Resonate Student Ministries

Winston Churchill

resonatestudentministries — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:26:39 +0000

Several months ago we decided to update the youth web page. In doing so, we also started a blog, which from what you can tell is not very active. Part of me does not know what to write, but a bigger part of me is afraid to post what I have written. Anyway, about a month ago I came across booksneeze.com book review bloggers program. So I thought about it which went a bit like this: I like to read…I like free things…I want something to have to blog about. When I found a place that will help combine those things I thought it was a win-win situation: Free books to read that I have to review…I’m on board with that. Then I reserved my first book from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Now, just because this was a free copy does not mean I will review it any differently then if I paid any money for the book. Here are my thoughts from and about about the book:

I have always been interested in the life of Winston Churchill. Actually, that is a lie. When playing a board game with some close friends I was asked a question about English Prime Ministers and the only one I could think of was Churchill. The only problem was that the question related to either the current or previous Prime Minister so I was dead wrong…kind of embarrassing. However, When I came across booksneeze.com, a book review program for bloggers from Thomas Nelson Publishers, I was immediately intrigued.

Yes, the book was free, but my opinions will be the same as if I had bought it. Honestly, if I had paid for it I probably would not have gotten through the first chapter before putting it aside so I am thankful that I had to finish it. Author John Perry is good at getting facts, but I didn’t think he was great at putting the story together.

The author describes Churchill as “a man of action, who seldom stopped for introspection or careful analysis, even about deep subjects” (p. 45). On the next page he writes that Churchill thought that “too much religion ‘of any kind’ was a bad thing” (p. 46). And, because of that he really did not care about tying the head and heart together in matters of faith. It just did not matter to Churchill.

Even though he is regarded as one of the most influential men in history, he does not seem to be much different than the average Christian. This book, in the Christian Encounters series, does delve into the spirituality of Churchill a little bit. It can be summed up best by none other than Churchill himself when he said, “I therefore adopted quite early in life a system of believing whatever I wanted to believe, while at the same time leaving reason to pursue unfettered whatever paths she was capable of treading” (p. 51). John Perry’s comments are not only true about Churchill, but many who profess Christ. According to Perry, this attitude gave Churchill all the benefits of Christianity with none of the liabilities because he did what he wanted when and how he wanted only to call on God when he was in trouble.

Was Churchill a great man? I believe he was very influential, but it appears that his faith in himself was much stronger than his faith in God. I would encourage you to read this book and ask yourself this question: Am I using my influence (no matter how large or small) to unite others in following God, or am I using it for my own glory? Imagine what he could have done from a Christian perspective if he gave his life totally and unreservedly to serve God and not his own ego. He should have applied John the Baptist’s firm belief: He [Jesus] must increase but I must decrease (John 3:30).

Formatting errors

resonatestudentministries — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:39:15 +0000

Sorry about the formatting errors on the events page. I recently switched from IE to Firefox. Although, it was a great move, I am still getting used to some differences and think that may be causing the formatting errors. I am working on trying to figure it out. I am hoping I do not have to redo the entire page, but may have to.

W.I.R.E. Winter Olympics Couples Figure Skating

resonatestudentministries — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:56:03 +0000

Well, you may have to use your imagination a little on this one. No ice, no professionals, but a lot of comedic talent. This was probably the highlight of the night for our events. I know it is a bit later than I wanted to post it. Anyway, here it is although the sound might not be synced up perfectly. It is still humorous. So, who is your favorite judge?

Human Curling

resonatestudentministries — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:54:31 +0000

This is the second video from our Winter Olympics night. I have a couple of other videos that, unfortunately, will have to wait a couple of days to be uploaded. Since one curling stone can cost up to $300 more (yes I Googled it), we decided that human curling would be the way to go. Plus. we didn’t have any ice.

Special thanks to 10 to Impact for allowing us to use their music in the background. Hope you enjoy.

W.I.R.E. WINTER OLYMPICS

resonatestudentministries — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:25:02 +0000

Our first Olympics went great! We had several different “countries” represented from Australia, Great Britain, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, all the way to Kermit the cookie monster. Well…you will just have to watch the video for this “special appearance.”

Please excuse the quality errors in the video. I am still trying to figure out this editing software and hope that future videos will work better. There will be some more videos coming soon. And, yes, Brock, you crossed the finish line 10 feet ago.

Thinking Critically (and Christianly) about Super Bowl Commercials

resonatestudentministries — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:35:33 +0000

A recent Wall Street Journal study found that a typical NFL game only has about 11 minutes of action and yet we spend about 3 hours or more watching a single game. Please don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching a good football game. It is one of the few professional sporting events that I will watch on television. However, if there are only 11 minutes of action what fills the rest of the time slot? According to the article…

…if you tally up everything that happens between the time the ball is snapped and the play is whistled dead by the officials, there’s barely enough time to prepare a hard-boiled egg. In fact, the average telecast devotes 56% more time to showing replays….So what do the networks do with the other 174 minutes in a typical broadcast? Not surprisingly, commercials take up about an hour…

And this Sunday will be no exception. Many companies will be shelling out upwards of $100,000 per second for a Super Bowl ad. Marketing strategy aside (even though it will be the most watched sporting event), that is a lot of money, and that is just for the air time!

So the question remains: How do we as Christians approach that hour of the game? Do we simply switch to another channel, run to the bathroom, grab some more food, or turn off the tv? Yes, I know the last one is a bit dramatic, or is it? The fact remains, that what we allow our minds to consume and then dwell upon does have an effect on us no matter how big or significant we may perceive it may be.

So I ask again…do we run to the hills screaming and crying like…well, I’ll stop the word picture there since I think you get the picture. Or do we take an active approach to viewing these commercials? I do have to admit, though, that I am looking forward to some of them. Walt Mueller, president of CPYU (Center for Parent/Youth Understanding) has posted a great article on thinking critically and Christianly on his site that gives a few questions for us to think through.

The Simple Seven

What product is this ad selling?

What, besides the product, does this add sell? (ideas, lifestyle, worldview, behaviors, etc.)

What’s the bait, hook, and promise?

Complete this sentence: “This ad tells me, use _______ (the name of the product) and _________ (the result the ad promises).

Does the ad tell the truth? What? How?

Does the ad tell a lie (s)? What? How?

How does this ad and its messages agree or disagree with God’s truth and what does it mean for me?

Check out the rest of the article here.

Snow Camp 2010

resonatestudentministries — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:21:26 +0000

Here is the video from our weekend up at Barakel. I was trying something new, and was not sure how it would turn out. I must say, it came out pretty well.

Monkey-see, Monkey-do

resonatestudentministries — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:48:34 +0000

Ok, so the title is probably not the best. But perhaps it caught your attention. When we hear this phrase what images pop into our minds? Do we see a couple of monkey imitating each other or perhaps a group of tourists looking into the monkey cage at a zoo attempting to get the monkey’s attention by acting like a monkey themselves? Whatever image pops into our minds it does not change the reality.

People act and react to what they see happening around them. Perhaps you have heard (or even said) something similar to this: “Everyone’s doing it.” Well, chances are that not everyone is doing it. Obviously it is stated by someone as a means of justifying that which we want to do when in fact we are not doing it (whatever “it” may be) so that not everyone is doing it. Get to the point Pelle.

I like quotes and came across this one made by Richard Ross. In an interview with Doug Fields in the current issue of Group magazine he states this:

“To get young people who embrace the majesty of Christ, who are inviting Christ to really live his life through them, you have to have adults in their lives who embrace the majesty of Christ.”

Think about the implications. Could it be that the reason students are not embracing the majesty of Christ is because they do not see it being done in the lives of those who are older or perhaps even those they look up to the most? Perhaps those trends that see high school students graduating and leaving their faith behind could be changed if we, adults, would embrace the majesty of God.

The word Majesty comes from the Latin root that means “greatness.” In his book The Majesty of God in the Old Testament, Walter Kaiser says:

To describe someone as majestic is to speak of that person’s greatness and to offer our respect for who that person is. But the fact is that there is no one like our God; he is incomparably magnificent and awesome in all his person, works, and plans!

But when we elevate ourselves to that level or to rethink who God is based on who we want him to be; it becomes clear, like Martin Luther that our thoughts of God are too human. Maybe as we reflect on scripture seeing what it has to say about the greatness and majesty of God and then allowing that to impact our lives as we strive to live that truth (that God is truly great), then maybe we will be able to sing from our hearts as the psalmist expressed and taught Israel to sing:

I will exalt you, my God the King;

      I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you

      and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

      his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another;

      they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,

      and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

                                                            Psalm 145:1-5

Isn’t technology wonderful?

resonatestudentministries — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:43:44 +0000

I can remember “my” first laptop. My is in quotes, because it really wasn’t mine to begin with. No, I did not steal it. My brother (Danny) and I both worked for the same moving company for several years. One of the best things about the moving company was that once in a while, another person’s junk became your treasure. That was the case here. After Danny was given an extremely old laptop that was about to be thrown away, I was able to convince him that since I was in college I NEEDED that laptop.

Well, it only survived about two months of me being in school. The only function it was good for was using Word to write papers or playing Minesweeper. I was never really any good at minesweeper so I just used it for papers. No matter how bad it was…and trust me, it was bad (it ran Windows 3.0 that came out in 1990 and I was using it in college in 1998). But, it was free, and it sure beat going to the computer lab and waiting for hours until one was free. At least, I never brought it to class…

American Idol Worship

resonatestudentministries — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:06:54 +0000

During our Impact Hour (Sunday School) with the Senior High teens, we have been going through the book of Judges. Now, most students will admit that there are times they will simply skim through a book to prepare a book report. You know what I mean; reading the first, middle, and last chapter. But what many don’t realize is that by doing this, they miss so much of the story line. However, in order to grasp what is taking place in the book of judges, I think it is important to start at the end and always keep that in mind. No one likes a sad ending, but this is how Judges ends:

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. (Judges 21:25 NIV)

That is a pretty sad commentary. One that we hope is not true of us as disciples of Jesus Christ. However, one thing that the Children of Israel had in common, even though it says they did whatever was right in their own eyes, was their idolatry. They start off really well as they serve God, but as soon as they have the opportunity, it says that they did evil in the eyes of God and served the Baals. Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way:

A person will worship something. have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts–but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship. For what we are worshipping we are becoming.

Recently, ABC News did a segment about idols on Nightline as they interview Mark Driscoll, a pastor from Seattle, Washington. They ask him whether or not the second commandment (don’t have any idols) is relevant for today and ask him how he would define the word “idol.” Simply put, he defines an idol as “someone or something that occupies the place of God in your life.

So it begs the question; What (if any) idols have I allowed to take the place of God in my life? I think we really need to think about this question. We look at Israel and at times condemn them for what they have done, but never look at ourselves (oh, and by the way, I AM including myself in this).

Driscoll comments on his blog that hew as able to explain to the Nightline crew that Jesus is the only answer to all of our idolatry. He says,

Idols take…Jesus gives
Idols destroy life…Jesus gives new life
Idols break apart people and relationships…Jesus redeems and heals.

Check out the video of this interview to see some of the idols that people have allowed to take the place of God. But keep in mind, just because he is travelling the streets of Seattle and pointing out cultural idols in his city, it does not mean we do not have similar if not the same idols here in Okemos.

American Idol Worship

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