Churchmatters

 The American Church: Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We're Going It’s easy to take something we’ve been doing forever and assume that it will always be like that, because we don’t have any experience outside of what we already know. But if you look at the history of the church, it’s clear that change and growth are inevitable, so we need to embrace both if we want to move forward. In this blog post about the American church, I’ll go over how we got here, where we are now, and where I think we’re going in the future. Where we have been A brief overview of Christian history in America. It’s not just a list of who were presidents were or major events (we know you can look that up on Wikipedia), but what was happening to Christianity during those times. How did those historical events impact Christianity? What does our past tell us about how we view ourselves as Christians today? For example, our country was founded by Puritans who felt they needed to remove themselves f...

How to Choose a Fulfilling Career: 5 Tips to Get You Started If you can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning and work on something that matters, you know you’ve found your calling. For most people, it takes some time to find a fulfilling career, and in fact, some never do find it. If this sounds like you, don’t lose hope; there are ways to figure out what fulfills you and what doesn’t. Here are five tips to help you choose a fulfilling career that fits who you are and where you want to go. 1) Identify your strengths Too often, we take our strengths for granted. When choosing a career, it’s easy to look at occupations that pay well and think you should get one of those—but don’t underestimate how much more fulfilling it can be when you take advantage of your unique talents. Instead of focusing on money, focus on what you find interesting. Are you good at negotiating? Enjoying leading others? Good with people? Do those things come naturally for you? If so, then consider using them as ...

 5 Ways to Overcome Anxiety about the Future Anxiety about the future seems to strike all of us from time to time, but if you can’t put it into perspective and work through it, you may feel like your anxiety is out of control. The truth is that anxiety can get the best of anyone, but there are specific techniques that can help you overcome this common problem. In order to move past your anxiety about the future, consider implementing these five techniques in your daily life. 1) Remember That God Knows When anxiety starts creeping into your mind, remember that God has you covered. We don’t know what is coming next in our lives, but we do know God is with us and will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). You don’t have to be anxious—God’s got you! He will always provide for you and guide you through every situation. Remember that He loves you so much, He gave His Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for your sins so that one day when Christ returns, He can welcome you into h...

 How to Be Kind to Yourself: 10 Tips for Putting an End to Self-Criticism If you’re hard on yourself, you probably don’t realize it. It might seem like you’re being productive by keeping an eye out for your mistakes and holding yourself to an impossibly high standard, but it’s actually bad for your health to criticize yourself all the time. Take some time today to learn how to be kind to yourself by following these 10 tips that will help you stop punishing yourself and allow you to reach your potential with less stress and more ease! 1) Don’t Take Things Personally It’s not all about you. The world is not out to get you, despite how it may seem at times. And regardless of how much or little success you’ve had with your goals, those in your life—friends, family members and colleagues—are rooting for you. The next time something goes wrong in your life and self-doubt starts creeping in, remind yourself that there are bigger things going on than any one failure. Don’t let other people...

 The Silent Killer: How to Avoid Depression and Its Aftermath Although depression isn’t fatal, it certainly can feel like it at times. Nearly 1 in every 10 people will have depressive symptoms each year, and that statistic applies to everyone—men, women, rich and poor alike. Understanding the signs of depression and seeking help before it has the chance to get out of control can make a world of difference in how you handle the disease, so here are some tips on how to avoid depression and its aftermath. Why are there so many suicides? The World Health Organization (WHO) has just reported that every hour someone in Australia takes their own life. This equates to approximately 8 suicides per day, or one every three hours. Of course, for those left behind following a suicide death there is no such thing as ‘half a suicide’ or ‘just 1.5 of me died’ – it's devastating either way. [8] What causes depression?: There are many factors which can contribute to depression, including an imbalanc...

 How to Maintain Healthy Boundaries as a Christian Youth Maintaining healthy boundaries isn’t always easy, especially when you’re surrounded by people who don’t seem to have any boundaries of their own and continue to try to take advantage of you. Luckily, it’s not hard to set boundaries, especially if you’re grounded in God’s word and have something to refer back to as you define your personal boundaries based on what the Bible says about right and wrong. Follow these tips on how to maintain healthy boundaries as a Christian youth and set yourself up for success now and into the future! Knowing what we stand for There are few things more important in life than knowing what we stand for. It’s our foundation, our stability. Our identity. If you want to maintain healthy boundaries with your friends and acquaintances, it’s crucial that you know what kind of person you are; how far you can go before crossing that line between appropriate and inappropriate behavior or speech; when it’s ...