic. Today is January 1 and I'm pretty much wasted from a 15-hour blizzard cruise back from Canada yesterday, but I'm still fired up about the blank slate which is 2011.

Truth be told, I think about the big picture all year. My productivity guru is David Allen with his Getting Things Done system. Part of his advice is to spend time with the different perspectives or elevations of life.

David lays it out like this:

Runway - my projects and tasks lined up to be worked on right away
10K (10,000 feet) - Projects to be completed within a year
20K - My roles or responsibilities (What hats do I wear?)
30K - Projects to be completed in 1-3 years
40K - Projects to be complete in 3-5 years
50K - Lifelong goals

That's my quick overview on his elevations anyway. So we get horizontal with all of the areas of life we tie into: career, family, school, physical health, etc. But then we get vertical and see how all of that looks in the months and years to come.

The big picture.

So do I have a new year's resolution? Yes and no. I'm not making a January 1 start date for any new goals. (Although I'm very much in favor of that.) But I am continuing to press ahead with my BOAT LOAD of goals and plans for the new year. Here are a few:

Finish our upstairs renovation to prepare for shuffling our bedrooms. (Mainly lots of elbow grease!)
Prepare to run some 5K fun runs this summer.
Finish the first draft of my book: All I Needed to Say (or possibly Road Trip with Jesus & Phil, or probably something I haven't thought of yet).
Organize my tools better in the basement.
Prepare for Megan and Tim's wedding.

I could go on for a very long time. My 10K level has about 45 projects. You get the idea.

So I love getting up to my elbows in whatever project is at hand, but I also love to step back. Stepping back gives me a new sense of control and energy.

Whatever you're tackling this year, I wish you the very best!

Four Things to Do When You're Feeling Down

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Good friend Chris Lindberg with some words of wiseness on the LF Blog...
Feelings are fickle aren’t they? They are constantly bombarding us with highs and lows, discouragement, worry, or even depression. Most people are dominated and controlled to how they are feeling on a particular day. How they feel, is how they will act and respond to situations. But the fact is, we have the power through Christ to overcome those feelings and move forward in life. Here’s how:

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Four Things to Do When You're Feeling Down

Good friend Chris Lindberg with some words of wiseness on the LF Blog...

Feelings are fickle aren’t they? They are constantly bombarding us with highs and lows, discouragement, worry, or even depression. Most people are dominated and controlled to how they are feeling on a particular day. How they feel, is how they will act and respond to situations. But the fact is, we have the power through Christ to overcome those feelings and move forward in life. Here’s how:

01. Memorize three good Scriptures that that you can quote out loud to yourself. Romans 10:17 says our faith comes on strong by hearing the Word of God! Three Scriptures I like to quote regularly are Philippians 4:13, Romans 8:31, and Psalms 91. (The entire chapter)

02. Fill your life with inspirational music. Each of us like different styles of music that inspires us and lifts our spirits, but I believe the very best is worship music because it is filled with the Word of God and helps our spirits commune directly with His.

03. Keep your mind and body active. Someone once said, “Idle time is the devil’s workshop.” One of the tools in that workshop is the thought of discouragement. When you’re active, your mind is focused on the task at hand.

04. Find five things to be thankful for. It may be your health; family, your pets, or that God sent His Son for you. Whatever it is, I think if you spent a little time, you would find a catalog of things to be thankful for. And what’s amazing is when we begin to be thankful for all that God has blessed us with, it begins to snuff out those negative feelings. Today choose to be thankful.

“A great attitude is not the result of success; success is the result of a great attitude.” - Earl Nightingale

Merry Mobile Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Yep, TZX is going mobile folks! You can now access www.tzxfraternity.org from your mobile phone or iPod-type device with mobile formatting! While the mobile version doesn't show all of the fun gadgets on the full website, it has a streamlined view of all the latest posts. Save it as a bookmark, drop the icon on your home screen...more handy options for taking us with you!

That said, Merry Mobile Christmas everyone! Our family is excited to be with family through Christmas and New Year's. Sunday we head for the Great White North through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba. It's neat how the van actually navigates the trip on its own now.

This past Sunday morning, I had the opportunity to share from Luke 2:8-20 with our home church in Tomahawk, WI, the Northwoods Vineyard. "Christmas, Worship and the Presence of Jesus." The recording turned out very well thanks to Mike and Ryan on the A/V computer that morning. If anyone wants an mp3, just shoot me an email through my Facebook or website profile. I'll reply with a large audio attachment.

Thanks to those who responded with such encouragement! The message became very personal to me and I was grateful to be tasked with preparing and sharing. Every time I speak, I want MY life to be changed.

Merry Christmas all! May the presence of Jesus and the spirit of worship fill your heart day by day through the holiday season!

Luke 2

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Roses for Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:47:00 +0000

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Roses for Jesus

I was twenty-four on a chilly October night. Twenty-four and alone is a tough combination, but I didn’t want to settle for a ho-hum relationship. I just plain didn't want to settle. I decided on a new way to focus my affections on God.

I went to the Copps grocery store on Division Street in Stevens Point and purchased a rose, for God, as a promise that I would remain both passionate and pure.There was a tinge of nervousness going through the checkout lane. "Good thing no one will ever know about this."

On my way home, the first snow of the season began to fall. The snow flakes were huge, that hanging-in-the-air kind, and I sensed that it was a gift from heaven. And with these gifts we exchanged, we created a new covenant. New covenants, as you know, always call for cheesy, homemade poetry.

The Rose

On this night falls a pure, white snow

Heaven’s dreamy gift

Cool, moist tenderness touches my cheek

Soul strings dance

As newness and life are breathed into love’s pledge

As if for the first time

Passion glows: gentle, indomitable within

An intimate, godly affection

Given shape by the gentle descent of the snowflake

And the scarlet fragrance of the rose

When first snow comes, I go to the store and purchase a single red rose for my wife and for Jesus. It’s not a game. I’m not trying to be a sap. OK, I'm a sap, but I'm having to work harder at it lately.

Our first big snow was this week. You might have seen news video of the Metrodome roof collapsing in Minneapolis. Same storm. I can't tell you how inconvenient it was to get the rose this year. It's still worth it, though. To me anyway. It's just a little "I love you" and a kiss, but it means much more.

Kids Change Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:51:00 +0000

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Kids Change Everything

I woke up Sunday and Monday mornings with sleepover hangovers. Sometimes it takes more than a day to recover from these things. We were thrilled for Jason to have such a wonderful time with his 8th birthday party, but it's amazing how little sleep 8-year-olds actually need. Brand new video games call to them in their REM sleep. And once the first child moves, sweet slumber is history.

Lack of sleep is one of the dominant themes of parenthood. It starts early and reasserts itself routinely.

Thursday night was a very important night as well. Colleen emailed me during the day to say that Wade's deal appeared to be coming together for the purchase of his new truck. It's a 2001 Dodge Dakota, burgundy, very clean. I worked a bit late that night and got a phone call around four from Wade. He was looking to get some road time with his new wheels and offered me a ride.

I was mildly overwhelmed. The tension can be a bit thick around the house with an almost-18-year-old chomping at the bit for more and more freedom. But when he pulled up to the hospital curb and threw his personals behind the passenger seat, it was nothing but good. We shot the breeze for a few blocks, and then the step-dad song happened to broadcast on WDEZ. You know, Brad Paisley's He Didn't Have to Be. I'm sure it meant more to me than it did to Wade. I'll never forget it.

Heartbreak and hopefulness hold hands.

Megan's fiancée turned 21 yesterday. I've got great video of Jason and Tim (the fiancée) laughing during the singing of Happy Birthday on Friday night. Megan's name will change on July 18, 2011. Living arrangements will change. Family ties will change. But there will be a few things that stay the same until the first little papoose comes along.

Kids change everything.

Home for the Holidays?

noreply@blogger.com (Evan Nehring) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 04:11:00 +0000

Five great questions of life: Life * Love * Learning * Labor * Leadership

Home for the Holidays?

Leaving home, for me, meant leaving the country.

My parents moved away from Kenora a couple of months before I finished high school, so I stayed with our friends, the Cullums, until high school grad. Our graduation ceremony was at the Kenora Recreation Center, near the shores of Lake of the Woods. Then I left the next morning for my parents' place in Ninette, Manitoba.

Three months later, Sheri (big sis) and I hugged the fam and headed for college in Minneapolis. We always made it back for Christmas and summer, but that was about it. Thanksgiving was one of those holidays where we had to make do down south. Home was just too far away for such a quick trip. Of course, it was a bit more complicated since Canadian Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving are in different months.

I think Sheri and I had low key apartment-style celebrations once or twice. We were taken in by friends here and there. I guess we were always outgoing and connected enough to never really be alone.

But then Christmas, ah Christmas...wonderful on so many levels. When you've checked you're mailbox three times a day for four months, being home is off the charts! All of the food and hugs and warmth. I hope Colleen and I can provide something close to that when our kids come home.

Megan moved out last November, so this is actually our second season of having a child come home for the holidays. And we're blessed to have my parents and Col's parents such a close part of our lives, so the whole multi-generational thing happens as well. My forty-plus sentimentality kicks into overdrive.

We put the Christmas tree up today. Family tradition. It's not everything, but it sure is something.

Any other holiday-away-from-home memories? Happy Thanksgiving all!