I must be getting old because I often reflect on the way things were, the golden years of my youth during the 1940s and ’50s. The stress of surviving the Depression influenced the way we were raised. We carefully used adhesive tape, made our own glue out of flour & water, were thrilled with the one-party telephone, and marveled at the neighbor’s 8-inch black/white television. It is interesting that this generation of parents still adheres to many of these ideals even though there are adequate financial resources for less restrictive living. Today we don’t think this way—we have credit cards. Most of the children of the past 30 years have not known the disciplined living of the 1930s. The line between ‘”appetite” and ‘”need” is a bit fuzzy for many of us that have not faced hard times. But we should remember we are made in God’s image… Read the rest of this story.

One of the benefits of Celtic Christianity is that it calls us to remember the sacredness of the Earth. The Celts originally worshiped nature beings, but when Christianity came to them, this was exchanged for a love of nature as the creation of God. They believed that God has a hand in creating each flower, each animal, and each human being that comes into our world. Read the rest of this story.

Can you recall a time in your life when someone older than you joined you in your journey, sought to learn more about you, and helped you experience the work of Christ in your life more clearly? As I reflect on my life, I realize that I often chronologically organize my life according to those people who mentored me. What a blessing to reflect on how I was shaped by people who cared enough about me to join their life to mine! We have embarked on a mentoring journey as part of the Friends Leadership Program (FLP). Read more about this program.

The students struggled to do their best to answer the tough questions in the oral exams that covered the two years of classes they had attended. When the questions seemed to be a little too easy, the exam panel asked follow-up questions to further assess their grasp of the content—Bible, theology, ministry methods, church administration, conflict resolution, and other topics. Those who didn’t do so well, were given another chance to show their strengths the next day. When they heard they had all passed, there was much rejoicing. These exams were at the end of one of three training programs for pastors and other church leaders in the “Great Lakes” region of Central Africa. Read more about this training school.