Do you understand the power of culture? Culture is more than a grocery list of distinctives or a demographic study. We must recognize the sheer force a people group can have on a society, and ultimately history, by virtue of their choices or preferences. We must be careful not to fall into the trap of assuming students’ cultural influence is…
Culture can possess a dominating, mesmerizing force over a person or generation without absolutes. I am not talking about youth culture nuances such as clothing or music preferences. This is beyond global demographic distinctions. One of the cultural traits manifested by two recent generations but mastered by the Millennials is performance. Unfortunately, this cultural trait seems to have “found religion”…
My life has been deeply marked by godly men and women serving God globally. One of those couples is Carlos and Zeza Nogueira who serve with Word of Life in Mozambique. Carlos was a Pastor in Brazil for many years before becoming a missionary. One night while we were enjoying some exceptional Brazilian coffee, he shared with me his thoughts…
Arriving at the Orlando Airport for my 7 pm speaking engagement, I checked my phone for a reply to my request for details. Neither of my emails to the 20-something coordinator had resulted in a reply. On the tram from the satellite terminal to baggage claim I tried the cell number again, but there was no answer. In my frustration…
Columbus may have proven that the world is geographically round but the internet has flattened it again as it relates to culture and trends. When students look at the world they see no barriers, only the horizon. Globalization plays a major role in the molding of student culture thus effecting student leaders. The fact that trends can be global rather…
My wife kept referring to it as the “wrong side of the road,” to which I would quickly counter “it is the correct side of the road in this country.” Just one of the many indicators that we were tourists in a strange country – aliens if you please. We tried to adapt to local custom. I even ate food…
It’s that time of the year again when students head to warmer climates for Spring Break. We hear headlines like Students Gone Wild or read reports of arrests, sex and alcohol abuse and wonder what can be done to stop the madness of shattered lives. There are a handful of ministries and churches who are deliberately reaching out to these…
I love my granddaughter; my wife says I lose all sense of reality when I am with her. When she looks at me and sweetly says my name, Dida (her name for me), I am convinced that giving her what she wants is logically reasonable. That’s how we landed at the beach on a less than perfect day. We had…