tomorrow's topic: mentor program

Tomorrow night will be a little different at DiVe. We're breaking from unChristian and will be discussing what a new mentor program might look like. Come prepared with questions and your ideas about how the program could work to further your faith development in Christ.

I think I might also have you fill out a profile sheet-which I'm sure will be more fun than the survey a few weeks ago.

too much fun!

Random pictures from the senior high guys camp/kayak weekend

How to offer someone a donut

So, what did we learn from Josh's pushy donut ways?

As Christians we have something to offer the world.....in fact, we're told to share our Faith in Christ with the world.....and, most importantly, we're called to love our neighbors. What we know from the book UnChristian is that 3 out of 10 non-Christians believe that we're not genuine in our concern for others.......that our message is only "GET SAVED!"

and many believe we're pushy about it.

So, just like the real-life story of my friend B......who became a good friend of mine, long before he turned his life over to Christ.........we need to love our neighbor, take an interest in them regardless of a decision on their part to follow Christ.

Ultimately they may realize they want that donut that Lizziey offered, because we're genuine in our concern and love for them. Now that's a novel idea, be like Christ, huh.

sneak preview.......GET SAVED?!?!?!?

What does that donut have to do with anything? No, we're not having donuts for snacks, I don't think......I'm not sure.

Tomorrow night's topic from UnChristian is "Get Saved". Do you believe that as Christians, our only interest in people is that they become Christians? Or, do we actually care about people enough to build a relationship with them.........to SHOW them God's love?

Come and listen to an insanely (shout out to Elder Todd) beautiful true story of one guy's turning his life over to Christ because he "felt the love".

And you will not be a bit disappointed in finding out what's up with the donut.

hypo-follow-up

Following up on the first of six negative perceptions of the Church, from the book unChristian, that we plan to cover over the next few weeks: Hypocrite.

Thanks for being so honest with your thoughts on the topic.....and insight you have from your "outsider" friends. The difficulty is that we're not perfect......only Christ. So, we mess up, just like everyone else who is human, and people view that failure to live up to the standards we preach as hypocrisy.

The Christian life isn't about a heavy set of rules thrown on your shoulders by religious leaders (Matthew 23). It IS about drawing into a relationship with Christ, our Saviour, and our Father, the God of the universe.

We will mess up. It is important that we're "transparent" when we do......that we admit to our friends, "hey, I made a mistake.....it doesn't mean my faith is faulty; I'm just trying to follow my model Christ, as imperfect as I am."

And I think that people can respect that. Then, all of a sudden, it isn't about putting on a false face (2 Face from Batman as Tyler so eloquently put it)......but it's about being honest, which is the direct opposite of hypocrisy. And that's closer to the model of Christ.

Next week: GET SAVED!........."is that all Christians care about, or do they care about me, as a person?" We shall see.

hip' o-krit

n. one who practices hypocrisy....pretending to be what one is not; false profession.

The next lesson, for September 17, in unChristian is the perception that the church/Christians are hypocrites. 67% of you said you AGREED! wow. That's even higher than the national average among Christian youth.

Tomorrow night you get the chance to explain your thoughts....and I'm looking forward to it.

And it's Tyler's birthday......he's bringing cake.

NOTICE: upcoming dates!

A couple of upcoming events important to note:

Senior High Movie Night @ Stillsons - September 20

Meet Me at the Pole - September 24

Senior High Guys CampOut - September 26-27