At a point of strong political division in the US, where everything from “migrant caravans” to global trade is being politicised, Safiya Wazir is running for office in New Hampshire, a state that’s 94 percent white. 27 year-old Safiya says she is not interested in pursuing a career in politics, but in the short term she feels that she can make a difference on issues like education, senior care and paid family-leave.

Also: HIAS is one of the oldest refugee assistance groups in the US, we hear about the group's reaction to being named in social media posts by the alleged perpetrator of the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh; Australian political observer Bruce Hawker talks about political division in the US leading up to the midterm elections; In solidly Republican Tennessee we learn whether President Trump’s tariffs are swaying voters at the polls; Finally we look at foreign and domestic disinformation campaigns leading up the midterm elections in the US.

(Safiya Wazir speaks with a resident of Concord, New Hampshire, during her campaign in a race for the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Credit: Steven Davy/The World)

The United States census gets underway next year and the Trump administration wants to ask everyone if they're a US citizen. Critics say the question will discourage some immigrants from participating and lead to an inaccurate census. The Supreme Court will rule on the matter later this month. Also, a same-sex married couple has two sons ; one gets US citizenship while his brother does not; immigrants in New York find it harder to win asylum; a Russian grandmother becomes a US citizen; and a Brazilian-born musician took the oath of allegiance a year ago and now calls Texas home.

(Image: Demonstrators rally at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2019, to protest a proposal to add a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. (Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Susan Rice, National Security Advisor and UN ambassador during the Obama administration, joins us to talk about impeachment, Hunter Biden’s work in Ukraine, and the enduring legacy of Benghazi. Also, we look into President Trump’s latest executive order, which relies on a controversial definition of anti-Semitism; and there’s been a surge in applications for US citizenship ahead of elections in 2020 but wait times are getting longer and longer.

(Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice speaks at the J Street 2018 National Conference in Washington, DC. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

After almost eight years on the air, and more than 400 episodes, this is the final episode of Boston Calling with Marco Werman. We have three unforgettable stories that touch on some of the central themes of the program: justice and race, the environment and immigration. We have some heartfelt messages to share from some of our fans from around the globe, and also Marco’s parting words to the loyal listeners of Boston Calling. Image: Host Marco Werman high-fives a fourth-grader at Curtis Guild Elementary School in east Boston (Credit: Steven Davy/The World)

The post Everything you need to know about the 2024 Mass. ballot questions appeared first on Boston.com.

Concerns about how movie studios will use AI helped fuel last year’s film and television strikes by the union, which lasted four months.

The post Robert Downey Jr. says he ‘intends to sue’ all future executives who use his AI replica appeared first on Boston.com.

Plus: New England's scariest attractions, a cruise with celebrity chefs, and Kennebunkport Hotel Week.

The post There is no place like Salem during Halloween appeared first on Boston.com.

From a headless horseman to DunKings to Barbie.

The post These are the very best Halloween costumes we saw in Salem appeared first on Boston.com.

According to city officials, 87,351 visited on Oct. 31 alone.

The post Salem reports a scary big number of visitors this Halloween season, breaking past records appeared first on Boston.com.

<font face="Arial, Verdana" size="5"><b>Pune FC decry format change by AIFF for under-15 event</b></font><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="5"><b><br></b></font></div><div><span name="advenueINTEXT" id="advenueINTEXT" style="text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><div class="storydiv" id="storydiv" style="color: rgb(63, 63, 63); line-height: 17px; float: left; margin-right: 20px; "><div class="Normal" style="font-size: 15px; font-family: georgia; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 20px; ">MUMBAI: The <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Pune-FC&quot; style="color: rgb(51, 103, 151); text-decoration: none; ">Pune FC</a> Under-15 squad would not figure in this year's <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Manchester-United-Premier-Cup&quot; style="color: rgb(51, 103, 151); text-decoration: none; ">Manchester United Premier Cup</a> (MUPC) following a change in its format by the All India Football Federation. <br><br>The AIFF has restricted the tournament to one club per state. <br><br>"In a shocking development, the <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/All-India-Football-Federation&quot; style="color: rgb(51, 103, 151); text-decoration: none; ">All India Football Federation</a> (AIFF) and the sponsors of the tournament - leading sports apparel manufacturer <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Nike&quot; style="color: rgb(51, 103, 151); text-decoration: none; ">Nike</a> - decided to restrict the tournament to one club per state," a media release from Pune FC said, adding that the club to represent Maharashtra was chosen by a draw of lots in which <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Premier-International-Football-Academy&quot; style="color: rgb(51, 103, 151); text-decoration: none; ">Premier International Football Academy</a> of Mumbai got lucky. <br><br>"In the past editions of this one-of-a-kind tournament, all <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/I-League&quot; style="color: rgb(51, 103, 151); text-decoration: none; ">I-League</a> clubs received invitations in lieu of the tournament, national body and sponsors objective of promoting grassroot talent (particularly Under-15s) of I-League clubs," said the club which added the change in format was not communicated to the I-League clubs by AIFF. <br><br>"The change was not informed to clubs. At least we (Pune FC) did not receive any intimation and came to know about the change late Thursday evening. It's very disappointing on the part of the National body," said Pune FC's Head Operations, Chirag Tanna. <br><br>This year's MUPC is to be held at Jamshedpur in the last week of this month. <br><br>"As if changing the format is not enough, the selection process for Maharashtra by the state body<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Western-India-Football-Association&quot; style="color: rgb(51, 103, 151); text-decoration: none; ">Western India Football Association</a> (WIFA) was conducted by a lucky draw! Premier International Football Academy (PIFA), Mumbai got lucky and will represent the state as per the 'one-club-per-state' format," the club said, adding it had used the tournament to promote Pune city players in the last four years of MUFC. <br><br>"The tournament provided players their first touch of professionalism. Moreover, it attracted a lot many to the game with the hope of performing and showcasing talent on a national-level platform early," Tanna said. <br><br>"I can only imagine how disappointed the players feel. They have been training regularly since July 2011 and these whimsical decisions taken will only hurt the popularity of the sport," he added.</div><div class="Normal" style="font-size: 15px; font-family: georgia; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 20px; "><br></div><div class="Normal" style="font-size: 15px; font-family: georgia; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 20px; ">________________________________________________________________</div><div class="Normal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 20px; "><font face="'Arial Black'">What bull****. Yet another reason why youth football will never do well. We can say "Oh we have these FIFA Academies" but what about at Indian club youth level. This tournament should be for any team that meets a criteria. No matter how many teams from each state.</font></div><div style="font-size: 15px; font-family: georgia; "><br></div></div></span></div>

To say that Michael Farren is one of today’s top songwriters is a bit of an understatement. Besides penning “Let It Rain” which has sold a mere 2 million copies, been translated into multiple languages, and is impacting worshipers across the globe, Michael has written and is writing many of today's top songs for Christian Artists and churches. As a signed staff writer for Integrity Music he often writes and delivers as many as 100 songs a year. So how does he keep inspiration fresh? Here are some things I’ve observed: 

1. Gear is Ready to Go: Just like most of us Michael is always busy with something. Business, Church, Family, and just…life has its demands but he is always ready to record the moment inspiration does strike. Guitars are set out, keyboards are on, and the microphones are hot, just yearning for him to push the big red record button. Which he does, even if he only has 5 minutes before his next meeting.

2. Sounds that Inspire: The right sound can make all the difference. It can bend your ear towards a melody or strike your imagination. When he finds those products that do that, he buys them. Two of them are “The Giant” plugin by Native Instruments and a logic/mainstage instrument preset from Abel Mendoza’s company ‘That Worship Sound’.

3. Instruments That Have Songs In Them: How do you buy a guitar as a songwriter?  It’s not the best one or the most expensive. But You pick the one that has the most songs in it. Sounds dumb but it’s true. You play a bunch of them and see which one makes you want to sing a new song and which ones make you want to play an old tune. Then purchase accordingly.

4. Alternative Instruments That Play the Same as a Guitar: Don’t play the banjo or the Mandolin? No problem. As mentioned before the right sound bends your creativity in new directions but sometimes we are hampered by our playing abilities. A few easy solutions are two instruments that Michael keeps close by. The first is a Ganjo – a banjo that has the neck of a guitar. The second is a ‘Nashville Strung’ guitar – accomplished by taking a pack of 12 string guitar strings and then only using the higher string for each note. (hint: use the other strings for your regular guitar)

5. Listen to People's Prayers: If worship songs are supposed to communicate a person's heart to God, then it stands to reason we should be listening to more than just our own heart. When people pray, add your agreement and pay attention.

I’m sure I’ll have more nuggets of wisdom to share as I spend more time around the All About Worship offices and studio. Will pass them along as we go.

This is the first of a three-part series on team building. The ideas are simple, but the why behind the what is the secret sauce to growing a solid team. Like most people reading this, I’ve made mistakes. And those disasters have forged the conviction that we can’t be in ministry without being radically committed to loving Jesus and his church more, and on a daily basis.

Keep Jesus close, make sure that your family always takes the right priority (more on that in the future) and be willing to make your church better.  Notice I said better, not different. 

Better, Not Different

One of the biggest complaints I hear from worship pastors/leaders is that somehow, they have found themselves in a church that they really don’t like. 

They don’t feel appreciated by their lead pastors. 

They don’t like the weekend worship experience. 

They don’t like the people. 

At the end of the day, there is so much complaining that I am left scratching my head wondering if they even love Jesus.  If this is you, take some time to pray if you can make your lead pastors vision for your church come alive. If you aren’t in agreement, you may be in the wrong place.  Do yourself, your family and your people a favor and get connected with someone or something that is complimenting to your convictions and your philosophy.  God created you to be you, but we are servants before leading anything. Some of us carry the responsibility to make things different.  Most of us don’t.  Know your place.  Is it your burden to change things? …or is it your job to make things better.  Talk to your teams about this.  This is a fantastic “clarity” question that will free up your bandwidth.

Is it your burden to change things? …or is it your job to make things better.

OK, that is my soap box! ☺  As I give you these three helpful tips, it’s important for you to know that these are just tools.  You can’t fake or replace strong spiritual foundations of ministry leadership.  Love Jesus and use tools and resources to LOVE His PEOPLE better.  We try to change people or churches.  But what I’ve found is that when you develop people, things change. 

But what I’ve found is that when you develop people, things change. 

So, if it’s our job to make things better, what are some ideas that we can do to commit to improving? 

1. Develop a leadership pipeline

Developing a leadership pipeline is a helpful tool to bring clarity to “who’s responsible for who and who’s responsible for what”.  It’s really difficult for a worship pastor to carry the burden of a ministry on their shoulders alone…and they shouldn’t. I don’t have to tell you that the apostle Paul makes it clear that we are called to empower people to do the work of the Kingdom, not do it all on our own! (Ephesians 4:11-13) We also get a peek into Moses' anxiety in Numbers chapter 11, where he's at his wit’s end and well over his capacity. The Lord tells him to gather 70 of his most trusted and responsible people. Moses brings them to the "tent of meetings" and the Spirit of the Lord pours over them.

God helped Moses build his team. He will help you build yours.

A leadership pipeline helps you identify your 70 (or even 7 figuratively speaking). This is the pipeline our church utilizes.  

How this works:

In this chart, we document how responsibility falls within a team.

• An assistant is the first place in which we invite someone to be developed as a leader.
• A leader is the first level in which a person is responsible for a team.
• A coach is the first level in which a leader is overseeing other leaders.
• A director is responsible for directing a particular team.
• A pastor is responsible for care, culture and vision.

My favorite area to develop is our coaches. In worship ministry, I am so lucky to have some of the best coaches.

Here's how this role works:

Jordan Hicks is my guitar coach. He is responsible for developing all guitar leaders, recruitment and assimilating guitarists for all of our campuses, adult, youth and kids’ teams. He's responsible for all communication and administration for this group as well. Because Jordan is the leader I've poured into, he completely understands my values, our church’s values and culture, and our end goal. He's a volunteer, but he brings a priceless value of leadership and excellence to our church. Our worship leaders never should worry about who they are leading with. We are spoiled because of warriors like Jordan. He's just one example of Ephesians 4 coming to life in our ministry.

I grew up as a jazz musician—tenor sax. I loved John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk. C’mon somebody!  I was in high school when I first played in combos with some older pro musicians in our city. We started playing a blues tune when one of the guys stopped me and said, “In the words of Miles Davis, man…you can’t play blues because you haven’t hurt enough yet.”  Apparently, I lacked any sense of emotive playing ability as a teenager. And I hadn’t hurt enough yet. 

If playing jazz and blues is an expression of pain and hurt that we’ve experienced, then singing worship music is an expression of the HOPE we know. We can’t and shouldn’t do this alone. Lean on your team. Empower them. 

I am excited to share with you the next two tips over the next few months. You’ll be able to find them right here at allaboutworship.com.  If you have questions about developing your leadership pipeline, you can email me at mike@worship.coach.

For free development resources, check out www.worship.coach.

Over the last few months we’ve tackled the topic of TEAM BUILDING.  As much as I would love to feel as if we have this one nailed, we don’t.  TEAM BUILDING is a muscle that every leader needs to continue to develop.  It’s easy to let this one slip away from us! Just when we start to feel like we are getting on top of this, something changes.  A vital team member leaves.  A leader needs to take on the responsibility of a different area.  Your best guitar player gets hired as the worship pastor at another church.  These are all real-life situations that happen in even the best teams.  They will happen to yours as well.

In our “Month One” blog on team building we presented the IDEA of developing a Leadership Pipeline within your worship ministry.  This IDEA helped support that idea that building an EMPOWERED TEAM is a powerful Kingdom tool.  “Who’s responsible for who?” and “Who’s responsible for what?” are two of the most important questions that needs to be answered in any team environment.  When you lead a team with clarity and spread out the responsibility for others to own your team, you ignite growth opportunities that might have went unnoticed. 

In “Month Two” we presented the idea of “Making Recruitment and Assimilation a Normal for Everyone”.  So many times, I bump into Worship Leaders and Pastors that feel the very unfair burden of building ALONE.  With this IDEA, we present the notion that every team can build better and faster when the team members who are on the teams are your best recruiters.  Make this a normal practice.  At my church, we practice asking new team members to “bring one” with you.  We have found that by making this a standard practice at ground level, we never have to ask for participation from the 10,000-foot level.  Whatever is visible is what replicates.  Empower your best leaders to build.

So here we are. Month Three.

Idea #3. Clearly Identify and Communicate Simple On-Ramps.

I love my city.  I live in Lincoln, Ne.  Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  I love the youthful spirit and progressive nature of our city.  I have even grown to love and cherish the special college football atmosphere that engulfs our city on game day.  It’s addictive to say the least.  But one thing that I am not a big fan of is traffic on game day.  There is one primary road that leads into Lincoln and over 90,000 fans make the trek to our city on game day.  There are probable more if you include tailgaters.  THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM: The roads infrastructure needs to be able to support the traffic flow to the desired destination.  If there are too many confusing pieces of communication, it would put our city into emergency mode and have catastrophic effects.  I mean, the world might come to an end if people missed a Cornhusker Football Game! (No, but seriously) ;)

Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

Every month I host a worship leaders round table in Omaha Ne.  At this round table, Worship leaders from multiple different denominations gather for friendship and peer coaching.  These leaders have become family and they are amazing.  We discuss a wide range of worship ministry issues.  One topic that comes up regularly is “attracting the right volunteers”.  If a leader starts to pour their heart out to me about how they can’t get enough volunteers, I always ask one question to start the conversation.  “Can you tell me about your on-ramp?” This might sound overly simplistic, but what I have found is that sometimes we make it more complicated than it needs to be or we haven’t identified the answer to the most important question at all.  Every leader on your team, in unity, needs to be able to answer this question with clarity and simplicity.

 THIS IS THE QUESTION

“Where do I go and What do I do?”

 Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

 Here are a few suggestions when it comes to identifying your onramp into your ministry:

       1.     KEEP IT SIMPLE-

Keep it simple in language and communication.  Your “on-ramp” shouldn’t be riddled with complex forms, interviews and assessments.  Not yet anyways.  Create an “on-ramp’ that just answers the question, “where do I go and what do I do?”.  Worry about next steps later.  But for now, getting a “willing one” to show up is your biggest win. Make it simple for them.

For example, I person asks about playing guitar on the worship team.  Any leader in your department should be able to have the same simple answer. ”I am so glad you are interested!  We host all our new volunteers on Monday Nights at 6:30pm!  Would you be my guest?!”

       2.     USE WHATS ALREADY WORKING AS YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD-

­What is already working in your church?  Do you have a rehearsal process that is spot on?  USE IT!  Is God’s presence so thick in your weekend worship services that lives are being transformed?  USE IT! I’ve made the mistake of overthinking and over programming.  I’ve launched the “extra” visitor’s night or the quarterly worship night with the intentions of attracting new people.  Sometimes those things work.  But the problem is that even though they may be effective, it takes a long time for those events to represent the culture and team that we want people to be attracted to. 

Identify what’s already working and utilize those moments to “on-ramp” your team.

        3.     KEEP IT CONSISTENT-

Nothing can steal the wind out of the sails of progress like a good dose of inconsistency.  If you “welcome” new team members on Monday nights, keep that consistent for a season.  If you “welcome” new people to your choir rehearsal and you celebrate leaders that brought them, don’t change that unless you are communicating change.  Consistency, on this point, allows us the opportunity to get buy in from our team! Consistency builds reliability. Consistency gives our leaders tools to build with.  (Side note:  We will be talking about “embracing change” and reinvention in the upcoming months.)

Consistency tells our teams that we aren’t building a kingdom that only serves us, but we are leading an army that can fight battles when we share the burden.

Identifying your “on-ramps” could be a simple strategy that could help you engage people better.  Below is a sample of an “on-ramps” document that I created for our kid’s ministry at our church.  This idea isn’t just for worship/creative teams, but for everyone.

It is essential that you clearly communicate the “WHERE/HOW” to START whenever you are building teams.  Keep your communication clear and simple.  Try utilizing opportunities that your church is already doing well to interact with potential volunteers.  Lastly, be consistent.  Everyone should know the answer to this question: “Where do I go and What do I do?”.

 Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

Jesus, I pray today for the burden and stress that our worship leaders and pastors feel daily. We pray that you would continue to grow our capacity to shepherd well.  Thank you for entrusting us with big things.  We are honored to pastor your people.

Please feel free to use this resource or any that you find at worship.coach. Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions about these three helpful tips.  I am always glad to help. 

Michael King @michaelkingjr
free resources available at www.worship.coach

We are excited for you to meet our guests on the AAW podcast, Clinton Allen & Ryan Williams from River Valley Worship! They both lead worship at their church in Minneapolis, MN.  

In today’s interview, we’re talking with Ryan & Clinton specifically about their story as worship leaders and as songwriters. They talk to us about their current roles in their local church as worship leaders and leading teams. They also have some great insights about how they approach writing new songs for their church - considering the people that will be singing those songs and even their senior pastor - It starts with relationship!  They share experiences from leading REAL people in REAL ministry week to week, so we really believe this will speak to many of you listening that are also leading worship week in & week out.  You have authority as a pastoral musician. 

Last but certainly not least - you can find out more about River Valley Worship's brand new album!  Head on over to rivervalleyworship.org and find ways to listen below:

• Buy it on iTunes
• Listen on Apple Music
• Listen on Spotify
• Download on Amazon Music
• Download on Google Play
• Watch on YouTube

There's plenty of options there for you, there's no excuse!  Be blessed, and be sure to check out their new album —- “MILLION LIFETIMES”! 

I have always been a person who enjoys sports.  I grew up in northern Indiana, which is 30 minutes from Chicago, so we gave ourselves the right to root for a team from Chicago or one from Indiana.  Because of that my favorite teams were the Bulls, the Colts, and the Cubs. To me Michael Jordan is the GOAT, Peyton Manning is one of the GOAT and the Cubs, well until last year they were the lovable losers.  I know I just lost some of you because you would completely disagree with my selection of teams and players. Some of you would quote statistics and others would just spout opinions but we would probably end up agreeing to disagree.

I have a couple hats and jerseys of my favorite teams that I love to wear around town knowing that guys are going to let me know of their approval and sometimes disapproval of my choice of team.  If I’m wearing a certain team's apparel the guys assume that is where my allegiance lies.

To a certain extent, worship can work similar to a jersey.  When we worship we are making an outward declaration of where our loyalty lies. The world is watching us in times of stress, trials and difficult situations to know who has our allegiance.  Have you ever heard anyone ask the question, “How can you still believe in God with all the bad stuff that has happened to you?” The reason they ask that question is that most people change allegiances whenever things don’t go their way.  They like to treat God as a genie and if He does not pop out and answer their wishes then they will go find someone who will obey their commands. Worship indicates that you believe God is who he says He is no matter what the situation says about Him.  

This does not mean that everyone who sings a song or says something good about God has given Him their allegiance.  God is wanting you to do more than just wear the jersey, He wants you in the game. When Jesus came on the scene and ran into the Pharisees, he basically called them out as guys who were wearing the jerseys but they were all talk and no action.

“These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they’re worshiping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy.” Matthew 15:9 (MSG)

You know the type of person Jesus is talking about... the one who wears the jersey and is constantly using language like “we” lost the game and “we” need to step it up next game.  They make it sound like they were actually out on the field and had something to do with the final outcome of the game. They wear the jersey, slap on a hat and let everyone know where their allegiance lies but in the end, they are just an armchair quarterback.  They know the players, the stats and all the language but they have never been out on the field.

Let's not be that type of person.  No more armchair worshipers trying to act like we are in the game but we are just going through the motions with no heart.  True worship reveals an allegiance when you backup your words with actions. I refuse to be a person who sings about heaven on Sunday but lives like hell on Monday.  I want to live a life of worship that screams to those around me that my allegiance is to Jesus and I will never change my mind.

This is it ... a new beginning with the merging of two super-podcasts into one! The Worship Podcast is here, powered by All About Worship (Dustin Smith & James Galbraith) and WeAreWorship (Wisdom Moon & Morgan Shirey). On today's pilot episode, all four hosts sit down to discuss the transition, as well as the resources and teaching they hope to provide to our listeners.  Listen in, and welcome to our brand new show!

You can also connect with The Worship Podcast on social media:
The Worship Podcast on Facebook
The Worship Podcast on Instagram
The Worship Podcast on Twitter

Last weekend I went camping. Yep, tents, fires and axes. Now, I am FAR from a camping guy, but a certain ministry called Be Fierce was needing some worship and I filled the void.  Be fierce is a ministry that is, right now, dedicated for men. So I went and did what we all think men love...camp. It was three days of seventy-plus guys getting together and seeing what God would do among them. What happened next surprised me.

Now, you may ask, what does this have to do with worship? Or leading worship? Well, nothing really, except through that weekend I began to realize the power of brotherhood and how that can impact our families and communities.

You see there is power when we all get together and worship. The power of all. This is especially impacting when it is men functioning in this activity. Hmmm, in this day and age that may sound sexist, but Be Fierce has a mission and passion to see fathers turning back to their sons, and sons to their fathers. Also, for men to be handed the right tools to better take their honorable positions in their local churches. So, it’s not something that is sexist, but it is addressing the issue that has allowed men to sit back and watch their wives, sisters and daughters take positions that shouldn’t be theirs to have to take on.

The weekend was soon filled with voices raised and a fight in the spirit. I saw men come alive with the presence of God. It wasn’t through super hyped church services (only me and a guitar) or an overwhelmingly good sermon,  but through continued service to each other, shoulder to shoulder through activity and common union. There was brotherhood, and for many reasons that has been hard to come by. Be Fierce as a ministry had hit the nail on the head and saw a need for Fathers and sons alike to experience God, not through a good church service, but through each other - even if that was around a campfire or even in a tent. In this, they became stronger. They worshipped harder. They laughed louder and they helped disciple each other.

I can imagine the cave times with David and his soon-to-be mighty men looked similar. Men that talked and listened, worshiped and fought together through the best and worst times of their lives.

So, we shouldn’t neglect the need for men to stand strong together. Be Fierce encourages that, and they are seeing stronger families and churches because of it.

I heard a sermon the other day that was challenging. You know the ones that speak right to you? Ugh, I hate when they do that. The pastor started saying (paraphrased), “Trying to change the big things in your life ultimately fails. It’s very hard to do and it doesn’t work as well as changing the small or insignificant things. You see, small things/ideas/habits that you can effectively change will build up overtime to become one big massive change. We don’t usually see it until we look back throughout our lives and see how much has altered. So today, based on that, I decided to give some practical small things we can alter today that hopefully over time will become life changing.

1. Prayer.

Ooooh... this is a goody. Naturally, every pastor/leader/teacher/parent/theologian wants you to pray more. But when talking with friends and peers, it actually seems everyone does! So why don’t we? Well, to some, prayer can be daunting. What do I say? Is God really listening? All this takes is a small change. For example, commit to praying for 5 mins alone everyday. Doesn’t matter when, just that you can commit to the 5 minutes. Then after a while, go for 10 minutes. Then go from there. If you want to cultivate that prayer life, start small.

2. Reading

The Bible, John Grisham, or Marie Kondo, I don’t care (well the Bible is something you should read, just sayin’). Start small. Maybe a few verses a day, or a chapter. Build that up over time and don’t allow the excuse of “I have no time” to rule you! I did this many years ago. I committed to read my bible daily, which at that point was a miracle. After one month I was hooked. God began speaking clearly through his word and honestly, life got better. Try it. But start small.

3. Food.

Well, here I go hitting a nerve. Mainly in my right heart valve. Losing weight is hard to do. Working out? Hard to do. Unless.... you start…. small. You’re getting it. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Find a buddy to walk with, or when you go out, only order from the kids meal. Having a community that has your best interests at heart makes this easier, so take the small step and get people together to be active, and stay accountable. Start small and grow from there. I mean, not grow as in waistline... you know what I mean.

4. HAVE SOME STINKING FUN

I recently started posting random out of context bible verses on my Instagram (@njgalbraith) just as a way to have fun and let others enjoy the process. I’ve received many messages saying this is the highlight of their day! It didn’t take much for me to put it out there (or for you to go watch them) but the small step I took to try and give people some laughs is paying off. Who knows where it will end up, but I started small and am letting God grow it with me. You may have something just like that. That thing that makes people laugh or have fun. Do something small (like send a mass meme text to friends?) and see where the fun takes you!

So start putting these into practice today. Like, right now. NOW. And apply this to anything you have in your life that you want to succeed in. Businesses, relationships, church, anything! Start small, and see where God leads you.

The Dodgers and Padres have created the best rivalry in MLB through a willingness to spend on big-name players and be contenders every season.

This is coming from a Cardinals fan...

Baseball always in season at the former home of Jack Barry

The Boston Red Sox offseason is expected to be full of moves. The Red Sox extended a qualifying offer worth a healthy $21.05 million to Nick Pivetta. While surprising, the decision by the Red Sox regarding Pivetta could end up being very shrewd, as The Boston Globe's Julian McWilliams explained alongside Jahmai Webster during Monday's episode of NESN's “310 To Left” podcast.

The Boston Red Sox definitely are keeping their options open. Boston's starting rotation needs an addition or two, and with each passing day, it seems like that will happen. The Red Sox are expected to spend heavily this winter and have been tied to every big-name player who is available. The Red Sox mainly have been linked to the likes of Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, and Max Fried, but there are other options out there.

This week Zorba and Karl discuss new research that shows we age dramatically at two key times in our lives, and they talk about how much water we need to […]

This week Zorba and Karl discuss how certain foods can improve your mood, and they talk about the FDA claiming a decongestant in popular cold medicines doesn’t work at all. […]

I’m a small church pastor. That’s where my calling is. I belong in churches where I’ve been to everyone’s house and know their dog’s name. What about my teenaged kids? What’s in it for them? If you are a teenager, is there a small church blessing for you? I talked to my teens, did a little research, gave it some thought and prayer, and here’s what I came up with: four big benefits to “teening” in a small church (a phrase which my 14-year-old said was “corny, but fun”). If you’re a small...

When Dan Bellamy was preparing for a missions trip to Jamaica during his senior year of high school, he was introduced to the art of balloon sculpting. He was only going to pick up a few tricks from his instructor (a professional clown), but soon the student surpassed the teacher and a new interest and eventual career in ministry was born. "I had no expectations of making it more than a hobby during college or long after college. You know, it crossed my mind during seminary, but I never really...

Preethi's depression grew deeper each day. Her father had committed suicide, and her mother was too poor to afford school fees. But Preethi experienced transformation when she met the One who loved her so. See how life can change.

The coronavirus pandemic is causing the world to realize just how fragile life can be.  More than ever, people need to hear that God is good and offers us salvation through Jesus.  As Christians, we have a unique opportunity to glorify God as we serve our neighbors. Through the ages, amazing things have occurred during difficult times. The story of C.S. Lewis writing the classic book Mere Christianity is one of those.  In the book, C. S. Lewis at War - The Dramatic Story Behind Mere...

The bond we share with dogs runs deep. The satisfaction of gentle head scratches or a round of playing fetch is simple and pure, but in other ways, the connection we have is truly unknowable. How do dogs make our lives better? How do they think? And how do we give them the lives they deserve?
 

Original Air Date: February 05, 2022

Guests: 

Blair Braverman — Quince Mountain — Donna Haraway — Sarah Miller

Interviews In This Hour: 

Adventure, goofiness and trail snacks: Stories from the dog musher's journal — Getting inside the mind of a dog — Nothing makes losing a dog easy. But a bridge dog can help. — Joy and peace, high up on Dog Mountain

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Jane Goodall has seen wild chimpanzees dance and bristle with excitement around roaring waterfalls — and she thinks it’s an experience of awe and wonder — and possibly a precursor to animistic religion. 

But can we ever know why our ancient human ancestors developed spiritual beliefs? Can evolutionary science uncover the roots of religion?  

At some point our ancestors went from admiring waterfalls to worshipping them - and all kinds of spirits and gods. They developed sacred rituals and turned stones into totems. And then came the Battle of the Gods. 

This was produced in partnership with the Center for Humans and Nature, an organization that brings together scholars from a diversity of disciplines to think creatively about our relationships with nature and each other. What do you think evolution can tell us about love and morality? Share your thoughts at humansandnature.org. This episode was made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation.

Original Air Date: May 14, 2017

Guests: 

Jane Goodall — Laura Kehoe — Frans de Waal — Barbara King — Ara Norenzayan — Jeff Schloss — Andrew Newberg

Interviews In This Hour: 

Do Chimpanzees Have Spiritual Experiences? — How 'Big Gods' Transformed Human History — An Evolutionary Biologist Searches for God — What Bliss Looks Like In Your Brain — Are Morals a Part of Our Evolution?

Further Reading:

Center for Humans and Nature

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Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Master Wall ReCote is a beautiful lightly textured acrylic coating that rejuvenates surfaces of brick, concrete, masonry or tilt-up concrete. The integral colors enhance the surface while maintaining the modular patterns of the wall surface.

One-Step Trowel-On Membrane is a self-gauging trowel-on membrane that acts as both moisture/air barrier and adhesive. One-Step Trowel-On Membrane produces a level surface of approximately 1.5 mm thickness of membrane and adhesive and allows simultaneous installation of drainage insulation. This feature makes waterproofing applications fast and easy, saving labor costs of 25% or more in efficient application of drainage insulation over vapor/air barrier membrane.

The construction industry is traditionally focused on family—whether it’s a multi-generational building firm or supplier, or a crew who becomes like family working side by side each day.

Join us at our upcoming webinar “Using Spray Textures on Walls and Ceilings for Stunning Results” on Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. ET.

The storm that ended the EIFS housing boom.

If you’ve ever purchased ready-to-assemble furniture at IKEA or if you’ve put together toys on Christmas Eve you have been involved with prefabricated products. 

L.B. Hall Fireproofing, a minority- and women-owned fireproofing company located in Crystal Lake, Illinois, announced that Estefania Roa will become the company’s new CEO. In 2022, Roa became president and owner.

All Weather Insulated Panels has introduced two new mineral wool panels to its existing category of fire-rated insulated metal panels. The pair of new mineral wool panels — HE42-MW and PL42-MW — are both non-combustible and provide hourly ratings.

Today we talk through that terrible, horrible, uncomfortable word; Discipline. How do you effectively correct or discipline your team when/if it’s needed? Should it really come down to that? Oh boy.

James and Dustin dig deep into the realities of this topic within our worship teams and how to make sure we are the best we can be.

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The Worship Podcast is powered by All About Worship in partnership with WeAreWorship. This episode also features Song Capture.

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Well, well, well. Here we are again. Today James and Dustin talk through the life as worshippers through different stages of their walks. Are you living up to heavenly expectations?

Check this out and see.

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The Worship Podcast is powered by All About Worship in partnership with WeAreWorship.

Subscribe to the podcast:
theworshippodcast.com
linktr.ee/theworshippodcast 

You can also connect with The Worship Podcast on social media:
The Worship Podcast on Facebook
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Before you hurt yourself jumping out of your Barcalounger so you can dial up the editor to launch complaints about this piece, a thread on the Walls and Ceilings bulletin board regarding "Box Marts" struck a nerve in yours truly and was the motivation behind this month's diatribe.

The year was 1977 and yours' truly was trying desperately to hold the end of a 12-foot sheet up while trying to finger a nail into the edge of the board and hit the nail instead of my fingers with a roofing hatchet. If memory serves, back then we were using blue ring shank nails. The heads were barely larger than the circumference of the rings, so it was virtually impossible to drive one without ripping the face paper under ideal conditions, and these were not ideal conditions.

Once upon a time, long before there were ads for lawyers on every corner, television, radio station, billboard and listed on 72 pages of every phone book in the country, job-site practical jokes were commonplace.

Being on the front line of the drywall trade allows this reporter a unique perspective into the everyday trials and tribulations of a broad spectrum of drywall dogs.

When a blues music aficionado uses the term “old school,” he may be referring to artists such as Muddy Waters, Etta James, John Lee Hooker or B.B. King. When old school country music artists are discussed, names such as Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr., Jimmie Rogers and Patsy Cline will certainly be mentioned. In this instance, old school is used in a positive way. The inference is that these artists were pioneers in their field and that their contributions have stood the test of time and that their art is still considered relevant, even though it was produced decades ago.