Community (Page 2)
The Beauty of Diversity
Where I grew up (the northeast Georgia mountains), there was not very much diversity, however you would like to define it. The county was pretty close to 100% Caucasian, and at the time, there were not all that many residents who could not trace their roots back to some of the earliest settlers of the area. This lack of diversity, sadly, often led to ideas and…
Doors
Giving
This past week I ran across some research findings that can be put in the “I Could Have Told You That” file. Researchers at both the University of Chicago and Northwestern University (both prestigious research institutions) released their studies that showed that people are happier when they give than when they receive. The researchers conducted two different…
The Root of Emptiness
Reputations
The Believer’s Relationship with Politics
On a regular basis, we will have posts here from one of our Elders. This week’s post is from Jason Woodard. With mid-term elections nearing and amidst an ever-increasing divisive dialogue in US politics, it is important that as followers of Christ we remind ourselves where we stand in…
The Mission Field at Home
Last week, we hosted a missions team from Parkland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, who came to our area to engage in Kingdom work throughout our association. Around 70 people made the trip, most of whom were middle school and high school youth. They began working almost immediately: after unloading the truck that contained all of their luggage, supplies, and…
Suicide and Hope
A sad aspect of our culture today is its incredibly short attention span. Matters of great importance often remain in the national conversation only long enough for the current news cycle, to be replaced by the next crisis du jour. We see and hear expressions of lament concerning the situation, but then we move on and allow the issue to fade away from the collective…
The Art of the Non-Apology Apology
Cynicism
We live in an age of cynicism. Perhaps you’ve noticed this yourself. No matter how good, nice, or well-intentioned the action, statement, or event, the default position of many today is skepticism, sarcasm, and slams. Having such an attitude is seen as being astute and intelligent. The critic who is harshly critical of everything is elevated to a position of…