NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Review: “Heaven Is For Real” by Todd Burop

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Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo

Heaven is for Real is a bio of a “near death” experience (NDE) but without all the “weird” and “sketchy” images that usually accompany such stories.

My review takes a positive approach. I believe Colton’s experience was genuine and his report is as accurate as any retelling of an event can be. And since heaven is not only real but very close we shouldn’t be surprised when it bleeds through occasionally.

The story is different in that it doesn’t focus on “long tunnels with lights at the end” or the sensation of watching medical personnel feverishly operate from a hovering out-of-body perspective. It is a matter of fact story shared from the perspective of an almost four-year-old child who had no preconceived ideas beforehand and explains everything casually. To him it wasn’t strange.

Colton Burpo, just before his fourth birthday, has a ruptured appendix that is misdiagnosed for several days. Because the event takes place in rural Nebraska, medical personnel and facilities are few and far between. The experience involved miles of travel between hospitals and desperate dependence on professionals who were not hopeful but gave it their best shot. His death was so expected his recovery was dumbfounding.

But recovery, though miraculous, is not the story. God’s answering many prayers in a hopeless situation is also not the story. Heaven is. [Read more…] about Review: “Heaven Is For Real” by Todd Burop

Book Review: Made To Stick by Chip & Dan Heath

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Made To Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

Every person has a message to deliver or instructions to give or a lesson to teach or a point to make but they aren’t equally effective at being remembered. In fact, from experience we know that the same message conveyed by several different people will be remembered indelibly or forgotten depending on the messenger not the message. Made To Stick explores why this happens and what can be done to make your ideas more memorable.

According to the authors, Chip and Dan Heath, the manner in which you convey your message is just as important as the message itself, if not more so. It can make the difference between leaving a lasting impression or generating haze. And let’s face it, the message rarely changes.

  • All parents encourage their kids to avoid drugs, drinking and smoking, to get a good education and to develop life skills. Why are some effective and others not?
  • Every employer provides their employees with up to date information on job related issues. Why does the lag time between lesson and learning differ from one company to the next?
  • All Algebra teachers are dealing with the same material. Why is one class motivated to excel and others bored with the whole thing?

Messages and purposes don’t vary significantly from one situation to the next but the methods used to communicate do. It’s the method that really makes the difference and that is the point of Made to Stick. [Read more…] about Book Review: Made To Stick by Chip & Dan Heath

“Are You Coming” by Tim Pepper

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My son, Tim (lead singer in this video), spent most of his formative years in South Africa. He was eight when we moved to South Africa and thirty-two when he permanently moved back to the States. During those years he was in school a lot. He ended up with a Masters Degree in Bio Technology and taught high school biology for a couple of years afterward – I think he would be happy never to see the inside of a classroom again.

But what makes this story interesting is that during his university years he also learned to play guitar – self taught – and demonstrated an amazing ability to write lyrics, assign a tune and sing. He is a natural as a singer/song writer. Who knew?

Although he has never had music lessons to speak of (other than a few months worth of keyboard instructions when he was about 9 or 10 which he promptly forgot) he has written, I don’t know how many songs, and it has now become his passion. He has also developed some amateur recording skills and gotten experience working in more sophisticated studios recording some of his songs. [Read more…] about “Are You Coming” by Tim Pepper

OT Law Allows Parents To Stone Children

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Did OT Law Really Allow Parents
The Option of Stoning Rebellious Children?

Yes, according to the following passage:

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear. Deuteronomy 21:18-21

But, as far as we know this law was never invoked in OT days and there is good reason to believe God never expected it to be. It was intended to make a point not prescribe a rule. It reads more like satire. No doubt Jonathan Swift got the idea for “A Modest Proposal” from this very text.

Then and now, parents were the primary influence in molding the character of a child’s life and, as the following text indicates God expects parents to use every waking moment to nurture good qualities in the lives of their offspring. [Read more…] about OT Law Allows Parents To Stone Children

CRP In The Amashova

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I just finished my fourth Amashova and my third 106K cycle race. Other than the first, which was the 38K exercise for beginners, every event has been an opportunity to showcase CRP, The Children’s Resiliency Project.

CRP is an orphan village situated in Ashburton, South Africa – just south of Pietermarizburg – and is the brainchild of a friend and colleague, Dr. Robert Graham. I’ve known Bob for fifteen plus years and have worked with him on various short-term projects here in South Africa. His professional life was centered in education prior to coming to South Africa but he has always had a strong interest in at-risk-kids and now focuses all of his attention on the orphan epidemic marring the South African community.

Although the main focus of my ministry is church planting I am sympathetic to the cause and provide support whenever I can. One way to do that is wear the CRP logo while riding the Amashova. I also let friends and associates know about this race and ask them to consider making a donation to the project. Hence this post.

You can get up to date information about the project here and securely make donations on the site. [Read more…] about CRP In The Amashova