NextGenKent

Michael Frost shared in an interview* about his book, Incarnate, discussed what the Church can do to counter the "defleshing" character of today's digitized culture. He speaks about the "excarnation" of our disembodied social networking and how it contributes to such things as violence and porn. "My concern is that many people don't think hard enough about the way technology is shaping interpersonal relationships," Frost states, and believes "we need to live fully embodied existence, in community, and in place."    I totally resonate with what Frost is saying not only by observation in the church I worship in but also in my own home. I personally do not believe the worship service is a place where we allow our children to sit next to playing a game or having earbuds in on a device. You might disagree that this is no different than writing, drawing, coloring, but I see a big difference. You can listen to what is being said while doi...

Ok, so I am a concerned parent. I do my job and at times put in some OT. I'd like to think I am balanced but mostly that is done just a front...but I do love my kids. Every now and then I get some +feedback on them. I'd like to think there is more out there. This time it came during the trip home from football practice (I volunteered to do it this time) and from one of the boys who tagged along. It made me smile. I never met this boy before and only heard bits and pieces about him prior (again, part of my job as a dad I do so well). As the 2 boys were discussing the upcoming season, positions, and one another, our guest starts 'bragging' on Josh. He said things I would probably never say, not because I don't believe them, but because I don't see this side of Josh. Now, I knew Josh came home from practice tired and hungry (two jobs HE does very well at age 15) and was lifting weights and I probably thought in my head, "Yes, what did you expe...

“Faith trajectories are often set in early adolescence.” In their recent book, StickyFaith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids (Zondervan, 2011), Drs. Powell & Clark layout why kids’ faith isn’t sticking. Their research indicates that somewhere between “40 to 50 percent of kids who graduate from a church or youth group will fail to stick with their faith in college.” Even more perplexing is “only 20% of college students who leave the faith planned to do so during high school. The remaining 80% intended to stick with their faith but didn’t.” Powell and Clark ask a very important question: “Why go through any changes in your life--seasonal transitions--with faith in the backseat?” Why indeed. As adults, do we really want to invest our whole lives of faith—at home, in the church and community and the world, in front of our children only to see them squander that investment at such a crucial time in their lives? But what can we do to give kids a suitable, rea...