NextGenKent

  Perhaps you have heard the group DC Talk sing the remake of Larry Norman’s’ song, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready”? There is something tragically deceptive about the lyrics though. As we sing along, we find ourselves participating in a couple instances where we wish we had been ready to be taken instead of left behind. But that is not how Jesus tells his side of the story. The words are inspired by Matthew 24:40-41. But let’s look more closely, shall we? MATTHEW 24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away . That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. ...

I just had a board meeting where I went over a study on the word "unity" and "divisions." The question that immediately came up was, "Well, Christians don't have to agree on everything...right?" My response went something like this, "Well, wouldn't we want to?" It hit the fan like a lead balloon, which is not at all what I had expected. I thought all of the other board members would be shouting, "Yes!" and giving me high-fives and chest bumps. Well, maybe not chest bumps at this age.  There were some other ideas, thoughts and opinions expressed, and I was like, "We just went over this study of like 25 verses that state we are to be unified and have no divisions among us. Why don't you get it?" Seems like I was the one who actually didn't get it. It wasn't that I thought my interpretations were wrong, the weren't. The question centered around their application. "How in the world are we to agree on e...

  https://thehustle.co/originals/why-you-almost-never-see-a-clock-at-the-mall The word “whore” may have different definitions to some, but I want to use it as a woman who markets herself for the sole purpose of robbing men of their life for her own gain--whatever her “gain” is: monetary, lust, or otherwise. She is the reverse-consumer and profiteer at the same time, a vampiress, a luxurious drunk, functioning alcoholic. Her appeal is a marketing scheme based on not just years of study, but an exquisite composition of research and development where she is both scientist and evidence, psychologist and client--in an endless cycle and sinister feedback loop of trial and error, hypothesis and investigation, feeding and consuming. All the while tricking you into believing you are the main character. But it isn’t about you. You have entered her Nirvana constructed for you to “remain inside” her. Once her legs are wrapped around you, she is sure to suck your life away. And as titillati...

 You might be getting The Pour Over into your inbox each day as I do. As I read one of the highlighted articles, Why are cafes, restaurants, and even towns banning influences ?  I thought of two things: A popular video game and the Church. The [Galactic Civ] video game action arena is space and utilizes exploring with several different tactics. One is cultural expansion deploying techniques for taking over the galaxy using mods to influence other traveling species with your culture and therefore "quietly" take over the galaxy and win the game. You could also win by buying up all of the other planets (economic takeover--think China?), or by hostile takeovers and warfare (think Russia?).  I like to use the cultural takeover mostly these days. The article lists the reasons for the ban, one is logistical (small-town shops cannot handle triple+ visitors due to a rise in popularity resulting in more harm than good). I imagined a small church of older people spiking due to a pop...

I recently read an article's title that caused me to think, "What could that mean for leadership in realtime?" I was not disappointed as I took some moments to reflect on wolves, packs, what has been shown in cartoons about them, and on the 'what ifs' of all I know about wolves not being true. Can you say, "epiphany?" The subheading summed up the article quite well,  " The idea that wolf packs are led by a merciless dictator, or alpha wolf, comes from old studies of captive wolves. In the wild, wolf packs are simply families." [ Scientific America - Feb 2023] Wait. Wolves in captivity or in a setup environment are different than those in nature? Hierarchy emerges when the same old members are the same old members in a closed community. Not unheard of as this is how cults make things work--authority is ... well now I have an open-ended question: is it needed or is it a false natural? A false natural in that if the group had a choice hierarchy ma...

I asked my thirteen year old son if he had any stories of a time when he wished some other kids would have shared what they had with him. He said, "Tons of them." What kid wouldn't. I was reading in Leviticus today about God's instructions to how offerings should be made, how the priests were to give special attention to what was being offered, and how to present it. Then I read something that literally made me cry.  God is telling about how the grain offering is to be given and eaten by the priests. Half of this grain offering is to be mixed with oil and frankenscence and burned as it belongs to God as "a thing most holy." But the other half, God says that Aaron, the high priest, and all 18 year old male priests can eat it saying, "I have given it as their portion of MY food offerings." Wow. God shared. Think of it. Our GOD shares ... HIS stuff ... with us ... with me.  So I wondered that since our God is a sharing God, what else does the Word say...