NextGenKent

The knowledge of God is a vital part of the well-being of your life--spiritually and otherwise God desires for you to know Him, but even more, God desires to reveal Himself to you. The knowledge of God is hidden--you cannot just expect to gain it. You need to especially understand that many will say they have it when in fact they do not. However, those who truly know God have very specific things in common. The Word of God reveals to us the knowledge of God , but it isn’t the only place our knowledge of Him comes from. However, every other place we obtain our knowledge of God will never contradict the knowledge available to us in the written Word of God. When I speak of the knowledge of God, I attach the knowledge of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the knowledge of the Spirit of God--the holy Trinity, three in One, King of the Universe, and of my heart. Proverbs 2:5 tells us that your deepest respect for God , or the fear of the Lord, will accompany the knowledge o...

15 Invaluable Laws of Growth I am committed to life-long learning and I hope you are too. Learning and growth does not end when you receive your university degree or obtain a particular position. Learning is crucial and critical to realize our leadership potential. You need to be intentionally engaged to grow in your leadership through continued learning.   Potential is a powerful word; it looks forward with optimism and is filled with hope. Potential has its promises and hints at greatness. To reach your potential you must grow. This book seeks to help you along that path--the pathway towards understanding how personal growth works and towards helping you become a more effective individual, parent, leader, and child of God! Which of these 'Laws that Govern Your Growth' fit you right now? Growth Doesn’t Just Happen You Must Know Yourself To Grow Yourself You Must See Value In Yourself To Add Value To Yourself Learning To Pause Allows Growth To Catch Up With You...

We Need More Christian Sparring. Does that sound a bit odd? Let me explain. There are two things in my son's two years of Tae Kwon Do I have continued to reflect upon: training by the level and sparring. My son has been in Tae Kwon Do for the past two years and has really enjoyed it and our Christian instructors. He has come up to his fifth gup and is now a green belt. As a youth pastor and educator, one of the things that made me smile was how the higher level kids were being asked to train the lower ones--and it's not so much an age thing. A girl my daughter's age (then 11) was asked to train my son (then, 7) and she did a fantastic job. I have always heard the adage: "The best way for you to know something is to teach it" (for me, it was Greek) and she really knew her stuff! The second thing that has continued to impress me just as much has been the sparring. It is absolutely necessary. It isn't enough to have kids stand in to throw a slow motion punch...

          If we are going to have a better picture of what conversion is, then we need to have a clearer picture of what the end, the telos , is. Gordon Smith gives the following qualifiers for whatever the end is as: both for individuals and corporate, Scripture based and historically approved, distinctly theological, integrates with the whole of life, reflecting God’s intention for creation, trans-cultural, incarnated, and ecumenical. I believe these are good touchstones in providing a biblically centered approach to true conversion to Jesus Christ.           “…preaching is not about urging hearers to work harder, try harder, and do more so they are more faithful… Preaching is about drawing the people of God into the grand accomplishment of Christ in the cross and the resurrection so that they can participation [sic] in this life, rest in the wonder of the gospel, and know the transformation that comes through the ministry of th...

The article of opinion I am referring to is found here : Ms. Stepp states that youth are doing better on every line but one. Less teenage pregnancy, less drinking and driving, less smoking, less firearm related deaths, less suicides, but today's kids are fatter. "A lot fatter" states Stepp. But ask anyone over 40, she says, and they will by majority state that today's youth are NOT doing better. Stepp states kids wonder why parents don't pay any attention to them unless they get in trouble. I can surely attest to that. One of the older youth stopped by for a visit one night and i asked him if he'd like to stay for supper. He said sure. I told him he better call his parents first. He said, "They don't care...as long as I stay out of trouble they really don't care what I do." Sad. Stepp says it is about time we start catching kids doing right! How many of us would say "AMEN!" to that? Stepp barks, "Isn't it time we sh...

I told Melissa, "I need some time to go online today and check my email. I have a feeling I have an email about Gordon's decision about me." Sometimes I get "feelings" about things, do you? Below is the email I received from GCTS that I was awaiting: ============ Hello Kent, I know that you have been awaiting this news...we are delighted to offer you acceptance into our program! A copy of the acceptance letter is attached, and the original will go out in the mail quite soon. Please note that the Doctor of Ministry Office will close for the holiday next week. If you are planning to enroll in the program, you will need to matriculate by December 22, 2010 in order for our office to have the time to reserve your spot, register you, and release to you log in information for the student portal where important information like the syllabus is housed. Please keep this in mind! Grace and Peace, Sara ==================== "Feelings...nothing more than...