In our digital and computer world we have increasingly become accustomed to 'copy and paste'. Pictures, texts, podcasts, videos, and just about everything else. On social media, for school assignments, at the workplace, and just about everywhere else. Just 'copy and paste'! Copy what you see and then paste it. But this...
One of the questions I often ask children and young people has to do with one's vocation in life. I would frame the question this way, "What do feel God is calling to do when you finish high school?" Perhaps this kind of question might seem a bit odd or misplaced. What has our work to do with one's calling in life? Is ...
It takes a whole village to raise a child! This African saying is believed to originate from the Igbo and Yoruba people of Nigeria. My son-in-law grew up in the heartland of Africa, and I soon appreciated that this idea that ‘it takes a whole village to raise a child’ is fundamental to many African cultures. The main i...
Do you understand the culture in which we live? The Australian culture? The western culture of our day? The culture of the current decade in which we live? In the Bible we read about "the men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their comma...
Will our children have faith? This is a question I have been asking ever since I read John H. Westerhoff III's classic book with that same title: Will Our Children Have Faith? This question is even more weighty than when Westerhoff first penned it in 1976. According to today's statistics, if you had 100 youth in ...
Every October I am reminded of this one word: witness! It is not the only time I think of this word, but 'witness' has an extra punch this time of the year. And I would like to explain why. Why this reminder each October, and why this one word ought to be etched strongly in our minds and impact how we live?  ...
Silence. This is how I as a child remember Sunday worship services beginning. In silence. Gathered worshippers were asked to begin with silent prayer. I never really knew what to do during those times of silence. I always thought that prayer had to do with words, with audible voices, not silence. Over the y...