rebelling against low expectations

How can my church reach out to the community?

By Discussion Questions
September 5, 2015
445 comments
H

MADISON WRITES: My church reaches out to the community by doing bible studies and evangelism series, but we don’t really get involved out there. After reading Do Hard Things, I want to help my church get out into the community, but I don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?

Do you think the church should be doing more than bible studies and evangelism series? Or should we just individually reach out to the community by trying to get involved out there?

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Discussion Questions

are submitted by real rebelutionaries who are looking for godly answers to tough questions and lively conversation with other young adults. You can join the conversation by commenting below. If you'd like to submit your own discussion question, email us at [email protected].

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445 comments

  • I think you might want to talk with your church about getting out there. But by all means, go do it yourself! If thats something you are interested in- go for it! 🙂

    Whoop! First to comment!! XD

  • My church is less than a hundred people lol, so we’re a little small to do stuff like this. But I’ll look forward to reading the answers!

  • I’m with @GuitarwithArms:disqus in that our church is pretty small. Generally our church out-reaches include VBS and passing out New Testaments with invitations to come to church in nearby neighborhoods. The best thing we ever did was hold a VBS in a different city that was just really struggling. That was a blessing in so many ways. 🙂

  • Well, almost lol. I was looking at it, then I scrolled up, and when I scrolled back down there was one new comment! Close enough for me XD

  • I’m in the “small church” band wagon over here, (less than 100 people) so, we never do anything super large scale. What we do is read our community, and our congregation. What i mean by that is, we use the people we have to do as much as we can in an efficient way. Tough? yes, sometimes. Worth it? For sure. Like, when our church wasn’t bringing in enough kids to do VBS, we took our whole operation of Jesus loving folks to a nearby apartment complex. God gave us the maximum amount of kids we could handle with our volunteers. It was really cool to see God work that week! As a member of a small church, God has been helping me learn to be flexible as my church reaches out to our community as the hands and feet of Christ.
    *end rambling*

  • *Haven’t read all the comments* My Church is a medium sized – big Church (400-500 people on any given Sunday morning). We have several outreach programs to get involved, but I honestly believe the most effective way to reach the community is “door knocking” or (for big events) “tracking” (also called “blitzing”)…
    Every Saturday, our Youth Group goes out to a neighbourhood, knock on doors and invites people to Church… Also sometimes we have a big event at Church, so we’ll have “Tract Team” where most of the members go out and just leave flyers on as many doors as we can, when we leave a flyer for an event at our Church, it has the basic information about our Church and the event. All of our community focused events are free.

  • Great question. The responsibility of the church is to equip believers to live out their faith amongst their friends, family and community. Every individual is charged to use where they are at and the environment that they are in to share Christ. The church has lost its footing when they think that there are going to be big sweeps of conversions if they go enmasse. It should be stressed by pastors to teach the Word of God, and most importantly, live it. I am a big believer that we should let our words be few. Our mission is to submit ourselves to Christ with all that we have and trust that He will direct our paths. I wouldn’t ever wait on a pastor or church to begin that if it isn’t already in their hearts. Use your life to share Christ with those you touch everyday. Just your witness to them should be a real accountability factor for you to live what you preach. Step out on your own and God will honor your attempt to bring Him to others.

    Blessings,
    Jean

  • Hold a block party, movie night, wine tasting , beer tour, start a community garden, book club, etc. Invite the community

  • Absolutely I believe the church should be involved in the community. How is it supposed to be a light if it’s hidden under a bushel? It should be a light on a hill, with light spread into all the areas around it. So part of the purpose of the church is to impact the world (which includes its direct area) for Jesus Christ.

    Let’s see… invite a special speaker to come to your church, then mobilize the youth in your church to spread invitations to the neighborhoods in the area. Organize a VBS. Pass out gospel tracts in the area around your building. Those are just some ideas. Some churches are better suited for one area of ministry (for example, a lot of adults can start a bus ministry whereas a church with a huge group of teens and fewer adults couldn’t do that. However, teens can run a very effective VBS that parents and adults couldn’t because of work schedules.). So build your services and other ideas around the capabilities and particular gifts of your specific body of believers.

    Lastly, keep it gospel centered. You can have all the awesome programs and get togethers in the world, but if the gospel is not taught in love, it is nothing. Hope this helped!

  • My church is pretty small so we try to be involved with ministries that are already working in our city. I think that includes a ministry that helps unmarried mom’s to raise their kids well, one that serves homeless and poor people, and few literacy programs. Volunteer so you can build relationships with the workers and thier clients. And talk to the elders so you can get the church in on it. Hope this helps!

  • I don’t know if this would exactly be considered “getting out into the community” but what my parish does is they go and pray in front of an abortion clinic for a few hours. They pray that it will shut down and they also pray for the women who choose to have an abortion. Sometimes the women pull up in their cars and talk with the people who pray. Our parish really tries to give them resources, support, and prayer when they choose not to go through with their abortions.

    Just an idea. Hope it helps you!

    -Clare

  • Might I suggest the use of Gospel tracts? (Perhaps such as those available from Ray Comfort’s Living Waters or Chick Publications, etc.) Street evangelism can also be done as a group.

  • Hi Okie Gal,

    I have listed a couple of scriptures for a better explanation.

    I am an older woman who has done every kind of witnessing in my life. I have found that way too often we think it is our words that changes people but it is our life’s character that holds the power. As I look back at everyone that tried to share with me, their loudest words was their lives. I don’t remember much of anything that they said, but I always will remember how the lived.

    Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

    1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

    In Him Always,
    Jean

  • It stands for “Vacation Bible School”. It’s just like a half-day thing for kids that’s supposed to present the Gospel to them, with fun games and activities. It’s not a silly question! I’ve actually heard that one before.

  • Lauren answered it very well. It stands for Vacation Bible School, and it’s basically having a half-day arrangement of activities that includes a gospel presentation and Bible discussion for kids on their summer break from school. It’s one of the best ways to get kids from the neighborhood into the church. Parents oftentimes are just happy to hand their kids over to someone else to watch for a morning, and we’re more than happy to take them and share the gospel with them!

  • Oh, fun! I was impressed when I saw it. I haven’t been terribly impressed by the Christian movies recently (Facing the Giants being the exception), but this one was definitely good! Enjoy!

  • Your grammar be excellent. 😉
    I’m not doing too great, but thanks so much for your prayers! It cheers me up to talk to you guys. 🙂

  • Aww, I’m sorry. 🙁 I will continue to pray. But I’m glad that we can cheer you up! Then we’ll talk away! (Correction: I can’t control what that nutcase over there does, but I’ll keep talking. 🙂

  • Mehehe. I’m pretty sure we’ve all had weird dreams. And scary dreams. I mean once, there was a guy with *egg bombs* (don’t ask what those are, I dunno) chasing me down a highway!! And when I told my brother, he thought I was crazy. He obviously has never had a dream about being chased by a guy with bombs… There’s one random thing you never wanted to know about me. 😛

  • Haha! I don’t think I have any weird dreams that could be explained in a sentence or two. Wait! There was that one where I was trapped in a mall and the doors were trying to eat me… XD

  • Oh! Oh! If I may jump in here, would you (or anybody who sees this) recommend that I see War Room? I haven’t really liked Christian movies in the past just because they weren’t done well (especially Flywheel…. SO cheesy), but everyone’s saying this one is better.

  • Hi! Sorry, I’d really love to talk but my dad just informed me that we have to leave right now. Hopefully I’ll catch ya soon!

  • Breaking news, ladies and gentlemen! Christy is, in fact, still alive. She managed to free herself from the man-eating mall doors just in the nick of time. Though she didn’t escape unscathed, she will live to see another day!

  • Okay, that makes sense.I’m big on making sure you don’t just shove the gospel down somebody’s throat but at some point they have to hear right? Like in Romans 10 where it says “So faith comes by hearing, and that from God” God has given us the job of speaking . I definitely agree with acting differently than the world though. Its just that I think seein only tells someone enough to be judged. Hearing brings faith.

  • Oh my word! A million and two people keep mentioning that movie and I am dying to see it, but I can’t just up and watch a movie when I should be reading for class or working on other homework. You are getting me quite jealous over here! 😉 But I hope you enjoy! I will be happy for you! 🙂 I like anything the Kendrick brothers do! 🙂

  • Once, it was the faraway future and the entire world had decided to live in one massive city, but then Hitler took over and summoned a meteor to destroy the earth-city. So everyone was frantically trying to gather their families and most valued belongings while being rushed into emergency underground shelters. The whole time, loudspeakers were announcing an award for Hitler’s capture… not sure why that was. Me and a young mother with a baby –apparently we shared a small one-room apartment– hurried into the shelter a huge guard led us to. But just as the guard was closing the big metal doors, Hitler himself slipped inside. That very moment, the explosion hit. Many people who hadn’t had time to find a safe place were killed. It was kind of a combination of the Holocaust, Noah’s flood, a dystopian novel, and an action movie.

  • Sounds good. It’s a great opportunity to share the gospel when your interaction with these kids (and their parents) is actually welcomed rather than simply tolerated…

  • I agree. There needs to be some sort of sharing of your testimony and the sharing of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. And that can be done in a very kind loving way. But after that, they will be watching you very closely to see if it is real. I would be readily available for any questions they might have and keep loving them with a His love. More often than not, you will not see immediate results, but with prayer that God’s Spirit might move in their hearts, it will not be in vain.

    I believe that these past two generations have been exposed to so much hypocrisy in professing believers lives, that the lost want people to line up with their profession. So we need to pursue righteous living at all times, without any compromise or it validates their beliefs when we fail. But if we do make a mistake, God is always faithful to forgive. It is also a good time to discuss forgiveness with whomever you are witnessing to so they can see that we are all sinners saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

    I am sure God will always be with you. I love your obedience.

    In Him,
    Jean

  • Ha, ha, I’m glad! That’d be kinda creepy… I mean, how would that image of me get stuck in your head? Being annoying, weird, loud, or something else would make sense, but egg bombs?

  • Ah, okay! I vividly remember only one friend in a dream, and that was only in a split second before I knocked out the guy who was attacking him. 🙂 Yeah, those are dreams.

  • Remember that one Round Robin where Laini knocked you out with a cast iron skillet??? XD

  • Yummy! Have fun! I just got clobbered in Monopoly lol, not that that’s as bad as a chem test lol.

  • Thanks so much for taking time to explain! That seems like the most biblical way of teaching Christ, and you’ve seriously helped me to understand it a lot better. Thanks for being so patient with me.

  • Though your church overall sounds like it’s not as good, so I’ll take my church over yours.

  • 🙂 I was saying that in the voice of the “Bisque” guy from Studio C, for the record.

  • My siblings have all been talking like him this evening, actually. It’s been interesting. Especially because my poor mom had no idea why her kids were all talking so strangely. 🙂
    The girl you know is somewhere around here… I’ll see if I can find her.

  • One Idea that I have to simply serve just to serve. Like do a car wash and refuse to take donations.

  • Aw, come on! If you don’t tell me, I’ll… I’ll… I’ll steal all your virtual French toast!

  • Yeah, tough luck. I’m not a French toast fanatic. Wave chocolate in my face, however, or bribe me with a really nice piano, and you’ve won me over…

  • *waves chocolate in Lauren’s face* C’mon, you know you want this… just tell me why you were home from church, and it’s all yours. 🙂

  • *drools crudely* Okay, okay! Here goes… it was over. Church had ended, and it was only thirteen minutes away from the house. CAN I HAVE MY CHOCOLATE NOW?!

  • Yes. *hands Lauren package of… whatever chocolate she likes most* There you go, that’s what you get for being a good little girl.
    (What chocolate do you like best, anyway? Sheer curiosity, because I love chocolate too!)

  • *claps hands like little kid* Oh thank you kind miss, thank you! Hmm, what chocolate do I like best… well, I’m not really that picky. I like those elaborate, fancy chocolate bars, with nuts, but I’m also pretty good to settle for a nice cheap pack of Reese’s. 😛

  • Alas, I have yet to play that yet. I have a friend who learned it, and I got to hear her play it, and I want to, but I haven’t. *sob* 😛

  • Aww. *hands Lauren yet another tissue* I learned an easy version years ago. Never committed to a really daunting one 😉

  • Well, I justify myself with having just picked up the real “Fur Elise” and giving it a shot myself, so I’m willing to be patient. 😉

  • Nice! I’m hoping to learn that one soon. It’s on my “list” of songs i MUST learn 😀 ya know, eventually… 😉

  • Cooly! I did violin for a little while and really liked it, but piano was my first musical love, so i went back to that 😛

  • Advice. So I know what most people will probably say, but I’m gonna ask anyway. So I want to start a youtube channel to make my own christian music on. Youtube’s age requirements are thirteen+. I’m nearly thirteen. I know tons of people who disregard age requirements on social media. I really want to go ahead and do it. I think age limits on those kind of things are mostly because of the bad stuff that other people can put on there, so the only reason I can see why I shouldn’t is simply because that’s against the rules.

  • About 6 months. I just didn’t want to say my exact age because lots of people say that the internet’s super dangerous and you shouldn’t post your age and all that stuff.

  • Yay, for the disappearers! Hehe! I actually have been semi-around, but just don’t usually have time to comment or join discussion, so I guess you can say I make myself invisible. 😉

  • I see. I was asking because if it was only 2 months or less I would’ve said it would probably be best to wait it out.
    My advice is to ask your parents if you could use one of their accounts. That way, they can closely supervise your use of the profile. I’m not going to tell you not to post videos because that could be a great ministry! I just think lying about your age, even to a computer, may not be the correct way to go about it.
    I hope that helps!

  • I swear, Clara was my favorite character. She reminded me so much of an old lady I used to know, who was actually more like a grandmother to me. But she died of a stroke (oh my word, I was typing too fast and wrote “storke” :P) a few years ago. 🙁

  • Ok, thanks for your help! I made an acount for something that I’m not old enough for in the past, but then I did it I didn’t know that I wasn’t old enough. I tried to delete the account as you are supposed to, but it never got deleted. I’m still using it now because I feel like if God wanted me to not use it, it would have gotten deleted. This might not be the right way to think. I’m just not sure whether continuing to use the account is wrong. But as for creating a youtube account when I know that you have to be thirteen, I’m just gonna wait.
    Sometimes doing hard things gets complicated. : /

  • ikr? I was with some friends and as we were driving away from the theater we were all like, “Clara was the best.” =D
    Aww, i’m sorry about your “grandmother”. Those kinda people are special folks.

  • Hey Olivia, I think that it’s important that you involve you parents, when youend up making your channel, also explain to them that any one can access these videos. Because though YouTube allows you to use it, you parents might not want you to use it. My Dad had said that if I wanted to post videos I’m not allowed to have my face in it. But I’m not sure how your parents will have regulations or anything but yeah like @percussion_4_Christ had said definitely involve you parents. 😀 Hope you grow in wisdom, to see through the complicated-ness. 😛

  • Yay!! Glad you could see it! Did you like it? Where you challenged? (Actually we can talk about it via email instead of cluttering up Brett.)
    Haha, all good! I’ve been pretty good with it, which I’m so thankful for!

  • Hi Olivia, I completely understand how you’re feeling. P4C and PJ made great points, especially about involving your parents. I would also recommend waiting a month before you do anything. I know at the moment you really (really!!) want to make an account. However, that feeling (from personal experience) will fade somewhat given a little time. You’ll still want to do it, certainly, but you won’t be as desperate, and you’ll be able to make your decision with more clarity and wisdom.

    Another thought: If you start a YouTube channel, I can promise you that someday you’ll look back and feel rather silly about the videos you posted on there. That’s life. XD Which isn’t to say you can’t put out quality content now, but your ability to do so will only get better as you get older. That being said, you can wait until you know more and can do better (again, which isn’t to imply you won’t do a good job now), or you can start now. It’ll be harder than you expect, but you’ll learn and grow as a result of it. 🙂 Ultimately, pray, involve your parents, and give it time!

  • That they are…. and did you hear that they released a new episode last night?? It’s on their website, but I haven’t had time to watch it yet.

  • Yeah, I’m subscribed to them on YouTube. I was binge watching them last night when they posted the new video. It. Is. Awesome!!! Let me know when you see it!

  • Yup! I admit that Studio C has mostly replaced my obsession with… *looks around nervously* *whispers* Blimey Cow… They’re just that good. XD lol

  • Yeah, that is one downside. It doesn’t really show through their comedy, though (except for the fact that they’re always clean, which is a good thing!)

  • Personally, I had Youtube obsessions with first Blimey Cow, then Studio C, then, most recently, Pun Diddley. (And come to think of it, only one of those is actually Christian… gasp!)

  • Mmm-hmm. Ya know, as I tell my brother, I only pick on those that I love. (To which he always replies with, “Do you have to love me so much?!”)

  • Someone who kind of riles things up a little bit. It’s like if I posted an article on Revive that I knew was very controversial and a bunch of people were passionate about but all disagreed on, and I just sat back and enjoyed the show.

  • Well, given that she knows you much better than I do, I’d take her word over yours. She has no need to protect herself! 😛

  • And y’know, a lot of us nutcases are pretty cool. Just accept it, Taylor, you’re one of us now. *creepy Revive grin*

  • That’s serendipitous. 🙂 (I know, that’s the wrong quote, but I like that answer better.)
    Do you know if the writers really killed his character?

  • Yes! Poor James would have lost his best character!
    Now I want to eat some bisque… just to know what it’s like.

  • That is because we are all out of the other bisque. I apologize for the inconvenience.
    I’m even typing jerky like I think he would… this is getting a little creepy.

  • Lol! I still love Blimey Cow. I just don’t have much time to watch videos anymore, but I’m obsessed with Studio C enough to MAKE time. 😛

  • Yeah, I know. 🙁 So sad. But, you know, their purpose is to make people laugh, not make converts (as far as I can tell, lol). Of course it would be wonderful if they were Christian, but as it is, they produce a very clean form of entertainment. 🙂

  • I think desperately hope I’ll be done this week! I just have three more tests to finish. And then I have the ACT this Saturday…ugh…
    What about you? 🙂

  • I assume so! I watch their videos from YouTube, not their website. It’s the one titled season 50 or something like that. It’s…gold. XD

  • Knock out them tests, gurl! XD ACT… have fun, that’s all I can say.
    I’m doing pretty well, I actually got done early today! *insert confetti and cheering* I’m preparing for the PSAT, which I take in October and if I get a good enough score on it, I can get enough scholarships to go to one of a few nice colleges rather than a coimmunity college. So I’m studying more than usual right now… But I got done early today so it’s party time! (A party with Bisque, a talking piñata, and Jeremy’s balloon animals, mind you!)

  • Just want to point out that it’s not like it’s his episode…he’s in it for a bit, but, um…so are a lot of other things. It’s wonderfully complicated. XD

  • Haha, thanks! *tosses confetti* I’m sure you’ll do great! Those kinds of tests are hard to study for, though. I studied for my first ACT and I haven’t since, lol (this is my fourth). 😛 I guess working hard in school is how you study for it! Yay, party!!! 😀

    Or you know what, forget everything else, we’ll just have a party with bisque. Get it? Because that’s the best part!! XD

  • IT’S HIM!!! Whew, the one video where they said they killed all of James’s characters had me worried.

  • Haha, isn’t it wonderful? Oh, I remember that now!! Lol, I can’t even hear him talk like a normal person anymore…bisque has forever ruined me! XD

  • By the way, Ruthie, I was wondering if maybe you would want to change your Disqus username? It looks a lot like an email address…

  • Evil girl! Ruining an innocent cheer!
    I’ve gotta go now for a little while. It’s been fun going crazy with you!

  • Oh wow… thanks for letting me know! I was sure I gave Disqus my old username, but maybe somehow it didn’t work. Oh well, it’s fixed now!

  • Well, they managed to gnaw off a leg, your ribs were crushed, and you fell into a coma lasting for eight months, but you lived, and that’s the important part. 😉

  • *insert witty Princess Bride reference because I haven’t seen it in years and don’t remember anything about it* *satisfied look at my incredibly genius response* 😛

  • Hehe, it was actually an accidental quote, but after I wrote it and realized that, I figured why not. 😉 So the answer is…yes? Lol

  • (Pesty?? Never!)
    I’m doing all right. Feeling a bit gloomy but then I come here and find y’all talking about bisque. Thanks for making me laugh! 🙂 I think I’ve just been realizing that I’ve been really self-centered in my thinking lately, and it’s put a lot of things into perspective.
    What about you? 🙂

  • Life is good! I was going through some really difficult weeks, but things are getting a little better and I have been a bit more encouraged of late. School has started back and I have always struggled with finding joy in school and I am continuing to struggle in that way, but I also know that it is where God wants me right now and so I am trying to learn to trust him and walk in faith and know that he has good plans for the schooling that I am getting even though I do struggle with it and struggle to understand.

  • Ha ha! Then we’ll continue. 😉
    Oh snap! Thinking about self-centeredness is something hard to realize. I’m sorry dear. 🙁
    Oh boy, I was in a terrible mood swing yesterday. My emotions were all over the place. I can’t figure out if it’s because I’m a girl of it I’ve got things I need to work through. 😉

  • *fist bump* Thank you! I haven’t seen all the famous funny things, so I can’t participate most of the time. 😛 If you quote something from, say, Errol Flynn’s “Robin Hood”, I can instantly respond with witty comeback, but otherwise, yeah… 😉

  • Nope, never had lobster. I don’t think I’ve had any seafood, actually. (Except fish!) Just never tried it… And I know a couple of my sisters are a little allergic, so that was a deterrent for me.

    I’m so sorry you fell! I’d offer to help you up, but there’s kind of a few miles between us…

  • That was so good!!! You’ve got to get together with @samgiddy:disqus , you two could come up with so many puns. 🙂

  • My church does stuff like VBS and the Alpha course. Our youth group also does stuff like free car washes and coke-giveaways. a lot of what we do is always open to the community to come and participate.

  • Umm, Laura’s Special Blend. A.k.a. a mix of Khan Academy, Life of Fred, and (only in a worst-case scenario because I really don’t like this one) Saxon. This is what I’ve put together to study for a test, so it’s kind of bits and pieces.

  • I’m glad to hear things are getting better! I understand completely, I struggle with my attitude towards school as well. I hope you’ll have a great school year, though!
    I’ve been doing all right. Been trying not to let my emotions rule me, but it’s hard these days. Still, these things pass eventually… On a bright note, I’m going to Hong Kong with my mom in a couple weeks! We have family there but we haven’t been in years, so it should be a great trip. 🙂

  • Yeah…when I was younger I used to think I was this amazingly selfless person (which in itself was awfully self-centered, lol). I’m learning though, that as I get older, I’ll grow in the Lord more. I’ll continue to be more like Him, and my old self will seem continually more selfish. And that’s okay! It’s all part of growing in Him, even if it’s hard.
    Aw, that’s tough. Well, sometimes it’s both! But I understand, it’s strange not being sure if something in your life is worth those emotions, or if you’re just being a girl. XD I hope you feel better today!

  • Haha, I haven’t seen The Princess Bride in ages, but I’ve managed to remember enough quotes to survive on the Reb. XD I know how you feel though, most things I quote none of my friends have ever seen. Lately I’ve had to get by on the three episodes of Doctor Who I’ve seen and what the Internet tells me, lol. XD

  • Well, I suppose I can let it go since you don’t live on the Coast. If you did…well then there would be no excuse. XD Lobster is pretty amazing, though. I can understand the allergy thing, that would be a shame if you were allergic too!
    I don’t care! Get over here and help me up! XD Take a plane if you have to!

  • Honestly, I despise (maybe that’s a strong word) Disney princess movies, so yeah. 😛 I will admit, though, that the piano music for “Let It Go” is really awesome. I heard a guy at our church playing it once (I won’t ask why a guy was playing Frozen music… okay, so I know another guy who has Frozen songs on his iPod), and it was really awesome. 😀

  • *nods emphatically* Amen, sista. I mean, I haven’t watched Blimey Cow, LOTR, Doctor Who, nada. I’m in the dark. But I be cool wit dat! 🙂

  • I say… that calls for a blog post. 🙂 Seriously, growing older brings a lot more things into reality. It is hard. But it’s all worth it in the end, right?
    (How did we end up talking five different places?! Oh well!) Thank you! I feel better now – just incredibly tired!!

  • Oh girl, ikr? My friends will be talking about something and i be like “Whaaaa?” Except that i’m a LOTR nut 😉

  • You’re totally right!M I’ve been looking for inspiration for a blog post anyway. XD Thanks! And amen!
    Haha, I know, it’s weird but awesome! I’m glad you’re feeling better! 🙂

  • Do you ever find it hard to write a blog post when you don’t have inspiration? I mean, even if you know of a topic you could write on, if you don’t have the inspiration and drive for it at the time, do you find it hard to write about it?

  • YES. It’s not just me!! Lol. If I don’t have inspiration, I’ll write three drafts before realizing they’re all awful and just giving up. XD Unfortunately, I haven’t had much inspiration this year!
    I read this thing the other day, and it was absolutely perfect! It went like this:

    You are a writer. You may pick two of the following:
    -Inspiration
    -Energy to write
    -Time to write

    And I was just like, yessss. So true!!

  • Yes! That’s totally me! I had this one post I wanted to write a month or so ago, and I started it, but I went, “Nope, my heart just ain’t in this”, so it’s still sitting as a draft, waiting for inspiration. It’d be such a good post, too… 😛
    Oh my, that is so true! Yes!!

  • Thanks! So far, school this year has gone, well, but I am just waiting for that terrifying moment when all my assignments hit me at the same time and I have a huge emotional break down (I am very optimistic, right!?). On that note, yes, I too have to be careful not to let my emotions get the best of me. It is a hard balance to find I think. 😉
    That is so cool that you get to go to Hong Kong. I am sure that will be a great experience and adventure! And it will be good to see family again, too, I am sure.

  • I like how Fred explains things, and it’s annoying how Khan makes sure I absolutely know what they’re teaching, but I know it’s for my good so I guess I like that part of Khan. Thank you! 🙂

  • My church this summer did a “camp of life” which is a camp for elementary students. we witnessed to the children while doing fun things to show God through games, activities, crafts, and actual teaching time. it helped develop friendships and a spiritual connection between young children and God. but the kids told there parents what they learned so the families then learned about God as well. it was an awesome experience.

  • I’m doing all right. Today was not so great but I’m pretty sure that’s just average mood swings, lol. I think I’m getting closer to moving on… I’ve had trouble with wanting to go back to swing dancing, though. I love it, but I associate it so much with him. It’s kind of silly, but I haven’t done it since he left.

  • Aw! That sounds difficult. And I’m with you, I’m not so good with thinking optimistically. XD
    Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it! Maybe not the language barrier do much, lol. Or the plane ride! But other than that it should be great. 🙂 I’ll miss my dad and my cats though! Lol

  • It is cute! And I’ve learned so many words… from my math book. 😉 Saxon was confusing from the get-go!

  • Haha, that’s awesome!! Well, I always loved Saxon for how well it explained things, but maybe that’s because I used a beka before it. That was awful. 😛

  • My church does a heap of things in the community, some of them include a soup kitchen, Youth Group, disabled people club and church. They also do an annual camp which anyone can go too and is heaps of fun! There are so many other ways as well!

  • Haha, I can’t blame you, it was pretty awful. 😛 We simply have an abundance of A Beka books in home school consignment stores here, so it took a while for us to branch out.
    Are you taking a foreign language?

  • I did a co op. The only co op that really helped me, if you understand my meaning. Two years with an amazing homeschool mom who loves Spanish, and now I’m taking a class at a nearby college. What do you use?

  • I have some insight because our church went through a similar struggle a few years ago. I’ll describe our story, I’m sorry if it is a bit long winded.
    Our church is on Long Island (in a suburbs not too far from NYC), so where we are most people 16+ drink and smoke pot. Our church is one block away from a movie theater, so a lot of teens would chill in the alley between them and smoke and drink and be excessively loud.
    At some point, our pastor was teaching and they were so loud that he shut the door to the church … but then it hit him (and later, us), that closing the door was the exact opposite of what we needed to do, that doctors aren’t for the healthy, but for the sick.

  • As a musician, I think you may want to spend those six months really refining your songs, so that when you are 13 you can post 3-4 songs at the same time that are well polished. Subtle things. Do a recording and listen critically to it. You and your audience will better appreciate the result and you won;t have to break any rules

  • That’s great! I use a mix of free online programs, mainly Memrise and Duolingo. They work pretty well, I just need the discipline to actually do them, lol. What’s the college class like?

  • Just an abundance of discussion-provoking questions over on Revive, that’s all. 🙂 (And on here before Revive existed…)

  • Well, looking at Lauren’s definition, actually you’re not a pot-stirrer. A pot-stirrer sits back and watches as debates start up; you jump right in! Maybe that makes you the soup…

  • But I stir it as well, cause I also start it. I’m not sure what I am then… and in my defense, I do not jump into every single one! In fact, just this morning, I wrestled with myself for half an hour about jumping into one on SoG, and finally decided not to. Maybe I’m learning!

  • Ooh. Sam and I were just talking about that! Congratulations on not jumping in. (You are talking about the modesty one, aren’t you?) I started a discussion with him on here.. he commented on the modesty survey post.
    You appear to be learning, but you’re rubbing off on me!

  • Yeah, that was what I almost commented on… ahhhhhhhh, I want to SO bad! But I figured that particular topic had about as little to do with me as possible, so I should just keep my little opinions all to me onesies. 🙂

  • But dude, as a girl talking it looks like I just want to protect my right to wear pants and short sleeves!
    I’d appreciate a guy to back me up…

  • Okey-dokey, then, I still feel like this would be a better girl on girl conversation. But since a guy did start it, I might as well go put in my two cents. We’ll see… never mind about my making progress. It was temporary. 😉

  • Yeah, girl-to-girl would be better… (though when we girls start talking, we often go around in circles because we don’t really know what we’re talking about, so we can only get so far with those conversations) but he did start it. I’m sure you can make up your progress… some other time when there’s not an important conversation to jump in on. 😉
    *twiddles thumbs waiting for your comment*

  • No, that’s not so. It depends on the girl. Girls aren’t any less capable of discussing serious topics. I’ve seen girls out-argue guys plenty of times. Although they usually WAY out-talk them at the same time… Ha, ha!

  • No… I mean, we don’t know what clothing can cause problems for y’all and what is entirely innocent. 🙂 My sis Lilla can out-argue anybody, I know girls can beat guys.
    Wish I could refute your last sentence…

  • Just found where I said something wrong… I meant that when we get talking *about modesty*, we go around in circles.

  • Looks like you’re going to have to wait a while, cause it got flagged by the Reb’s moderation. 🙁 It might be a while yet…

  • Nope. I don’t see anything remotely like a catch-word. Oh, well, it usually comes through their system within 24 hours, so it’s not bad. Besides, it may keep me out of a debate. 🙂

  • Yeah, they’re good with getting to comments quickly. 🙂 Could be… or not. We will have to see!

  • Ohh, did you maybe say the contraction of “he will”? That one caught a couple of my comments before I figured out what it was.

  • Why were you saying protestant…?
    I wonder if there’s somebody who reads these comments…

  • Beats me… about the comments, not the protestant statement.

    I was explaining why the fact the pope declared pants immodest didn’t really matter to me. 🙂

  • Yeah, the pope’s declaration (especially from 1928) doesn’t make a difference. (And didn’t he have any better things to do in 1928 than to launch a campaign against immodesty?)

  • Probably… but then again, Catholics and Protestants alike spend a lot of time on issues that aren’t really that important. Come to think of it, I could probably rephrase your question, “Doesn’t Taylor have better things to do this afternoon than engage in a debate about modesty?” 🙂

    Well, historically, the pope could have been addressing Mussolini’s massive excess of power that would take place right around there and in the next decade. 🙂 But I don’t really blame him there.

  • Yeah. Speaking of better things to do, I’d better get going with other stuff. I could PM through Revive, but here it’s very tempting to stay on the page and just wait for another comment to appear. With Revive new messages don’t show up for a couple minutes regardless of what I do, so I normally work on something like math while I talk.

    I thought 1928 was in the middle of WW2, so then he would have had other stuff to do. I have got to brush up on current history.. I know ancient history well, but the newer stuff is so out of place in my head!

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By Discussion Questions September 5, 2015
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rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →