Christian Living, Culture, Death, Fear
John Beeson
What Spooks You?

Across the street from our home is the holiday house. You probably have one in your neighborhood. They go all out for every holiday. On Saturday, cars stacked up on the main road leading into the neighborhood as families drove by slowly, taking in the massive display that must have cost the owners thousands of dollars.

 

Last week I drove by a home whose Halloween decorations weren’t as massive or ostentatious, but the lawn display was undoubtedly the eeriest I’ve ever seen. A life-like severed head hung from a tree limb. A decapitated corpse with a visible spinal cord jutting out between slumped shoulders sat underneath.

What Spooks You?
Christian Living, Culture, Fear, Wisdom
John Beeson
The Temptation of Temptation

In 2023, 46 horror movies were released. 75 million tickets were sold, and the industry made $798 million in domestic revenue alone. It’s been argued that horror movies remain a draw for many in the contemporary West because there is so little actual danger in most of our lives.

 

Atheist Steven Pinker in The Better Angels of Our Nature argues that we live in the most peaceful era of human existence: wars have decreased, human rights have expanded, and rates of starvation and lifespans have improved. Drawn to conflict, we now have access to global news coverage, which gives us the dopamine hit of feeling like we are in conflict.

The Temptation of Temptation
Christian Living, Fear, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom
John Beeson
Night

What attracts us so much to the dark?

In the story of Swan Lake, a ballet by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Prince Siegfried falls in love with Odette (who has been cursed by the evil magician, Von Rothbart), after happening upon her at the lake one night during a hunting trip.  As a result of Von Rothbart's curse, Odette is human only at nightfall, for at daybreak she transforms into a swan.  True and faithful love is the only thing that can break the curse, and Siegfried aims to marry Odette, proclaiming such love, at a ball his mother is throwing for his birthday. 

Night
Christian Living, Death, Heaven, Religion, Spiritual Growth, Worship
John Beeson
How Changing Your View of Heaven Transforms the ...

In 2003, Bart Millard still mourning his father’s recent death, penned the lyrics for “I Can Only Imagine,” a song that would go on to be the most-played song in the history of Christian radio.

Can you imagine what heaven is going to be like?

There are lots of different views of heaven out there. A couple of decades ago a cottage industry developed, selling stories of those who said they had been to heaven while on death’s doorstep. We’re told of bright lights, lives re-played, and a warm glow. Others might daydream of harps and clouds, when asked to imagine heaven.

How Changing Your View of Heaven Transforms the Way You Live Today
Identity, Counseling, Culture, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
One Year Old!

On October 17, 2023, we (my wife Angel and I) released our first book, Trading Faces. With around four million books published annually (one for every resident of Oklahoma!), an author can feel as though they’re contributing a grain of sand to a beach. And there is truth to that! As the Preacher wisely reminds us in Ecclesiastes,

Is there a thing of which it is said,
    “See, this is new”?
It has been already
    in the ages before us. (Eccl. 1:10)

One Year Old!

teenagers

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Are Teens Influencing or Being Influenced by the World?

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Are Teens Influencing or Being Influenced by the World?

Are you encouraged or discouraged about teens? If you’re a teen, what is your perception of your peers? Are you hopeful? Or pessimistic? A massive global study on the state of teens worldwide was just released from One Hope.[i] In the report, we find reasons to be encouraged and causes for concern.

Spending time reflecting on what teens believe and do ought to help shape the way we pray for them and relate to them. I’ll process five sections of the report: Christian practice, struggles, social media, sexuality, and the meaning of life in teens’ lives and then draw some conclusions.

On Christian Practice:

  • 51% of US teens claimed to be Christian, yet only 8% display the beliefs and habits of a committed Christian.

  • 46% of Christian teens never read the Bible.

  • 58% of Christian teens believe they don’t have a responsibility to share their faith.

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The Secret Ingredients to Helping Your Teens Thrive in Their Faith

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The Secret Ingredients to Helping Your Teens Thrive in Their Faith

Last week, we considered the challenge of helping teenagers make the transition from going to church to being engaged in church in such a way that ultimately helps them choose to stay engaged in the church as adults.

Last week we considered the power of ownership: inviting students to use their gifts and have ownership in the ministry of the church. This week we flip the coin to a second powerful ingredient in helping your teenager want to go to church.

That ingredient is your engagement in the faith and the church.

A recent poll by Lifeway Research[i] reported that teenagers who dropped out of church are less likely to say their parents:

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How to Get Your Teenager to Want to Go to Church

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How to Get Your Teenager to Want to Go to Church

Every other Sunday I pick up my twelve-year-old nephew at 6:30am. He piles into the car alongside my fifteen-year-old son and seventeen-year-old daughter. What could possibly drag these three students out of bed at such an hour? They serve on the tech team at New Life.

Do I have to cajole them? Beg them? Bribe them? Nope.

After we get back from a long Sunday morning, we’ll enjoy a late lunch, some time of recuperation, and then they’ll be headed back out of the house at 4:30 pm for our Student Ministry, where they will play on the worship team. They’ll also insist on going to the tech team hangout Monday night and they will be at church Thursday night for worship and tech team practice. They’ll do it all with joy.

Studies show us the challenge it is to keep young adults engaged in church following their high school graduation.[i] 66% of 18-22 year-olds who regularly attended church during high school dropped out for at least a year during those transitional years. How can we do a better job of launching teens into a commitment to Christ and his church following high school?

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. Why Social Media is Not Wise for Middle School Kids: Psychologist Victoria Dunckley begins, "Social media was not designed for them. A tween's underdeveloped frontal cortex can’t manage the distraction nor the temptations that come with social media use. While you start teaching responsible use of tech now, know that you will not be able to teach the maturity that social media requires."

2. Losing Freedoms and Finding Renewal: My friend John Starke with an important question in light of our restrained freedoms with COVID-19, “But if we cannot follow our desires, what will lead us? There will be lots of competing voices directing us and telling us how to live, for sure. For Christians, it’s an opportunity instead to follow the more subtle callings of Christ.”

3. Church Hopping and Shopping: Paul Tripp with a familiar story of our American church experience… and what is concerning about that. He closes with three areas of spiritual weakness that lead to this.

4. George Floyd and Me: Christian hip-hop artist Shai Linne reflects on George Floyd, “For me, “life as usual” means recognizing some people perceive me as a threat based solely on the color of my skin. For me, “life as usual” means preparing my sons for the coming time when they’re no longer perceived as cute little boys, but teenage “thugs.” Long after George Floyd disappears from the headlines, I will still be a black man in America.”

5. Why I’m Religious, Not Just Spiritual: Jim Witteveen explains why the common trope, “I’m spiritual, not religious,” ought to be flipped. He explains, “When it comes right down to it, he believes that he’ll be okay with God because he has, in his mind, created a god that he can feel comfortable with – a god that doesn’t demand too much, a god that doesn’t ask for things that will take him out of his comfort zone, a god who won’t judge him.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. 1 in 3 Teens Say They're Religiously Unaffiliated: Aaron Earls reports on findings about teens and religion. One of the interesting notes is that, "Among those who dropped out between the ages of 18 and 22, only 31% say they now attend church regularly."

2. A Tale of Two Failures: My friend Jeff Johnson with a reflection on true engineering failures and why they ought to make us rethink the "fail fast" motto adopted by many in the business world.

3. 12 Things I'd Tell My 25 Year-Old Self About Life and Leadership: Such a great list by Carey Niewhof. He begins with an invitation to trust and submit to the Bible: "For almost my entire life, I have believed that the Word of God is just that – the Word of God. I always landed on the side that trusts the authority of scripture. But I would read certain passages and say to myself “Come on….really?” I thought I knew better."

4. How is Your Prayer Life? Crossway asked that question to Americans and got a helpful glimpse into the average American's prayer life.

5. Interactive Fireflies: This is a fun and interactive explanation of how fireflies can synchronize.

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