Your Students Are Asking These Questions Too

I've got my work cut out for me.

In Refuge, our Wednesday night youth class, we are in the midst of a series called "idk: answering tough questions about faith." Last night, I asked each person in class (which also included some college students) to submit a question he or she has about faith. I don't want to spend the entire series only answering questions that come from my head; I want to hear the questions my students are grappling with, and try to address those as well. So I asked for them. And boy, did I get what I asked for. I'll share some of them with you, because the odds are that your students are asking these questions too.

(Extra) Ordinary- The Life of Mary Parham

Today, I'm sharing a personal post. We buried my grandmother on Sunday and I had the honor of speaking at her funeral. Here's what I said...

In 2004, my grandmother traveled to Ghana, West Africa to visit the Christian school named in her honor. But because of illness, the trip was cut short. She thought she would never be able to return. The Lord, however, had different plans. She did return—twice!—in 2010, and again less than a year ago in the summer of 2012 for a final visit. For almost 20 years, right up to the day she drew her last breath, Grammy viewed the work in Ghana, West Africa as her God-given purpose in life. She could have with the Psalmist proclaimed: “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come” (Psalm 71:17-18). Her intense desire was for the gospel to be preached, the church to grow, and lives to be touched with the love of Jesus Christ through the Mary Parham International School. A few days before she passed away, she spoke on the phone with John Blay Eshun, the African preacher who calls her “mom.” She tried to explain that her health was failing fast, even as he spoke of his hope for her return to Ghana. She told him, “My heart is with you in Africa, but my body is too weak.” Truly, her heart belonged to the work, the place, and the people. And it’s remarkable that as we mourn here today, there are Christians, schoolchildren, families, and villagers on the other side of the world mourning with us.