How to Help a Struggling Teen

By Rachel Blom

As it turns out, struggling teens don’t need us to say much at all.

When I started out in youth ministry, I feared pastoral issues the most. I mean: What should I say to struggling teens? I was a afraid I wouldn’t have the profound wisdom they’d be looking for, or the spiritual nuggets they’d need to get through it.
As it turns out, struggling teens don’t need us to say all that much. Sure, there are times when they ask for concrete advice: Rachel, should I break up with my boyfriend or not? What do you think I should major on in college? Do you think I should stop being friends with her? And those times, I help them analyze the situation and come to the best advice. (A pro tip: Ask them what they’d advise a friend in that situation …)
But for those who truly struggle, I don’t need many words. All they want to hear from me is that it sucks. They just want me to be with them in that situation, to listen to them and acknowledge their pain. That’s it.
Research shows that teens with low self-esteem don’t value pep talks anyway (also known as ‘positive framing’—giving a tough situation a positive spin). They just want to be heard and seen.
So oftentimes with those students, all I do is sit with them, hold their hand, hug them and tell them how sorry I am for what they’re going through. I tell them I’m there for them whenever they want to talk and that I’ll always listen without judging. And that’s all a struggling teen needs at times.  
(1) Kelsey Kloss, News from the World of Medicine, Reader’s Digest, December 2014, page 76.

Rachel Blom has been involved in youth ministry in different roles since 1999, both as a volunteer as on staff. She simply loves teens and students and can't imagine her life without them. In youth ministry, preaching and leadership are her two big passions. Her focus right now is providing daily practical training through www.YouthLeadersAcademy.com to help other youth leaders grow and serve better in youth ministry. She resides near Munich in the south of Germany with her husband and son. You can visit Rachel at www.YouthLeadersAcademy.com More from Rachel Blom or visit Rachel at http://www.youthleadersacademy.com/

KORBAN TINDAK KEKERASAN

KORBAN TINDAK KEKERASAN

Derita yang dialami oleh korban tindak kekerasan adalah pada batin atau hatinya. Untuk menyembuhkannya, membutuhkan waktu yang cukup lama.

Ada salah seorang korban yang menyalahkan diri sendiri karena dia menjadi korban tindak kekerasan. Sebenarnya, yang bersalah itu tetap pada pelakunya, dan korban hanya sebagai pemicu dari tindak kekerasan.

Sering kali, kita menyalahkan Tuhan, seolah-olah Tuhan tidak menolong kita saat terjadi tindak kekerasan. Padahal sebenarnya, Tuhan itu mengasihi manusia dan ingin manusia saling mengasihi dan memperhatikan, bukan saling menyakiti. Kalau itu diizinkan oleh Tuhan, Tuhan mempunyai rencana sendiri.

Keluarga korban juga ikut menanggung derita akibat tindak kekerasan, tetapi keluarga harus menolong korban. Hal-hal yang dapat dilakukan untuk menolong korban:
- Keluarganya harus lebih kuat dari korban, untuk melindungi.
- Keluarga harus bangkit mencari bantuan kepada sesama orang beriman, konselor, dsb..
- Korban mempunyai kemauan yang keras untuk sembuh.

Tindakan pertolongan yang bisa dilakukan oleh orang lain atau konselor:
- Mendengarkan ceritanya.
- Memercayai apa yang telah terjadi.
- Mendampingi orang itu di dalam pemulihannya.
- Mendorong dia untuk bisa mengampuni pelaku tindak kekerasan.

Tanda-tanda dari korban tindak kekerasan yang sudah pulih memang tidak kelihatan secara fisik, tetapi bisa kelihatan bahwa bebannya sudah terlepas, tidak tertekan lagi, dan saat menghadapi sesuatu tidak mudah tersinggung, tidak menyimpan dendam karena hatinya sudah damai.

Langkah-langkah yang dilakukan korban agar tidak terjadi untuk yang kedua kalinya:
- Membuat batasan dengan pelaku atau menjaga jarak.
- Mengenali kelemahan diri supaya tidak diperalat oleh orang lain.
- Memutus hubungan jika penderitaan yang dialami sudah begitu dahsyat.

Firman Tuhan:
"Janganlah membalas kejahatan dengan kejahatan; lakukanlah apa yang baik bagi semua orang!" (Roma 12:17)

Jadi, penyelesaiannya adalah "pengampunan".

Diambil dan disunting dari:
Nama situs: TELAGA
Alamat URL: http://www.telaga.org/audio/korban_tindak_kekerasan
Judul transkrip: Korban Tindak Kekerasan (T221B)
Penulis: Pdt. Dr. Vivian Andriani Soesilo
Tanggal akses: 20 Februari 2015

AKAR PAHIT

AKAR PAHIT

Kepahitan dikenal dalam Alkitab sebagai racun rohani dan suatu jalan yang melaluinya banyak orang diperdaya (Ibrani 12:15). Kepahitan adalah sumber munculnya masalah fisik dan rohani yang tak terhitung banyaknya, yang ditemukan dalam jutaan jiwa manusia sekarang ini. Alkitab mengatakan kepada kita bahwa BANYAK orang diperdaya oleh rupa-rupa kepahitan. Kepahitan terkadang sulit dikenali karena kepahitan bukanlah suatu gejala atau sesuatu yang terlihat "di atas permukaan" (baca: secara lahiriah) seperti halnya kemarahan. Banyak orang mengaku bahwa mereka bukan orang yang pemarah atau pembenci, tetapi kepahitan bukanlah tentang hal-hal semacam itu. Banyak masalah yang tidak selalu terlihat secara lahiriah, tetapi menetap di dalam sistem seseorang. Kepahitan adalah sebuah akar!

Ibrani 12:15, "Jagalah supaya jangan ada seorangpun menjauhkan diri dari kasih karunia Allah, agar jangan tumbuh akar yang pahit yang menimbulkan kerusuhan dan yang mencemarkan banyak orang."

Apa yang dimaksud dengan akar? Akar adalah sumber, atau suatu mata air yang membual, yang berada di bawah permukaan air. Akar tidak secara langsung memperlihatkan atau menunjukkan dirinya, tetapi ia adalah sumber nutrisi atau bahan bakar bagi elemen-elemen lain yang ada di permukaan. Pada umumnya, Anda tidak melihat sebuah tanaman menunjukkan sistem akarnya, tetapi apabila tanaman tersebut tidak memiliki sistem akar, tanaman tersebut tidak akan bertahan hidup. Akar tidak memperlihatkan dirinya di atas tanah, tetapi menjalankan fungsi di bawah tanah dan menjadi "bahan bakar" semua yang ada di atas tanah.

Marilah kita amati sebuah sistem akar tanaman secara lebih dekat. Di mana letak akar-akar tanaman? Di bawah tanah. Dapatkah seseorang melihat sistem akarnya? Tidak, karena akar tersebut tersembunyi di bawah tanah atau di bawah permukaan tanah. Demikian halnya dengan kepahitan dalam jiwa seseorang. Kepahitan adalah sesuatu yang tersembunyi, yang terletak di dalam batin, dan kepahitan menimbulkan kemarahan dan emosi-emosi negatif lainnya terhadap orang lain dan keadaan di sekitar kita. Seseorang yang memiliki akar pahit menyadari bahwa ia akan lebih gampang marah karena sesuatu yang dilakukan orang lain di sekitarnya. Hal ini dapat diumpamakan seperti sebuah mata air yang mengalir di bawah tanah, yang menanti saatnya untuk memperlengkapi sesuatu yang ada di atas tanah.

Kepahitan dapat tersimpan dalam diri seseorang.

Ada begitu banyak wanita yang diperkosa mengembangkan perbudakan rohani dan emosional yang mengerikan. Hal ini bukan karena mereka sudah diperkosa, tetapi karena mereka membiarkan trauma menguasai mereka. Zaman sekarang, banyak wanita "diperbudak" karena mereka merasa pahit hati atas apa yang telah dilakukan kepada mereka bertahun-tahun yang lalu. Saya yakin Clinton Clark pernah mengatakan bahwa dalam pengamatannya, tampaknya anak-anak laki-laki yang dicabuli oleh pria-pria dewasa dan mengampuni si pelaku pencabulan serta melupakan hal itu, dapat menang dengan mudah tanpa tertawan oleh roh homoseksual yang najis. Akan tetapi, orang-orang yang membiarkan trauma mengganggu mereka, membiarkan hal itu berlalu dengan tetap dihantui roh homoseksual dan perbudakan-perbudakan yang lain. Begitulah cara roh-roh jahat memperoleh jalan masuk ke dalam kehidupan seseorang melalui peristiwa pemerkosaan dan tindakan kekerasan. Sesungguhnya, intinya bukan tentang tindakan kekerasan atau pemerkosaan, tetapi kepahitan dan perasaan tidak sehat yang berkembang dalam diri seseorang yang telah "dimanfaatkan". Setan-setan menumbuhkan kepahitan dan ketidakmauan untuk mengampuni, dan ini menjadi sebuah pintu yang terbuka lebar bagi mereka untuk masuk ke dalam diri seseorang dan meluaskan perbudakan rohani, mental, dan bahkan fisik.

Saat ini, banyak orang yang telah terluka, tidak mengekspresikannya secara lahiriah, tetapi lebih memilih menyimpan perasaan terluka dan kepahitan di dalam batin. Di situlah, perasaan tersebut bertumbuh dan membusuk. Saya mengenal wanita-wanita yang telah diperkosa, mereka adalah orang-orang yang baik, lemah lembut, dan penyayang. Akan tetapi, di dalam batin, mereka diperbudak oleh apa yang telah diperbuat kepada mereka bertahun-tahun yang lalu. Meskipun mereka bukanlah pribadi-pribadi yang pemarah atau yang kasar, bukan berarti mereka bebas dari akar pahit. Seperti yang saya katakan di awal, kepahitan adalah akar, dan akar tidak selalu terlihat di permukaan. Akar pahit memunculkan kemarahan yang tidak benar dan emosi lain ke permukaan, tetapi kepahitan itu sendiri bekerja di bawah permukaan.

Kepahitan adalah sebuah akar. Dengan demikian, kita lebih sulit mengidentifikasi dan mengeksposnya dibanding masalah-masalah yang terlihat lainnya. Namun, semuanya mengandung racun yang mematikan, yang perlu dikeluarkan. Apabila akar tersebut dibiarkan begitu saja, akar tersebut akan bertumbuh dan membusuk, serta memiliki kemampuan untuk memunculkan masalah-masalah lahiriah lainnya seperti sifat mudah tersinggung, kemarahan, kebencian, dll.. Orang-orang yang pahit hati lebih mudah melihat keadaan di sekitar mereka sebagai sumber masalah ketimbang melihat bagaimana mereka menangani keadaan tersebut. Alih-alih membiarkannya berlalu dan mengampuni, mereka membiarkan perasaan tersebut menguasai mereka, dan perasaan tersebut menelan mereka hidup-hidup. Ini adalah cara biasa yang digunakan setan untuk memasuki kehidupan manusia zaman sekarang.

Entah kepahitan terwujud secara lahiriah atau tidak, tidak menjadi masalah. Karena sifat alamiah emosi dan perasaan yang selalu berubah-ubah, keduanya tidak selalu dapat diamati secara lahiriah, tetapi bagaimanapun juga, itu tidak mengurangi fakta bahwa emosi dan perasaan tersebut benar-benar ada. Jika ada akar pahit, kepahitan harus dipotong sampai ke akarnya dan dibuang dari jiwa seseorang. Kita harus memutuskan untuk membuang semua luka dan perasaan yang tidak keruan di dalam sistem kita, dan menyesal karena telah menyimpan racun tersebut di dalam hati kita. Berbaliklah dari perasaan tersebut dan tinggalkanlah perasaan itu, izinkanlah kasih Allah bekerja di hati Anda. (t/S. Setyawati)

Diterjemahkan dari:
Nama situs: Great Bible Study.com
Alamat URL: http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/bitterness.php
Judul asli artikel: Root of Bitterness
Penulis artikel: Robert L.
Tanggal akses: 25 Februari 2015

Are biker gangs domestic terrorists?

			Are biker gangs domestic terrorists?	Dr. Jim Denison May 19, 2015

"In 34 years of law enforcement, this is the worst, the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in."  So said Police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton of Waco, Texas, after a shootout between rival biker gangs left nine dead and 18 injured.  Police have arrested 192 people.  Authorities are on alert for more violence to come. What happened? According to Steve Cook, a former undercover agent and expert on motorcycle gangs, Texas has historically been controlled by the Bandidos, one of the largest motorcycle gangs in the country.  The Cossacks, a local Texas gang, has been challenging the Bandidos' dominance, and was discussing an alliance with the Hell's Angels, a rival of the Bandidos.  The Cossacks began wearing a Texas patch on their clothing, provoking the Bandidos.  When at least five gangs comprising 150 members met at a Waco bar to discuss recruitment, the shooting began. Are biker gangs a threat to the rest of us? Cook considers outlaw motorcycle gangs to be domestic terrorists.  They compose only 2.5 percent of the total gang population in the U.S., which is estimated by the FBI to number 33,000 gangs with a combined membership of 1.4 million.  According to the National Gang Intelligence Center, these gangs commit violent crimes, including assaults and robberies.  They rely on drug distribution and trafficking as their primary source of revenue, and are involved in extortion and money laundering as well.  At least 30 gangs are engaged in prostitution and human trafficking. They are migrating nationwide to increase drug distribution and profit, and infiltrating law enforcement and military instillations to gain weapons and training.  They employ advanced social media strategies, and are establishing relationships with violent gangs in Mexico.  Especially troubling is their growing presence on elementary, secondary, and high school campuses.  All-female gangs are on the rise as well. Why do people join gangs? Young people most likely to join a gang are impoverished with no economic future.  They usually come from broken homes and experienced domestic violence at an early age.  Often they have family members or friends in a gang.  Typically they failed in school and have no positive adult role models. What can Christians do? One: learn about gang activity in your area.  Contact local law enforcement officials for help.  Never assume that your children or their friends are immune.  Two: sponsor a conference to educate at-risk youth in your community about the dangers of gang involvement.  Invite local professionals to speak and assist.  Three: become involved in school mentoring, especially with at-risk children.  Provide the positive role models they seek so desperately.  Four: sponsor programs that minister to youth, including recreation, job skills, counseling, and educational programs.  Five: pray hard.  We are all at risk. When Jesus preached his inaugural sermon, he chose as his text this prophecy: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19). That same Spirit now indwells every Christian (1 Corinthians 3:16).  How has he anointed you to "set the oppressed free" today?     Tweet this article

Church, We Must Take This Seriously: Going to War Against Porn

 Monday, May 4, 2015 | Written by Guest Author

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul makes the statement that sexual immorality should not even be named among those of us that God has set apart for Himself (Ephesians 5:3). The word Paul used in this text was a really broad term that means all forms of sexual immorality, but the fact of the matter is there are different and very specific forms of sexual immorality that have popped up in the culture and therefore affected the church throughout the centuries.
For instance, Paul wrote to the Corinthians about abstaining from sexual immorality, but specifically from prostitutes, because that was the most pervasive sexual issue in their context. Christian believers were continuing to visit prostitutes because that’s what they were used to doing. Through the history of the church, we have constantly needed to be taught about God’s general care for our sexual purity, but we also need to be spoken to specifically about sexually immoral practices we simply don’t think are bad.

If Paul were writing today, we are convinced that one of the primary practices he’d be addressing is the use of pornography.

Pornography and the Church Today

Pornography today is not what pornography was 25 years ago. The pervasive use of pornography, even in the church, has paralleled the growth in access to pornography. Up until the World Wide Web, and subsequently the smartphone, what was limited to a few times a year in a hotel room or a corner section of a convenience store is now in our pocket 24/7. Using pornography is no longer a sin we have to guard against just a couple times a year, but every day of our lives.
It’s worth saying, from everything we can tell, this is a battle that we in the church are not winning, and we are deeply concerned about the impact it’s having on a generation of Christians. While not necessarily visible to all of us, the effects of pornography are real and deep.
Porn places an absolutely incorrect image in our minds of God’s design for sex. What was meant for one man and one woman for a lifetime, as a picture of Christ’s unbreakable covenant with His bride the church, is now reduced to a cheap thrill. What was meant to be the purest expression of selflessly giving oneself to another has been twisted into an act of taking for selfish pleasure. What was meant to be the culmination of pure, undefiled intimacy and knowing has been denigrated to two physical bodies pleasing themselves with the other.
Besides perpetuating a false meaning of sex, and perhaps more importantly, pornography is weighing down a generation of Christians with guilt and hindering many from living fully on mission for God.
Think about it. If you are walking around with the guilt of looking at pornography, are you going to witness to your neighbor? Are you going to lead your family in devotionals, ask your wife about her walk with Jesus, or answer the call to go to the nations?
I think it’s one of Satan’s greatest ploys. If he can get an entire generation walking around completely burdened with the guilt of sexual sin, the last thing in the world they are going to do is go passionately live for the name of Jesus.
All things considered, we believe the pervasive consumption of pornography is the greatest internal threat facing the church today. S

This Means War: 6 Ways to Fight Sexual Immorality

1. Start viewing your fight against sexual sin not as a struggle but as a war. Sexual sin is at war with you and aims to send you to hell (1 Peter 2:11). To treat it as anything less than a mortal enemy is to make a grave mistake.
2. Fight imagery with imagery. When you are tempted to lust after sexual immorality, picture Christ suffering in agony to pay for your sins. The images are virtually incompatible.
3. Believe when God asks you to obey Him in your sexuality, He’s not withholding good from you. He’s actually offering you a greater good. When you’re walking in faithfulness with God, rest assured you are not missing out. He gives fullness of joy in His presence and there is nothing better (Psalm 16:11).
4. View others, including those you’re attracted to and including those in pornography, as eternal beings. When you view porn you not only objectify people—ceasing to see them as God does, as eternal beings made in His image—but you perpetuate an industry that thrives on suppressing people into subhuman roles and even outright enslavement.
5. Ponder the long-term consequences of sin. This is helpful because for all of us, this is the last thing on our mind when our heart is set on something we know will feel good in the moment. Proverbs likens it to carrying burning coals against your chest and expecting to not be burned (Proverbs 6:27).
6. If you are mired in sexual sin, don’t pray for a change in behavior, pray for a change in heart. You can read this article and be moved to purity for any reason—to stop funding a corrupt and exploitative industry, to spare yourself long-term consequences, or even just to alleviate the guilt you’re tired of carrying—and it’s likely that purity won’t last. The truth is if you want to really see a profound movement toward purity in your life, God needs to change your heart.
We know this last point in particular because we saw it in the life of King David. Following perhaps a more egregious sexual sin than anyone of us will ever commit ourselves, he knew the true depth of his offense against God and the true need for God to intervene.

Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.
(Psalm 51:9-12)

Fighting Pornography

Below Matt Carter and Jeff Mangum of The Austin Stone Community Church preaching team address what it means to fight pornography in the church today.

Real Men Love Jesus (Women too!)

Real Men Love Jesus (Women too!)
By Carol Round, Special to ASSIST News Service  (Writers Opinion)
CLAREMORE, OK (ANS – May 24, 2015) “He asked a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was sad that Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep’”—John 21:17(CEB). 
For over 10 years, my 2001 Honda Passport has sported a bumper sticker stating, “Real Men Love Jesus.” Although women have commented on the slogan, I’ve never had a man mention it—until recently.
As I was approaching a red light, a pickup pulled up next to me. Honking his horn, the driver pointed at me. Did I have a tire going flat? Had I left the gas cap dangling when I’d filled up with gas a few minutes earlier? He kept pointing at me as I lowered my window. Smiling, he yelled, “Yes, lady, real men do love Jesus.” 
The light turned green and as we drove off, he gave me a thumbs-up sign. Smiling, I returned his gesture. I’m sure the smile on my face was plastered from ear-to-ear.
Byron Yawn, Community Bible Church pastor in Nashville, says, “We turn to heroic biblical figures and icons in (movies for examples of manhood) but not to Christ. Yet Christ is the one to whom all biblical figures point and the one who makes Hollywood depictions of strength look foolish. There is no understanding of manhood without understanding Christ.”
Yawn admits that for years he mocked the bumper sticker that reads ‘Real Men Love Jesus.’ “I considered it an oversimplification and evidence of slogan-driven spirituality,” he says. “I once saw it posted on a billboard strategically situated over a gentlemen’s club. It seemed a foolish gesture. Are we to believe that Jesus can save us from the brazen immorality in our culture? Yes. We must believe it or there is nothing to believe.
“The more I’ve peered at manhood through the cross, the more I’ve come to admit the truth of this simple statement,” he adds. “If men would love Jesus they would be real men. If men would love Jesus, they would find a power over the most notorious sins. Real men ‘do’ love Jesus. Real men would have the courage to take a bullet for the gospel. Real men always have.”
What does Jesus say about loving Him? In John 21:17, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus had to ask him the same question yet again. When Peter replied, “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you,” Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.”
What does it mean to love Jesus? For both men (and women), loving Jesus means following Him and doing as He asked Peter to do, “Feed my sheep.”
1 John 3:17-18 tells us, “But if a person has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need and that person doesn’t care—how can the love of God remain in him? Little children, let’s not love with words or speech but with action and truth.”
Do you love Jesus? Then go, and do likewise.
Photo capiton: Illustration of the words of Jesus.
For more inspiration, visit the author's website at www.carolaround.com. Need a speaker for your next event? Contact Carol at carolaround@yahoo.com.
** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)

What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality

Asbury Seminary theologian Ben Witherington III speaks to the point in this engaging seven-minute video.
Practical Idea: Use this poignant video as a primer for your next discussion or message on what the Bible says about homosexuality.
Discussion Starter: Do you agree or disagree with Witherington’s perspective on homosexuality? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Tim Keller on How to Treat Homosexuals

The Bible says homosexuality is not God’s original design for sexuality. The Bible also says “love your neighbor.”

N.T. Wright: Changing the Meaning of Marriage

New Podcast: Family Renovation

Jen Hatmaker discusses changing the tone of our cultural engagement and her incredible story of adoption.

Listen Now

Don't miss this episode—you'll love how Jen thinks through loving the hurting around her. You'll also want to hear Jen's thoughts on women's ministry and what her and her family do to fight excessiviness.

God Himself Adopts the Fatherless

This testimony from Peru speaks to every heart that has ever felt abandoned or discarded. Who could it reach in your congregation?

The Spirit of Adoption

Is there any better description of the gospel than embracing the spirit of adoption. Check out this amazing family, and discover God’s heart toward you.

Reilly Justice Sproul and the Grace of Adoption

A Mother’s Love

The Drop Box

Son of witchdoctor who found Jesus passes to his reward

Son of witchdoctor who found Jesus passes to his reward
By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS -- May 29, 2015) -- After a JESUS Film team came to his village in southern Zimbabwe, Nhamo Chigohi found Jesus and eventually became a prolific church planter and launched at least seven schools and orphanages.
Pastor Chigohi passed into the arms of the Savior he loved on May 16th due to possible complications of hepatitis. He was 43.
“He was a very impactful person, able to do things nobody else was able to do,” says Pastor Tobey Williams, a bi-vocational pastor currently based in Montrose, Colorado. “He was like a brother to me.”
On one trip to Zimbabwe with Pastor Chigohi, Pastor Williams watched 800 people come to Christ in three days as a result of Pastor Chigohi’s influence. “I started 30-40 churches with him and worked with Nhamo to get pastor training started.”
So many were accepting Christ there was a critical shortage of trained leaders, something both men set out to rectify.
Many of the young people who graduated from the schools he started became the top students in Zimbabwe, something noted by government officials. “He was very influential in his area,” Pastor Williams recalls.
The area where Pastor Chigohi ministered lacks adequate medical facilities, which may have been a factor in his early demise. “It’s a tough place to get medical attention and they couldn’t get him attention fast enough,” according to Pastor Williams. He says his friend may have also been suffering from cancer.
At the time he came to Christ, Chigohi was also dealing with a health crisis. A painful infection and boil on his head rendered him unable to move from his bed. He spent many days listlessly, barely able to turn over, yet his witchdoctor father refused modern medical care.
“He would not allow me to go to the hospital because he believed he could heal through witchcraft,” Pastor Chigohi recalled later.
His father called on his spirits, but they could not heal the young man.
One day a team came from a neighboring village to show the JESUS Film. “I was warned by my father not to see any activity sponsored by the local church,” Pastor Chigohi noted. When his father and mother left him alone, they warned him not to watch the JESUS movie on the evening it was presented in their village.
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10 Shocking Stats About Teens and Pornography

 Friday, April 10, 2015 | Written by Matt Fradd

No matter how you slice it, it seems teens are using porn at startling rates today. Not surprising, since nearly a third of teens are walking around with an X-rated theater in their pockets—i.e. a smartphone. And now psychologists, even those who don’t have moral axe to grind with porn, are concerned about the kind of sexual education porn is giving kids and how it is harming their brains.
Here are 10 of some of the most alarming statistics we could find.

• 9 out of 10 boys and 6 out of 10 girls are exposed to pornography online before the age of 18.
• The first exposure to pornography among boys is 12 years old, on average.
• 83% of boys and 57% of girls are exposed to group sex online.
• 69% of boys and 55% of girls are exposed to same-sex intercourse online.
• 32% of boys and 18% of girls are exposed to bestiality online.
• 15% of boys and 9% of girls have seen child pornography online.
• 71% of teens have done something to hide their online activity from their parents.
• 28% of 16-17-year-olds have unintentionally been exposed to pornography online.
• 20% of 16-year-olds and 30% of 17-year-olds have received a sext.
• 39% of boys and 23% of girls have seen sexual bondage online.

(Get all the references for these by downloading out complete packet of pornography statistics.)
As parents, we have to prepare our kids for our sexualized culture and pornography specifically. If we don’t prepare them, who will?

About the author, Matt Fradd

Matt Fradd is the author of Delivered: True Stories of Men and Woman Who Turned from Porn to Purity. After experiencing a profound conversion at World Youth Day in Rome in 2000, Matt has worked through full-time lay ministry in Australia, Ireland, Canada, and Texas. He has served as an apologist for Catholic Answers and has traveled all over the world, speaking to tens of thousands of teens and young adults. He and his wife Cameron have four children and live in North Georgia.

Why Youth Ministry Is Crucial for the Future of the Church

By Greg Stier

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed there are an increasing number of churches that are eliminating the youth leader position at their churches and just appointing the catch-all position of family pastor to oversee children through college age. While I’m totally for family ministry (I’m the father of a teenager after all), I do believe that eliminating the youth pastor position in your church is not a good idea.
With this as a backdrop, here are 10 reasons why youth ministry (and, therefore, youth leaders) are more crucial than ever for the future of the church:
1. Youth ministry is the best bellwether (i.e., predictor) for the future of the church.
2. As Matt Reagan pointed out to me, youth ministry done well is the best “farm club” for future world changers.
3. Disciple-multiplying youth leaders often turn into disciple-multiplying church planters and pastors.
4. Well led teenagers can set the pace for prayer and evangelistic excitement church-wide.
5. Teenagers keep the pain reverberating in our society close to the surface so adults can know how to minister to their culture.
6. Godly, loving youth leaders are like parents to an increasingly un-parented generation of teenagers.
7. Teenagers have a built in “bologna barometer” that keeps hypocrites in our churches on their toes.
8. Every great movement of God since the beginning of this nation has had teenagers on the leading edge.
9. Family ministry alone tends to point teenagers inwardly, whereas youth ministry tends to point teens outwardly (and, according to Matthew 9:36-38, that’s where Jesus pointed his mostly teenaged disciples).
10. God has chosen the “foolish ones of this world to confound the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). If that’s not a case for youth ministry, I don’t know what is.
Pastors, don’t give up on youth ministry or youth leaders. Instead, help them to build Gospel-Advancing, Disciple-Multiplying youth ministries that set the pace for the entire church.  

Greg Stier is the President and Founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries, which is mobilizing teenagers across America to share their faith. More from Greg Stier or visit Greg at http://www.dare2share.org

The Poor You Will Always Have With You

“What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord God of hosts. Isaiah 3:15

This verse was what Robert Putnam, author of “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis” chose to read to kick off the Poverty Summit at Georgetown University. The three-day summit hosted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals, intended to raise awareness of poverty, and how to deal with it in our nation. 120 religious, civic and political leaders, including President Obama, attended to address issues like marriage, incarceration, and social responsibility.
While the topics discussed are as deep as they are far reaching, the reoccurring theme of speakers was the role of the church in alleviating the needs of the poor. In fact, Cathy Lynn Grossman from Religion News Services quoted Putnam saying:

Can we revive a communal sense that we are all in this together? Religion has a role, says Putnam. #Povertysummit

— Cathy Lynn Grossman (@CLGrossman) May 11, 2015

And President Obama pointed to the Pope as an example of framing the discussion on poverty:

“Our faith-based groups have the capacity to frame this, and nobody’s shown that better than Pope Francis.” —President Obama #PovertySummit
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 12, 2015

The focus on faith and poverty is nothing new. It is a debate that has been going on for centuries. And this summit is just another conversation of leaders talking about the poor and their status, with little (it seems) plan for action resulting from it.
As our nation’s leaders call upon faith-based organizations and churches to help the poor, there is a deeper question at hand. Why are churches increasingly absent in places of poverty in the U.S.? W. Bradford Wilcox in a recent Washington Post article, says the issue lies in money, sex, divorce and television. On the issue of money, in particular, Wilcox points out:

A key reason that working-class men are now less likely to attend church is that they cannot access the kind of stable, good-paying jobs that sustain a “decent” lifestyle and stable, married family life — two key ingredients associated with churchgoing in America.

Good-paying jobs and stable married life. Two definitive ingredients to going to church in America. When did these two things become the rule by which people are measured fit for church attendance? Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to be able to support your family and healthy marriages are part of the fabric of a vibrant community.
However, the Scripture has plenty to say about how God feels about the poor, starting with the above verse from Isaiah. The example Jesus set in His earthly ministry was pointed: the gospel is for all people; regardless of nationality, ability, income level, or relationship status. In Mark 14:7 He told His disciples, “For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.” The verses He read out of Isaiah 61 speak of ministry to those who have nothing and are utterly destitute. He also outlines the fact that any ministry done to those who are poor, naked, hungry, in prison or sick; indeed the very least of these, is our ministry to Him.
The church must be a place where people can come, physically impoverished and spiritually destitute, and find life. Our arms should sweep wide open to welcome the cast off of society and embrace the homeless in our cities. We should be the place where people are treated with dignity and respect. I understand there are complications when it comes to these issues. As a pastor’s kid whose parents run a street and homeless ministry in Colorado, I’ve experienced the difficulties that come with this kind of ministry.
But the Lord does not qualify His command to help the poor with, “Unless it makes you uncomfortable.” Or, “Unless the work is too complicated. Or, “People will take advantage of you, if that happens, walk away.” He calls His church to minister to sinners, broken and in desperate need of Living Water. If we are faithful to follow Him in that call, He will lead.
You can follow the last day of the #PovertySummit on Twitter.

Carrie Kintz is a freelance writer and communication strategist. She works with ministries and individuals across the country, helping them figure out what to say and how to say it in the digital space. Carrie has also spoken at conferences such as Social Ecclessia, Think Digital and the Best of Social Media Summit. When she's not writing (or tweeting), she enjoys hiking, time with friends and a good cup of coffee More from Carrie Kintz or visit Carrie at https://twitter.com/CarrieKintz

Oldest Duggar Son Admits to Molesting Children as a Teen

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The Duggar family, made famous on the reality show 19 Kids and Counting and for its outspoken conservative leanings, is trying to contain the media blitz over the announcement that oldest son Josh had molested five underage girls when he was 15 years old. According to CNN, Duggar refers to a 2006 police investigation—which did not result in an arrest—of accusations against the eldest Duggar son of child molestation in 2002–03 in Springdale, Arkansas.
Josh, now 27, abruptly resigned yesterday from his position at the Family Research Council, a national faith-based activist organization; FRC president Tony Perkins said in a website statement, “Josh believes that the situation will make it difficult for him to be effective in his current work. We believe this is the best decision for Josh and his family at this time.  We will be praying for everyone involved.”
Josh wrote in a Facebook post: “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. … I confessed this to my parents [and] we spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life. I sought forgiveness from those I had wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions. In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”
Josh’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, also wrote in the Facebook post: “Back 12 years ago our family went through one of the most difficult times of our lives. When Josh was a young teenager, he made some very bad mistakes and we were shocked. We had tried to teach him right from wrong. That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before. Even though we would never choose to go through something so terrible, each one of our family members drew closer to God. We pray that as people watch our lives they see that we are not a perfect family.”
For now, TLC has pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting from its on-air schedule, saying “We are deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time.”
(Photo credit: Facebook)

Viral Photos of Little Girl and Her Dad Capture Why China is a Ticking Time Bomb

Viral Photos of Little Girl and Her Dad Capture Why China is a Ticking Time Bomb
By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries and the ASSIST News Service
CHINA (ANS – May 21, 2015) -- On the eve of Chinese New Year, photos of a father and daughter traveling to see her grandparents have gone viral – picked up by dozens of blogs and media outlets worldwide, according to a story by Marisa Lengor Kwaning on the http://bound4life.com website.
“I saw a warning by police on the TV to take care as traffickers and pickpockets would be out stealing in the holiday rush,” said Mr. Chen according to reporting by The Daily Mail. “I don’t care about pickpockets, but I do care very much about losing my daughter.”
Kwaning’s story went on to say, “Such a stark image begs the question: how did China reach this point? The story stretches back over three decades, to a government policy that has resulted in the prevalence of sex-selective abortions.”
“Strict government control over family size has caused a serious gender imbalance due to a preference for sons, with today 33 million more Chinese men than women.”
One recent report said, “As more men remain unmarried, it raises the risks of anti-social and violent behavior.”
Kwaning said, “Major media outlets such as the New York Times and BBC News have recently touted a supposed shift in China’s totalitarian policies – from allowing Chinese parents to have a single child, to now proposing incentives for a newly revised Two Child Policy.
“Yet the true picture is not as reassuring as the ‘official’ story would indicate. Thirty-five years of national population control have had an undeniably troubling impact on Chinese society.”
According to China’s former Minister of Health Gao Qiang, China has 400 million fewer people today as a result of these policies. In other words, China has lost more people than the current 321.4 million population of the United States.
“The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of falsely representing its family-planning regulations,” stated Kwaning. “Originally implemented in 1979, the One Child Policy utilizes forced abortions, forced sterilization and forced contraception to manage population growth.
“A 2013 Chinese law sought to revise this policy, stating that families in which one parent was a single child would be allowed to bear two children. However, revising regulations has not reversed the human rights violations that persist.”
Human rights activist and former lawyer Reggie Littlejohn was quoted as saying, “Even if all couples were allowed two children, there is no guarantee that the Chinese Communist Party will cease their appalling methods of enforcement.”
Describing the violent methods that have persisted for decades, Littlejohn continues, “Women who get pregnant without permission will still be dragged out of their homes, strapped down to tables, and forced to abort babies that they want, even up to the ninth month of pregnancy.”
According to the latest report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, family planning regulations in 22 out China’s 31 provinces explicitly instruct officials to implement coercive measures such as forced abortions as their supposed remedy to solve the issue of “out-of-plan” pregnancies.
“Pro-choice and pro-life advocates can agree: No one should support forced abortion, because it is not a choice,” concludes Littlejohn, who advocates for justice through Women’s Rights Without Frontiers (http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org).
Kwaning’s story added that Chinese families’ preference for sons became the subject of a 2014 New York City art exhibit, as artist Prune Nourry sought to raise awareness of the human rights injustices created by population control.
“Standing for the value of every human life is a cause that can change the culture of China,” says Matt Lockett, Executive Director of Bound4LIFE International, which is involved in many nations globally. “A prayer movement has already begun that is contending for life with the same determination as this father protecting his daughter at the airport.”
Photo captions: 1) The girl handcuffed to her father. (Photo: XJZ/Quirky Chinese News/ Rex). 2) In Shanghai, men search postings at the “marriage market” (Photo: Chris Bentley / Flickr). 3) Reggie Littlejohn speaks at a press conference in the Canadian Parliament (Photo: WRWF). 4) Dan Wooding reporting for ANS from Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
About the writer: Dan Wooding, 74, is an award-winning journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for nearly 52 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and he hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States and around the world, and also “His Channel Live,” a TV show beamed to 192 countries. He is the author of some 45 books, the latest of which is a novel about the life of Jesus through the eyes of his mother called “Mary: My Story from Bethlehem to Calvary”. For more information, please go to http://marythebook.com/ , where you can find details of how to order the book.
Note: If you would like to help support the ASSIST News Service, please go to www.assistnews.net and click on the DONATE button to make you tax-deductable gift (in the US), which will help us continue to bring you these important stories.
** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)
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Atheist Saw Demons for two days in hellish vision

Atheist saw demons for two days in hellish vision, then Jesus brought rescue
By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS -- May 22, 2015) -- He grew up in a small town in the Midwest, a bright student who got straight A’s. But in high school he sowed wild oats, which led to ongoing drug problems until he had an extraordinary 48-hour vision of hell and its demons.
“I had always considered myself an atheist,” says Paul Gill, the author of Anastasis: A Memoir. “I didn’t grow up in a religious household. It was a non-subject.”
Part of his alienation from God stemmed from a troubled upbringing. “I had a painful childhood and I blamed God. I couldn’t understand how he could have made such a place. I couldn’t see any good in it. Because of my anger I decided he didn’t exist.”
In high school, Paul began to hang out with the wrong crowd. “I got into a lot of trouble; I drank a lot; I partied a lot.”
By his senior year he had landed in jail several times. “I went to rehab at 17 to avoid a longer jail sentence,” he notes, and spent his 18th birthday in rehab.
After he was released he returned to drinking and his downward spiral accelerated. Following his high school graduation, he and a friend hopped on a Greyhound bus and traveled from Louisiana to Colorado. He finally landed in California, north of San Francisco, where he took up residence, working in a pizza parlor.
The job allowed him to sleep in and continue his party lifestyle. “I surrounded myself with people who drank,” he says.
In October 1998 his life changed after he experimented with crystal methamphetamine. “I was awake for close to a week,” he recalls. Toward the end of that week, a veil was lifted that allowed him to see into another realm.
“I looked at my bedroom door and I saw the ghost of a little girl holding a mug of beer. She was shivering.”
Paul approached the door, tentatively. “Why are you here?” he asked.
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Mark Ellis is a senior correspondent for ASSIST News Service and also the founder of www.Godreports.com, a website that shares stories, testimonies and videos from the church around the world to build interest and involvement in world missions.
** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)
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