Resurgence posted some thoughts under the title “Gospel-Centered Discipleship: How It Looks” and I love this statement.

A gospel-centered church does not just preach the gospel. The gospel is not an addition to our ministry or even a beginning point; rather, the gospel must saturate every part of our church’s life.

I understand the value of topic-based discussions, especially in Campaigners.  Kids seem to always want to talk about topics that “apply to their lives”, and it’s a temptation as leaders to give in, plan for, & do an entire discussion on some topic but leave out the gospel, as if the gospel doesn’t “apply to their lives.” The gospel needs to be in and through everything we do.

So, how do we do that?

1. Rely on scripture. The gospel runs through scripture, so if we are using it Jesus will be central.
2. Most “topical” discussions that kids want to talk about are usually about their misguided responses to a longing for deep relationship with God.  Keep that in mind & steer discussions toward Jesus.

I would take the whole Gospel thing one step further & say we should not only apply it to church, but to our own lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ must saturate every part of our lives.

Christian Today launched the new site to equip small-group leaders with thousands of articles, ideas, and icebreakers for their meetings; over 50 downloadable training tools leaders can share and discuss or use for personal development; over 200 customizable and downloadable Bible Studies; and an expert panel of small-group leaders and authors that answer difficult questions pertaining to small-group ministry.

There are prices listed on most of the stuff, but right now that price is $0.00.  Might want to take advantage of this before there is a charge.  I don’t know if that’s in their plans or not.

If you’re looking for something relevant for leadership and/or campaigners, this might do the trick.  It’s a post from Buzzard Blog titled Thinking Biblically About Facebook.  It’s pretty simple stuff, but would probably bring up some great conversation.

Some of the subtopics include…

• We’ve grown up in an age of unprecedented technological development
• We must see our engagement with technology as a discipleship issue
• 9 Potentially Negative Uses/Dangers of Facebook
• 6 Facebook Opportunities: 6 Ways to Love God and Love Others Through Facebook

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdcJSsRfL8s]

What does a Geisha Guy do?

To quote one of my favorite speakers on relationships, Tommy Nelson – they are “pimping tenderness”.

Highly successful women in Japan still seem to find an emptiness inside, something they are willing to pay big bucks to fill.

The woman, a successful executive, has joined a growing number of professional women in Japan in forking out from $1,000 to $50,000 a night for male companionship.

They meet their “hosts” in hundreds of clubs that have sprung up around Tokyo – the industry says only compliments are exchanged. The women pay for a man to lavish them with undivided attention.

This would be an excellent article to use for a need talk or in a campaigner setting.  It might be worth it to use this in a discussion with guys about how to treat girls right.  The article says nothing about intimacy, only attention.

There is so much fodder for conversation in this one, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t have an opinion or thoughts about it.  I want to just focus on the most obvious discussion topic

Gender/Sex Issues – We can talk about how God made us male & female for a reason.  Our gender is not determined by how we feel.  God does not promise us happiness.  I’m so tired of that argument when it comes to these issues, “Wouldn’t God want me to be happy?”  I don’t know how to answer that, because my guess is, yes God wants us to be happy.  But, the idea that changing your sex, or allowing homosexual tendencies to take control of your life is somehow going to make you happy is not right.  Living a life in relationship with Jesus Christ brings peace & joy (not necessarily “happiness”), and that’s where this conversation should go with our teenage friends.

If you’re having topical discussions with your kids, homosexuality is sure to come up.  You’ll want to check out this interview with John Freeman, the executive director of Harvest U.S.A.  John gives a biblical & compassionate perspective on sexual sin.

Turns out, it’s a blogger who’s posting some great ideas for Campaigners & for games.  The blog is actually titled “Young Life Leader HELP!!!“  which I think is appropriate for how I feel a lot of the time.  It’d be worth adding to your favorites and to your RSS feed.  Not sure what that is?  Get with the times!

Shane has quite a bit of credibility since he actually traveled to Iraq and saw the horrors of war first hand (not that that’s necessary to be credible), and I appreciate his consistency and the way he’s dedicated his life to community and being a voice to those who have none.

No doubt the war is one of those issues that bring up some intense debate even among Bible-believing Christians.  I actually stand by the decision to fight in Iraq because I believe there’s something to be said about protecting the innocent, and for nationality security, although I acknowledge the heartfelt arguments against it.

So why am I writing about this?  Other than having shut down my political blog and I just need a release, I just came across a post by one of my favorite preachers Steve Brown.  He makes some great points along the protecting the innocent lines.

However, I do not believe in moral equivalency. For instance, Churchill and Hitler were both sinners, of course, but to be so blind as to miss the difference is shallow. In a dark world there is real evil and real good even if both are tainted with the other. In this kind of world, there is a necessity for hard choices and, therefore, the necessity for police, courts and armies. That is necessary because we don’t live in a perfect world and Christ has not yet established his kingdom.

I have a biblical and moral obligation to protect the innocent, those who can’t protect themselves, and my family, and to do that by whatever means are necessary.

I believe we should be discussing these types of issues in our small groups and campaigners, at least to show our teenage friends that Christians can have different points of view but still love each other.  If you have a chance to read The Irresistible Revolution, it provides some compelling arguments that would lend themselves to discussion.  Just make sure you check out the Bible before starting the discussion.  You can leave Red Letter Christians on the book shelf, because there isn’t very much scripture in it anyway.

More than 100 German housing association tenants are obediently following tough new rules by agreeing not to use all the space in their apartments to avoid being forced to move out.

Because there is a shortage of smaller dwellings, the tenants are being allowed to stay, so long as the space they use does not exceed the new limit.

Something like this goes would go right along with My Heart Christ’s Home.  And, I gotta wonder if they are allowed to even walk through the unused space, or do they have to put caution tape up or something?