Blog Archives
My Favorite Graduation Gift Books
1. Don’t Waste Your Life – by John Piper
So many of us get caught up in The American Dream that we forget there is more to life than toys, houses, and an early retirement. Graduation is a wonderful time to refocus and be reminded to Make Your Life Count! Be refreshed and encouraged to live your life to the fullest for Christ through this book. (For High School or College Grads)
2. University of Destruction – by David Wheaton
This is a book prepares high school students for the mental war zone they will encounter in college. Wheaton does a great job presenting how to keep your faith in college. (For High School Grads)
3. 10 Best Decisions a Graduate Can Make – by Bill and Pam Farrel – New Release!
Bill and Pam are my mentors and I am so glad they packed their godly graduate insight into a neat little book. What makes this book unique is that it is it helps with the “Now What?” question. You will find tons of practical wisdom from building on your strengths and skills, job prep and discernment, connecting and developing relationships, and networking and social media. A wonderful resource for any graduate! (for High School or College Grads)
4. When God Writes Your Life Story – Eric and Leslie Ludy
It’s often difficult to discern God’s will, especially after graduation and you’re confronted with tons of choices. The key to discerning God’s will is cultivating a deeper relationship with Christ and that is what this book is all about—focusing on Jesus and surrendering your life completely to Him. (For High School or College Grads)
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An Interview with the Founder of Generation Impact
Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Grace Williamson, founder of Generation Impact, in a miraculous way—through my book, Exposed. Although we are states apart and have only chatted over email, we’ve started to build a friendship based on our Savior and His work. So, with that brief introduction, I am pleased to introduce you to Grace.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in the rural Midwest with a loving, Christian family. In 2009 I graduated homeschool high school with a serious passion for writing. This Spring I completed my two-year studies with the Christian Writer’s Guild. I hope to use my writing – and every other aspect of my life – for God’s glory.
When and why did you found Generation Impact?
When I graduated high school, I faced that looming question: What am I going to do with my life? I looked around at all my peers dealing with the same decision. We were all self-proclaimed Christians, but I wondered, “Is our faith affecting our life decisions and impacting the world?” I knew other kids must be grappling with the same question. So I had the idea of starting an online magazine where I could encourage young Christians to use their lives for Christ. I spent months organizing and preparing the site with the help of a few friends who were patient enough – and crazy enough – to help me pursue the idea. Finally in May 2010, a year after I graduated high school, we launched Generation Impact.
What passage of scripture has especially inspired you?
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
In the verses preceding this, Paul talks about the resurrection of Christ and the coming resurrection of all who believe in Him. He asks, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” He explains that, through our Lord Jesus Christ, we have victory over death.
Because Jesus has saved me from my sins, I have eternal life. I am an eternal soul. Since I became Christ’s, the playing field is different. Now everything I do has eternal significance. In Him no labor is vain. I’m called to give myself fully to His work. At the end of my life here, I want to have held nothing back. I want every aspect of my earthly life, every labor I undertake, to be useful in the eternal Kingdom to which I belong. This motivates me every day.
What does Generation Impact provide for its readers?
The goal behind Generation Impact is to share articles and stories that encourage young Christians to live as instruments of righteousness. Each month’s issue features a conversational interview with a Christian who is using his or her talents for the Kingdom of Heaven. We also include movie, music, and book reviews to let people know about new media they may either want to support or be wary of.
My favorite part of Generation Impact, though, is our columns. In one way or another, these articles all share insight into living like Christ in an anti-Christ culture. I love reading these thoughts and heart cries from other young Christians.
Give us an example of some of the people you have interviewed? What was that experience like?
I’ve interviewed a wide variety of people over the past couple years. Generation Impact has featured professional photographers, videographers, filmmakers, magazine editors, and signers. We’ve also interviewed missionaries, authors, actors, and the list goes on.
My favorite interview experience was in the summer of 2010. A friend told me about this man who had spent much of his growing up on the mission field in Africa. I managed to contact him, and we met at a local park for an interview. As it turned out, he was a tall, good-looking kid with an unmistakable passion for the Lord. We’re getting married this June, and I couldn’t be happier!
What is your vision for Generation Impact?
I try to maintain a good balance between making plans and leaving the future in God’s hands. Five years from now, I’d like to see the site still providing solid, Biblical encouragement for young Christians. Of course I would also like to see growth. I’d like to feature more columns from different writers and see our audience increase. I want to see us reaching more and more people. At the same time I want to remember that even if we only touch one person for Christ, all the work we put into the site would still be worth it. Editorial goals aside, my goal as a Christian is to go into all the world, making disciples. The World Wide Web is just another tool for doing that.
What is the biggest lesson God has taught you through founding/developing Generation Impact?
Generation Impact has been a true gift because it has taught me so much: How to get outside my comfort zone, how to work with all kinds of people, how to prioritize and organize, how to trust God to provide everything I need to serve Him each day. The list could go on and on. But a major lesson has come from watching God work despite – and even through – my failures.
We often get so excited about a dream that we’re ready to take on the world. Confident that God is leading us, we move forward despite attacks, slander, and agitation. If the hardship is coming from outside, we’re fearless to face it. But when the hardship comes from within, from our failures, weaknesses, and insecurities, we throw up our hands and say, “I can’t do it.” We’re all ready to face the powers of darkness, but no one is brave enough to look in the mirror and see a human.
Generation Impact has shown me my humanity. Though the site has been successful, I’ve failed in a lot of areas and mishandled a lot of situations simply because I was inexperienced or afraid. But I’ve been able to move forward without any regrets or bitterness because I have learned more from those failures than I ever learned from easy success. I’ve become more aware of my own shortcomings, but it’s a beautiful thing because it has also made me more aware of God’s faithfulness and grace and total sufficiency to fill up where I am empty. He uses our humanity to magnify Himself. Generation Impact hasn’t just taught me how to successfully run a magazine. As strange as it sounds, I have also learned to fail for God’s glory.
How can we support/get involved in Generation Impact?
Read it, let us know what you think, and tell your friends about it. But if you want to actually roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty with us, here are a couple things you can do:
We’re always looking for new people to interview and stories to share. So if you know someone who inspires you toward Godliness, let us know at contact@generation-imapct.com!
If you like to write and want to share your work with others, Generation Impact is a good place to start. The world needs to hear the Truth. Send us your article at submissions@generation-impact.com, and our editing team will be thrilled to work with you.
And if you want to go even farther and impact your generation in ways a website never could, live to glorify Christ because that’s why you’re here.
Visit www.generation-impact.com
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Kirk Cameron and Tolerance
It’s interesting that my last post was about tolerance and just last week we had a wonderful current example of a celebrity figure practicing biblical tolerance. Here is some of what Kirk Cameron said during an interview on the Piers Morgan show when Piers Morgan asked Cameron what he’d tell his kids about gay marriage.
Cameron responded, “I’d tell my children what I believe myself…I believe that marriage was defined by God a long time ago. Marriage is almost as old as dirt and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve. One man, one woman for life till death do you part. I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage, and I don’t think anyone else should, either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don’t.”
Morgan then inquired whether Cameron thinks homosexuality is a sin, and the actor replied, “I think that it’s unnatural, that it’s detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization.”
Naturally, his comment caused quite a stir in our “tolerant” free-speech society. Here is Cameron’s response to the backlash:
The only way to properly answer these kind of questions is to begin the discussion with another question: Is life and sexuality sacred or are they not? If they are, then God has something to say about these things. If not, then everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the matter.
I believe that freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand in America. I should be able to express moral views on social issues – especially those that have been the underpinning of Western civilization for 2,000 years – without being slandered, accused of hate speech and told from those who preach ‘tolerance’ that I need to either bend my beliefs to their moral standards or be silent when I’m in the public square.
In any society that is governed by the rule of law, some form of morality is always imposed. It’s inescapable. But it is also a complicated subject, and that is why I believe we need to learn how to debate these things with greater love and respect.
Praise God for men who stand for God’s word and practice biblical tolerance! Preach Truth in Love.
From My Bookshelf
Tolerance. A word of many meanings. Co-authors Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler define it well in their book. They share that tolerance today has a very different meaning than in did years ago. They call today’s tolerance the “new tolerance,” which is also the title of their book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it interesting that this book was written over ten years ago, warning of how tolerance would destroy our society, and now we are experiencing much of what they predicted. Here are some of my favorite quotes found in the book:
“But Eve decided that wasn’t good enough for her. Enticed by the serpent, she determined that she wasn’t going to let God tell her what was good and what was bad; she would make that decision herself … As Christian apologist and author Ravi Zacharias points out, when she and her husband ‘questioned the reality of His voice and supplanted it with their own authority, they made themselves the measure of all things.’ They set themselves up in God’s place and took something that belonged only to God: the power to decide what is good and what is evil.”
“If there is no absolute moral standard, then one cannot say in a final sense that anything is right or wrong. By absolute we mean that which always applies [to all people], that which provides a final or ultimate standard. There must be an absolute if ther eare to be morals, and there must be an absolute if there are to be real values. If there is no absolute beyond man’s ideas, then there is no final appeal to judge between individuals and groups whose moral judgments conflict. We are merely left with conflicting opinions.” -Dr. Francis Shaeffer
Tolerance says, “You must approve of what I do.” Love responds, “I must do something harder; I will love you, even when your behavior offends me.
Tolerance says, “You must allow me to have my way.” Love responds, “I must do something harder; I will plead with you to follow the right way, because I believe you are worth the risk.”
Tolerance seeks to be inoffensive; love takes risks. Tolerance is indifferent; love is active. Tolerance costs nothing; love costs everything. – Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler
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More than a sleeve
I’m currently reading Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot (again!). I’ve read this book several times. I love how it is saturated in Scripture and provoking thoughts and has plenty of examples of how to live set apart for Christ.
Here is one nugget of wisdom she shares in her book:
My little niece Gallaudet Howard taught me something important when she was about three years old. Seeing that she was having difficulty with the sleeves, I asked her if I could help her put her dress on. “Oh, never mind,” she said. “Papa usually lets me struggle.” What kind of father is that? A wise one. Her father, my brother Tom, is also a very sensitive one, aware of the importance of struggle in the process of growth.
I found in my Greek New Testament that 1 Peter 5:10 could be translated, “After you have suffered for a while, he himself will mend that which was broken.” If all struggles and sufferings were eliminated, the spirit would no more reach maturity than would the child. The Heavenly Father wants to see us grow up.
That passage really made me think: Am I maturing through my struggles? Am I allowing God to work in me and mold me more into His image?
“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)
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Fearless
Fearless…
No, I’m not talking about Taylor Swift 
Far from it.
I just wanted to take a minute to comment on a fearless leader.
Fearless means unafraid, bold, brave, courageous, dauntless … and all of these words describe Pastor Voddie Baucham. He’s long been known for his dedication and obedience to God’s word, even when it means going against the cultural grain. A few days ago, he did something that most pastors would never dream of doing. He wrote a blog post on politics.
I respect him for doing this. I’ve always felt like it was a major no-no for anyone in ministry to talk about politics (could risk your popularity), but never felt like it was right. So, I am glad that Pastor Baucham broke this unspoken Christian ministry taboo and shared his opinion.
I’m glad that he makes it clear that his hope is not in politics or candidates, but in Christ. And I’m glad that he is transparent enough to let us into his reasoning of who he is voting for and why. More Christians should speak up. Not forcibly, but transparently.
We need more fearless Christian leaders. Men not swayed by cultural Christianity or man’s opinion, but only concerned with God’s opinion.
Want to read Pastor Baucham’s blog? Click here.
