Archive for October, 2006

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

Well, Duh.

On Al Mohler's blog yesterday, he cites a Time magazine article on Student Ministry. Evidently the article has made a discovery that we've been talking about since the '80s: evangelical youth ministry is trending more toward substance and away from a "sugarcoated" approach. Something about youth ministry handing out big doses of Bible Study instead [...]

3 Comments » - Posted in sarcasm, student ministry, theology by tom cottar

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

Enough for the whole class?

Good times today.
Heather left early this morning to take our older son on his first Kindegarten field trip, so I brought our younger son in to Wee Ones (think: Mother's Day Out…) at 9am. I figured I'd drop him off, run to the office and catch up on some phone calls, emails, and event [...]

1 Comment » - Posted in community, ministry, student ministry by tom cottar

Monday, October 30th, 2006

I Dream of a Church…

My buddy Lance (www.emergingunderground.blogspot.com) recently sent me the following bio of a friend named Eileen. Her comments are really thought provoking and revealing: 
"I have a pain that dwells within that I have yet to find a cure for. 20 years of serving God has yet to find me that glove that so perfectly fits [...]

4 Comments » - Posted in community, theology by tom cottar

Friday, October 27th, 2006

We Keep Going and Going and Going and Going…..

New Year's Retreat is coming up…our theme: [hard]core. It's gonna be awesome. 
Then, in February, it's Dnow weekend with Pat Cammarata (www.thereismore.net) and Justin Cofield Band (www.justincofieldband.com).
In March, we hit some crazy Spring Break action, then a big area-wide service project called Project Serve in April.
May is an Alice Cooper soundtrack, full of graduation/baccalaureate/school's-out-for-summer [...]

7 Comments » - Posted in theology by tom cottar

Friday, October 27th, 2006

Foto Friday

I snapped this on my phone this week.
Evidently, there is a Hispanic God out there that only loves white kids.
Go figure. 
 

No Comments » - Posted in theology by tom cottar

Thursday, October 19th, 2006

*thump* *thump* …Is this thing on?

It's been several days since my last post. In blogdom, that's suicide. 
A few weeks ago, our pastor told a story about a voicemail message that said, "I'm sorry I'm unavailable at the moment. Please leave your name and number at the tone. Understand that I am currently making some changes in my life these days. [...]

3 Comments » - Posted in theology by tom cottar

Friday, October 13th, 2006

How Lame Am I?

 
 *disclaimer: this is long, and I usually don't post sappy stuff like this…but I saw it and…yeah, I cried. I'm a sap. And given the fact that I've started training for the Austin Marathon in February, it struck me hard. 
 
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
 
I try to be a good father. Give my kids [...]

1 Comment » - Posted in sap by tom cottar

Monday, October 9th, 2006

Rawkfist!

Last night's concert time was awesome. YS always blesses us with great times of corporate worship (in our General Sessions) as well as opportunities for intimate, experiental time to commune with our Maker/Lover.
And then they let us freakin' rock.
As a guitarist and child of the 80's, it did my soul good to feel the [...]

3 Comments » - Posted in theology by tom cottar

Sunday, October 8th, 2006

Hardwired to Connect: Part Two

In case you’re still reading, here are some statistical findings on the report:
“Scholars at the National Research Council in 2002 estimated that at least one of every four adolescents in the U.S. is currently at serious risk of not achieving productive adulthood.” (i.e., they will end up institutionalized, mental or penal, or worse)
“According to a [...]

6 Comments » - Posted in community, ministry, news, student ministry, theology by tom cottar

Sunday, October 8th, 2006

Hardwired to Connect

In one of my Saturday sessions with the ever-enlightening Tony Jones, we discussed some new research (and its implications) regarding data collected by The Commission on Children at Risk (an independent, jointly sponsored initiative of YMCAof the USA, Dartmouth Medical School, and the Institute for American Values). Obviously, and refreshingly enough (it will become apparent why), George [...]

1 Comment » - Posted in community, news, student ministry by tom cottar