The Dawn Treader

Faith Christian School in Roanoke, VA has the motto: "A mind for truth, a heart for Christ, a will to serve."  It is a pithy and sticky description of the mission of the 10 year old classical Christian school.

Faith Christian has been in the local news recently: in the Roanoke Times, Cave Spring Connection and Our Valley news web site.

The Dawn Treader made the list of approved blogs for the seventh grade logic class at Faith Christian and the twelfth grade philosophy and apologetics classes.  You may see some new commenters on the blog from these communities.  Please make them feel welcome!

Ever try to think of nothing?  Go ahead and try now.  I'll wager you can't do it.

What exactly is nothing?

D. James Kennedy, minister of Coral Ridge Presbyterian, is stepping down.  He suffered a heart attack in late December and has suffered with poor health since then.

I have been through Evangelism Explosion (EE) training twice since 1992.  Kennedy was the inspiration, energy and force behind EE as well as many other ministries.  Ever been through EE?  It is quite an experience.  The stories I could tell ...

Kennedy has served Christ faithfully for over four decades in South Florida.  I wish him well.

Drudge reports that CNN's God Warriors with Christiane Amanpour pulled in huge numbers.  Many of you must have seen it.  I caught the last 30 minutes of the 6 hour series to see how Christianity was depicted.  If you are interested in discussing it, meet me over at The Point.

(photo courtesy of CNN).

L.A. Times journalist William Lobdell had a religious experience at age 28.

"With my eyes closed in prayer, I saw my heart slowly opening in two and then being infused with a warm, glowing light. A tingle spread across my chest. This, I thought, was what it was to be born again.

At first, it seemed to work ...

I felt like all the tumblers of my life had clicked. I had a strong marriage, great kids and a new column. I attributed it all to God's grace."

At age 43, it was clear that it had not ...

My soul, for lack of a better term, had lost faith long ago — probably around the time I stopped going to church. My brain, which had been in denial, had finally caught up.

Clearly, I saw now that belief in God, no matter how grounded, requires at some point a leap of faith. Either you have the gift of faith or you don't. It's not a choice. It can't be willed into existence. And there's no faking it if you're honest about the state of your soul.

I had the privilege of serving with many others from Christ The King Presbyterian at Straight Street ministries tonight.

The mission and purpose of Straight Street is to provide a positive Christian environment where at-risk youth can go and obtain the necessary skills and training needed to mature and to discover God's Divine plan for their lives.

Straight Street Ministries web site

Straight Street ministers to more than the youth of Roanoke.  They help adults get back on their feet.

After helping to hand out food, I had the privilege of getting to know a nice person named Yolanda.  She lives in the Washington Park area in Roanoke.  She loves God, but has had some bad experiences at two different churches in Roanoke.  She shared some hard things to hear.  I asked her how I could pray for her.  She said she is in financial trouble.  She needs money for everything from laundry to rent.  She asked for prayer for her finances.  She also asked if I would pray for her to find the right church.

I promised Yolanda I would pray for her.  Please pray for her too.  And pray for the fine people at Straight Street that they would have grace to be the hands and feet of Christ to hurting people in our community.