Church of England synod vote 'paves way' for female bishops
Bible drop: Christian group takes to sky to sneak Gospel into North Korea
Christianity at risk of dying out in a generation, warns Lord Carey
'Convert or die,' Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram tells Christian women
Church of England officials on six-figure salaries
Warsi: Christian minorities 'endangered' in Middle East
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From Rich:
"I think the thing I would love to have known is what is the normal experience for a youth worker - because there have been times when I've been under pressure when I've not known whether I'm doing the right thing, or the wrong thing, from what people have said - and whether that means I should / shouldn't be doing the job."
From Dave:
"I wish someone had told me that I’d get better if I stayed in it! When I started I knew one thing – how to play the chocolate game. I’m still pretty awful at thinking of games, but I did spend my first couple of years at youth leaders training weekends with a notebook asking for new games from longer established youth workers!! And I do know where to look on the internet now for games!"... continue reading
Can you fix your own heart?
Yes, you can…
Engineer Tal Golesworthy has managed complex projects all his life and is used to solving problems. And he has lived with a rare life-threatening heart condition - Marfan syndrome - for the last 30 years.
A keen skier, the 57-year old from Gloucester, UK, was not impressed with the various options on offer from doctors. They would have left him unable to enjoy the life he wanted to the full.
So he started work to devise a solution to fix his own heart.... continue reading
What is youth and children’s work like? A painful privilege…
From Andy:
"I think one thing (maybe not the top thing) I wish someone had made clear to me when I started youthwork was that you will experience pain as the young people that I had invested time/love/energy in choose not to come to youth group/church."
Andy’s comment made me stop and think. You often come across parents who complain about the group because their son/daughter doesn’t want to come any more. Or church leadership who express concern about dwindling numbers. But it’s easy to forget that, when a young person drifts away, it hurts the leader too.... continue reading
1. Delighting in the Trinity E-Book Deal
Until midday on Thursday, the e-book version of Delighting in the Trinity by Tim Chester is available for just £1!
2. Free Bible images
A website full of free sets of Bible story images..
3. St Helen's Training: Bible Overview. Part 5 and 6
Parts 5 and 6 of St. Helen's video Bible overview with Roger Day.
4. What Is the Message of Each Book of the Bible?
One sentence summaries of each book of the Bible. How would you summarise each book?
5. Did the Devil Make Me Do It?
A free excerpt from Did the devil make me do it? by Mike McKinley.
6. And finally…
In case you missed it, our video of the week, a new trailer from Timothy Keller, 'Judges for You Trailer':
Found something that you think should make it on to the On to a Good Thing round-up? Send it to: ontoagoodthing@thegoodbook.co.uk
From Heather:
As a fairly new Christian, when I started doing Children’s work, I didn’t have a clear picture of the whole Bible story – I gained it quite quickly, but it would have been good to have a clear overall Bible story picture!
From Andrew:
I know it was a long time ago when I started Youth Work but without a doubt the thing I most wish I had experienced/known is a Bible Overview. Such a thing was rare or even unknown in the 1960s. Now they are freely available but I do wonder how many of our Youth and Children's workers have had the opportunity to hear one taught or have studied one. I believe my Crusader and Covenanter work would have been so much more effective had I had that input, and the lads I taught would have had a better grasp of the gospel.
Again, I can echo what Heather and Andrew are saying. I had been a children’s worker for 15 years before being introduced to a simple Bible overview. It made a huge difference to my own understanding, and informed every part of my teaching too. And now, when I teach, I make sure there’s a Bible timeline around so that the group can see where a particular event or character fits in Bible history.
There are various tools around to help us grasp the big picture of the Bible. Here are a few to try:
I asked a bunch of childrenâs and youth workers to think back to when they first began. For some that was last year; for others itâs 20, 30, even 40 or more years ago. You may think that youthwork has changed a lot in that time but, interestingly, the issues raised were mostly the same.
So this blog series - which will be running this week and next - is taking their answers and using them to help us think through some of the joys and difficulties of childrenâs and youth ministry, whether youâre just starting out or have been around a while. And if some of these seem obvious to you, maybe you could forward this blog to someone you know who is just starting out.
From Matt:
âI think one thing would be to not expect instant results from the youth and children's work.â
I echo this strongly. We care hugely about the children and young people in our care, so we long to see them respond to the gospel message and grow in their own relationship with God. But we need to remember that they are in Godâs hands, and that He loves them far more than we ever will. So we can trust Him to be at work through His word, at the time and in the way He knows is best.
If we look for instant results from âour workâ we put needless pressure on ourselves, and forget that the Lord is sovereign. We have a responsibility to teach the Bible as well and faithfully as we can, and to model what it means to know God as our heavenly Father. But changing a childâs heart is His work, not ours - 2 Corinthians 4 v 4-6; Acts 16 v 14.
Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
âMy way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my Godâ?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:27-31
US Christian Groups Respond to Super Typhoon Haiyan; Over 10,000 Feared Killed, Millions Affected
Chris Juby shares every Bible chapter on Twitter over 1,189 days
Remembrance Sunday: call for Church of England to ditch Cenotaph role
New Asbo plans are assault on basic freedom, says former DPP Lord Macdonald
Billy Graham turns 95 at star-studded birthday
Christian coronations of future monarchs face legal challenge
Disclaimer: The Good Book Company is not responsible for the content of external sites and does not necessarily agree with the content of articles listed.
A major topic of conversation in our office this week, like in most offices up and down the country and round the world, has been what’s happened in the Philippines.
How do we respond to such horrendous suffering? How do Christians begin to trust a good God in the face of such facts?
In some ways, now is not the time for anything other than sorrow, giving what we can, and, in a Christian’s case, prayer. But still, some people demand answers from us: here, for what it’s worth, is what we think we might try to say.... continue reading
