You’ll just have to read this one for yourself: Activists Want Chimp Declared a “Person.” No, this is no joke. But, as one of my friends sarcastically sent in an email: “We all evolved from them anyway, so why should we question the chimp being a person.” Thanks, Derek, for the link to the article and Dave for the comment.

Brother Wayne Jackson has an excellent article on ChristianCourier.com right now on giving. It utilizes First Corinthians 16:1-2 and studies each part of it. Working with young people, one of the hardest things to get them to understand is that, if they are a Christian and money–in any form–comes their way, they are to give some to the Lord. Young people don’t want to give from their allowance or Christmas or birthday money. Brother Jackson writes, For each family income there must be a gift. If the husband/father is the sole wage earner, he obviously will be the only source for a gift. If the mother/wife has a separate income,…

TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the world has been released online. While these lists are basically made for starting arguments, TIME has taken it to a new level. Included in the list are Rosie, Leonardo and even Borat. Political leaders include Barak Obama and even Osama bin Laden. It should come as no surprise that several Democratic presidential hopefuls are on the list, but there are zero Republican hopefuls on the list. And, more than that, President George W. Bush isn’t on the list. Let that sink in for a minute. I didn’t say that we should agree with everything the President does, but isn’t he influential? TIME…

Saturday will mark another running of the Kentucky Derby. I hate that horse racing has become nothing but a sport run by gambling. I enjoy watching the “big” races (Triple Crown, Breeder’s Cup, etc.). The horses are truly a thing of beauty to watch. However, I understand that they are just horses! While watching a video of Secretariat’s Belmont victory might be a thing of beauty, it is still just a horse race. Barbaro was supposed to be the next “super-horse.” He won the Kentucky Derby, but then, infamously broke his leg in the Preakness. After months of rehab and surgery, he died earlier this year. Last Sunday would have…

The state of Georgia is considering allowing students in public schools to take classes in Old Testament and New Testament. The classes would be simply historical and literature type classes, because the Bible is such as huge part of history. Teachers would not be allowed to bring in devotional-type material and, of course, would not be allowed to “indoctrinate” students. Of course, the ACLU–along with other groups–will be keeping a close eye on the whole process. They don’t want Georgia schools to start teaching the subjects in the first place, but they will be quick to strike if a teacher goes too far (probably defined as “opens a Bible”). For…

When Jeroboam became king of Israel, he realized he had a problem. He wondered how he could keep the people loyal to him once they returned to Jerusalem (in Judah) for worship. In First Kings 12:27 he wondered, “If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” His solution was quite simple, but terrible. He sinfully changed the worship of God and made it more convenient. Instead of traveling all the way to Jerusalem,…

If you have not yet signed up to receive “For Youth Ministers, By Youth Ministers,” you have missed out. In 2007 we have started sending out the free e-newsletter every other month, and this change has been well received. Also, we have a new look for the newsletter. Joey Sparks serves as one of the editors and he has done a great job designing the newsletter for us. (A screenshot of the March-April issue is pictured.) The May-June issue will be sent out no later than next Monday, and will contain articles dealing with special Summer events. It was my privilege to write an article about Vacation Bible School. Remember,…

In the wake of corporate scandal at places such as Enron, business schools have tried harder to enforce ethics codes. Sadly, it has not always worked. The latest large-scale cheating scandal comes from the Fuqua School of Business on the campus of Duke University. The school claims to have truly focused on the ethics of business, but the students–34 of them–are still accused of cheating on an exam. Why do we have all these scandals in businesses and business schools? Could it be that so many are more worried about making a buck than making an honest buck? When man and money are the only things that matter, why worry…

We are going to have to chage the layout of our blog if we keep adding stuff(!), but we want to keep the site up-to-date and informative. Because we have added so many new things recently, our latest update is at the bottom of the page. It is a live feed from Digital Bible Study’s website. DBS is a site that utilizes live streaming to teach the Gospel. They archive older sermons and present those–along with new material and even some congregation’s live services on Sundays–for anyone to see and learn. The stream should start automatically, so it will be running as you read. If you wish to stop the…

Schools all over the US and Canada are banning digital music players, such as iPods and Zunes. Why? Because students are downloading test answers, math formulas and even “Schoolhouse Rock” songs and using them to cheat on tests. I understand that there will always be some who will cheat on tests and homework assignments. I just wonder, though, how much time is spent thinking of things to download (or voice record), downloading them and filing them in the player. In all that time, why not just study for the test?! Dishonesty is a character trait that is growing all the time, but Christians need to be above the world. Some…