What is it that makes Norman Rockwell’s famous illustration Freedom from Want (also known as The Thanksgiving Picture) so engaging? It’s not that we can almost smell the roasted turkey in the picture, although that is true. Even more inviting than the food is the warmth we feel when we look at the happy faces of three generations of family members gathered for the Thanksgiving meal. It’s the...
I look forward to the fall season every year. So many of my favorite things take place this time of year—changing leaves, cooler temperatures, flannel, college football, and, of course, Thanksgiving. Each Thanksgiving, around thirty family members gather at my parents’ house in East Tennessee for a night of feasting, catching up, and reminiscing. Everyone has specific Thanksgiving dishes...
God has entrusted you with a precious stewardship of children in your church. For many years, these children grow up in your church community, listen to sermons, participate in Sunday school classes, and frolic through VBS. Are you doing the best you can for these kids? What does faithfulness look like in children’s ministry? Consider ten questions about building a healthy children’s ministry...
Cultures are built upon conventional wisdom formed by accepted values, shared beliefs, common practices, and prevailing goals. Different places in different times in history had distinct cultures that guided life on a day-to-day basis. As I have traveled, it is very apparent that there are differing values and practices than I was accustomed to growing up in the southeastern portion of the United...
“This grade is going to be on your permanent record. Colleges will see this.” I remember that oft-repeated phrase that teachers reiterated, starting in the ninth grade. It created a sense of dread and anxiety deep in my gut with each pronouncement. I perceived that teachers were holding it over our heads, as if they held the key to the door of our futures. Prior to high school, we played after...
