rebelling against low expectations
I was first influenced and inspired by The Rebelution when I was 14. Doing hard things and rebelling against our culture’s low expectations of teens was exciting! But what happens to those of us who are past the 13-18 age range? I’m 19 now. I’ll turn 20 this July. Does the Rebelution no longer apply to us? After all, if a 14-year-old goes to college or writes a book, that’s news. Once you’re an...
There’s an idea going around that technologies like Facebook are morally neutral. The problems we see in them arise from how people choose to use them. In the words of William Gibson: “[T]echnologies are morally neutral until we apply them. It’s only when we use them for good or for evil that they become good or evil.” I am familiar with this argument because I’ve...
When something bad happens in my life, and I try to find comfort in God, this question is the first cry of my heart. How can God comfort me if He doesn’t explain why He let this happen in my life? How can God even love me if He did this? As young Christians, our first (and perhaps only) response to bad things is to ask God, “Why?” We want an answer. We need an answer. We need to...
My story of being a pastor’s kid is difficult to write in isolation because it is tightly interwoven with the entirety of my life, and bleeds into so many other aspects of my journey. Often when I am in an existential mood, I sift through the personality traits or struggles unique to me and try to trace them back to this facet of my life. Pastor’s daughter. How does that shape me...
No matter how many clothes I have, I consistently am deceived to think that I literally have nothing to wear. It’s like a mental block. I can look at my clothes, see them, and somehow come up with a reason why every piece of clothing is unacceptable. It becomes a chronic problem at times, and it’s times like these when I just need to sit down and rethink my priorities. I am not...
Recently the Lord laid it on my heart how important prayer is. He showed me how it is His desire for this generation to become one of prayer. He also showed me how broken this generation has become. Alcohol, drugs, depression, homosexuality, STDs, and teen pregnancies run rampant. But there’s something we can do. Pray. After my eyes were opened to what’s happening, I knew I had to do...
In April of 2011 my family heard, “Your mom has advanced stage cancer and one year to live.” Those are words you never want to hear, words you want to block out, acting like you never heard them! They clanged so loudly in my head, jarring my peaceful world…. they couldn’t be true! My mom was my rock who I ran to when I was confused. She always knew what the right thing was...
PolicyMic • May 9, 2013 • T. Chase Meacham (Photo Credit: YouTube) A new video released last month by the Christian youth group “Reach America” calls for teens to join a “Christ-centered counter-culture,” or “C4.” They claim their traditional opinions on abortion and gay rights have put them at odds in an increasingly secular and accepting society, resulting in anti-Christian bullying in schools...
I watched a sad movie, but I didn’t cry. It was more than sad, really – it was scary and gruesome, but I just cringed a little. No tears here. Don’t be surprised, because I’ve grown up with this sort of thing. After it rings in your ears and clutters your Facebook, you just get used to it. It’ll be okay. The plot? Little children having their spines snipped – by a doctor, no...
Every college campus has its sub-groups: the jocks, the nerds, the cool kids, etc. When we attended college our campus sported two additional, very distinct, sub-cultures: idealistic freshmen and cynical seniors. Idealistic freshmen are just what you would imagine. They are the new kids, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and stoked to be attending the greatest school on earth, learning from the greatest...
rebelling against low expectations
