Blogs

Twelve Tips for Parenting in the Digital Age
“The greatest need of our teens today is not new restrictions and new dumb phones and contracts and limits. Their greatest need is a community of faith where they can thrive in Christ, serve, and be served. They need to find a necessary place as a legitimate part of a healthy church. Keep building faithful families and churches. Listen to teens. Don’t mock them. Don’t laugh at them. Envision them for risk-taking mission — online and offline.”

Smartphones and Distraction: Sheathing the Double-Edged Sword
“If you struggle with the double-edged sword of your smartphone, I hope these rules sparked some ideas about how you can sheathe the weapon when it has the most potential to be harmful so that you can keep it at the ready for those situations which make phones so beneficial.”

How Do I Know If a Sermon Is Too Long or Too Short?
“Know yourself. Know your people. Know your text. Know the situation. Pack as much as you can into the time you have for the glory of God and the good of your people.”

Major Depression Diagnoses Up 33 Percent Since 2013

11 ways we can all nurture our mental health
“Making choices like these won’t guarantee you never experience a mental disorder or emotional struggle. And they probably won’t be enough to “cure” a challenge you’re already living with. But in either case, they will help. So as you’re thinking about your health, give some thought to that powerful organ that sits above your shoulders. Consider the all-important function of your mind. And do something good for yourself. ”

Do You Fear a Day of Rest?
“The busy trap is the self-defeating spiral of nonstop action that feeds on the belief that restfulness is weakness. But rest is not weakness. Rest is an irreducible ingredient for the life that enjoys God.”

The Cult of Overwork
“Last October, Goldman Sachs told its junior investment-banking analysts not to work on Saturdays, and it has said that all analysts, on average, should be working no more than seventy to seventy-five hours a week. A couple of weeks ago, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that analysts are expected to have four weekend days off a month. And, last week, Credit Suisse told its analysts that they should not be in the office on Saturdays.”

Body clock linked to mood disorders
“Disruption to the body’s internal clock may put people at increased risk of mood disorders, scientists say.”