Chronicles of Ike - Part 1

Where to begin... My wife has already covered her efforts to help us get ready, so she and I will each be providing coverage of Ike from Brenham, TX.

Let's begin:

Yesterday afternoon my good friend and fellow pastor/elder at Christ Church, Justin, and I were driving back from a HaMoreh board of directors meeting in Houston. Fortunately, while we were heading back around 2 pm we chose to get on the HOV on 290. However, when we got off the HOV we were in some pretty tight traffic (the picture below was 290 at 359). It was moving though, which we were grateful for.


Last night, my good friend Peter M. (25, SWCM seeking SCF) and I were taking down some trees in our back yard. We had to head over and pick up my wallet that I left in Justin's truck (see above). We were driving over 290 last night here in Brenham at about 6:45 pm and here is what we saw:
Earlier this afternoon Pete and I were heading over to Justin's place to get my bolt cutters back so that Pete could take a fence down at his house. On our way back from Justin's we saw this:

This was outside of Chappell Hill on a back road. I guess Chappell Hill doesn't have a 311 service? And yes, that is a ride-a-mower on a real live street...

More news to come from Brenham, TX

Preaching Quotes

I am currently reading through Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson for Intro to Expository Preaching and thought I'd share a few compelling quotes:

"Regrettably, many preachers fail as Christians before they fail as preachers because they do not think biblically.  A significant number of ministers, many of whom profess high regard for the Scriptures, prepare their sermons without consulting the Bible at all.  While the sacred text serves as an appetizer to get a sermon underway or as a garnish to decorate the message, the main course consists of the preacher's own thought or someone else's thought warmed up for the occasion (26)."

"In dependence upon the Holy Spirit, the preacher aims to confront, convict, convert, and comfort men and women through te  proclamation of biblical concepts.  People shape their lives and settle their eternal destinies in response to ideas (39)."

I've always known that God has called me to a weighty task, but the more I learn, the more humbled I am.  I covet your prayers.

A Genesis 3 Parallel

"Don't eat from that tree, you will surely die."

"Braelyn, don't touch the iron, it will burn you..."

They ate, and she touched...

They died, and she was burned...

She's okay, but she learned something today. So did I...

You know you have a good preaching prof when...

Yes. This is actually our BlackBoard page for our class. And, Yes. That is the preacher from the Simpsons.

I Win!

You Should Buy: Stephen Miller's 'Rise Up' EP

My good friend, Stephen Miller, has released his latest Worship Experience EP, "Rise Up". I've been very encouraged by these Christ-centered lyrics and excellent musicianship. Give it a listen and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Listen and Purchase:

Independent Bands
iTunes

Voicemail Greeting

I Intentionally Deleted My Last VLOG™

After talking with Steph and thinking more about my VLOG™ asking about fundraising, I decided to remove the video, PayPal button, and polls. I appreciate those of you who offered feedback and voted. Upon further thought I realized that it would be best to keep this blog as a personal place to share, etc. There will be more VLOGs™ to come. Peace.

I've Been Tagged

I'm taking a brief break from Vlogging™ as my dear wife has tagged me in one of those blog-tagging games... Since she was the one who tagged me, I will participate:

The tagging rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

1. I'm a closet computer nerd. When I was in Middle School I used to be a part of two different international 'clubs' that helped 'transport' certain software from one place to another via 2400 BPS and then 14.4kbs using 'free' long distance services... Needless to say my curiosity and greed had the best of me for a while.

2. In the 8th grade I was the Vice President of the Student Council at Holub Middle School. I gave a speech at the end of my 7th grade year to several hundred students (my first large crowd for public speaking) and won the election by a landslide.

3. I was extremely shy as a child and one time I had an opportunity to kiss a Dallas Cowboy's cheerleader (when I was 4) at the Killeen Mall (Killeen, TX) on camera (local TV news) and instead I hid behind my mother. I was scared of the cameras, honest!!!

4. I am missing a permanent tooth on the top right of my mouth (incisor, I think), so when I had braces they moved all my teeth forward and bonded the front ones to make them pretty.

5. I've struggled with anxiety most of my life and still do not like to be in large crowds. It's weird, I can preach to thousands on a stage (still nervous), but I hate being in crowds. Perhaps that's why I have never fully enjoyed a concert.

6. I was the 'Cowardly Lion' in the Wizard of Oz my senior year of High School. I graduated as an honor Thespian, but most of you all know that part. AND when I was 14-15 years old I wanted to be a dancer for a gangster rap concert/music video.

Well, that's my six. Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts... Or make fun of me, or whatever.

I tag:
1. Blake Q. - I can't wait...
2. Justin H. - Giving some good-sportsman-like love...
3. Dr. Brandi H. - Another thing to distract you from studying...
4. James L. - For foiling my Vlog™ discovery...
5. Wayne B. - Because I know you are interesting...
6. Robin B. - Jealous of your 75 degree weather year round...

Braelyn Sings - Out-take

Braelyn Sings - Part 2

Braelyn Sings - Part 1

Roller Coaster

Sunday School or Small Groups?

I (accidentally) Stole a Bank Thingie

The World's First Vlog™ - Sort of...

100th Blog Post!!!

The winner can comment and let me know the book he or she wants or send me an e-mail!

Congrats!

Here's to 100 more blog posts!

100th Post Contest!!!

Well, it has snuck up on me, but I'm about to celebrate my 100th post! So, keeping in step with my dear wife, I too am going to have a contest!

Here is a list of books that my winner can choose (1) from:







It is easy to enter the contest, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you are entered in. If you happen to own all of these books and you win, or you want something else, I'll work it out with you!

I will announce the winner on Wednesday night, August 13th. Enjoy!

Heads Up: Gutensite.com

Have you ever had a great idea for a website, but lacked the know-how or resources to make it happen? Well, our good friends at Crate Media are now offering a new product called Gutensite. This service allows you to create your own customizable website either for free, or for an affordable monthly rate. They have great templates available and excellent resources to help you learn their complex, but simple to use Content Management System (CMS).

Go check it out! OH and I have a present for you! Below is a promo code that will get you one month free if you choose to go PRO!

Click Here to Get Started!

Promo Code: BFF93

Pics from Braelyn and My Birthday Party in July

Tired of Toiling

“Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.”
(Proverbs 23:4 ESV)

I'm a busy guy. I like to do a lot of things. But lately, it has become more of a 'have to' with many things and less of a 'get to'. I run a ministry (paid), am one of the pastors of a church (jewels in my crown), and started a pressure washing business (paid, most of the time). I enjoy each one very much, but as of the last 6 months or so we have had a heck of a time making ends meet.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the struggle and value it's importance in our sanctification. Also, I understand that being the head of my family sometimes requires me to have to say 'no' or a 'not right now,' but I never thought it would become so frequent. I am not opposed to working hard and I don't want to point the finger, blame the economy, or gas prices. However, I am pretty tired and a bit discouraged. My good friend Kempton one time warned me not to grab Hagar to make an Ishmael when God had been promising Isaac (See Genesis 16). So, I don't want to run after or invent one business/job/ministry opportunity or another, especially just for money, however I don't want to miss the 'life raft' and call it waiting on God, when I'm just being complacent.

Please do not read this and feel sorry for me. I believe James 1:2-4. Please just pray for us that God would meet some specific needs and give us some rest.

Sermon Series Branding

Here is a response I gave to the following blog entry on 22 Words:

Sermon series branding: If your church does it, does it help? If they don’t, why not?

August 2, 2008 at 8:30 am ·

It seems like there’s an increasing trend of churches creating complete designs—logos, websites, previews, commercials, hype—around each new sermon series.

Here was my response:

Good question. Perhaps it is a question of why, how, and who. Why are you doing it? How does this fit with the vision/mission that God has given your community? Who are you hoping to appeal to?

As we can see above, many have indicated that they are beyond the flash and the advertisement. Others find it helpful to use multimedia as a means to connect with their people. If your community is in the middle of a highly affluent, tech savvy culture, then that might be an influencing factor.

Where do I stand? Well, on the one-hand I don’t really care. A good friend of mine pastors a church and they have banners, signs, theme videos, etc. However, he spends way more time preparing the message than worrying about the aesthetics. However, there are many folks who buy the whole package from a larger, more ‘influential’ church and then hopes that will be what is necessary to honor God and make disciples. That seems a bit lazy and I would argue that there are deeper issues at hand than whether or not they are ‘branding’ their sermon series.

Lastly, it would be prudent to understand the answers to the questions listed above before passing judgment on whether that practice is appropriate or not. It’s easy for me to forget what it was like being lost, what it was like being a young Christian, and be a lot more critical than I have the right to be. As a young preacher, I have to point myself back to John 13 and ask myself the question, “Does this honor God, teach the people, and convey humility?” I believe that in some contexts we must humble ourselves, even if that means a brochure/theme/web design in order to best serve our people. Even if we’re too mature in our faith to worry about silly things like that…

Thoughts?

Phantom Phone Leg

My summer season has officially ended and I am grateful, once again, for the opportunity to have been asked to preach at 7 student camps/events this summer! What a privilege it is to preach to students about the power of God given through Jesus Christ!

However, once summer ends I feel like the guy who gets off the treadmill but is still running. Each year it plays out differently for me. Some years I'm just 'done', other years I am restless, but there is always some sort of 'readjustment' period to the lack of schedule that had become ingrained in me over the 7 weeks.

This year something odd has happened. I call it 'Phantom Phone Leg'. Here's what I mean... You know how a person who loses a limb at times has a 'phantom limb', which is a sensation where it feels like the limb is still there and has feeling? Well, for me, there have been several moments when I have felt my phone vibrating in my left pocket, but it wasn't in my pocket! I've been trained to feel it vibrate every so often that although it is not in my pocket, I still feel a vibration every so often! Bizarre!

I'm grateful that it hasn't been a worse adjustment. Thanks to Steph, Braelyn and Pastor Justin for your patience with me as I acclimate to normalcy...

New Website for Brenham Pressure Washing!

Check out Brenham Pressure Washing's New Site!

Thanks Mom & Dad!

Yes, Friends. That is a BlackBerry Curve 8330!

Christ Church Now Has a Building!

We closed on our building this past Tuesday (July 15, 2008)! Go check out 1302 Washington where we will keep you up to date on the renovations and opportunities for you to work with us! There are a lot more pics of the interior of the building here.

10 FREE Mac Programs I Use...

For those of you who do not know, I am a closet tech geek. I like gadgets and such and I converted from PC to Mac in 2005. During this summer I have been speaking at youth camps and on the road for nearly 6 weeks, so in my free time I have been using Stumble and have come across some great, FREE software for the Mac. Here are some that I have found useful.

Adium - This program helps combine all of your different chat programs into one. So, for those using iChat and you have an AIM and GoogleTalk account, you have to have two windows open. However, not only does Adium combine the many IM services, but it also allows all of the different conversations to be held in one window, which is super helpful. One of the only drawbacks is that it does not currently have video chat capabilities. So, if I want to have a video conference I have to turn on iChat, or I use TokBox or ooVoo.

AppCleaner - One of the things I have always wondered about since switching over to a Mac is how to properly delete programs and all of their support files. Enter in AppCleaner. This program rocks. Simply drag the application file over and then it locates all of the support files all over your hard drive. Once you click the button, it deletes them completely! This is a very helpful utility.



AppMenuBoy - This is a handy little program developed by a programmer at Google. Simply put, instead of overwhelming your Dock with tons of icons to open programs, this little program collects all of your programs in your application folder (and subfolders!) and you simply launch the utility from your Dock, then right click (2 finger click or CTRL-Click) and select the program you want to launch. It sorts them alphabetically so it makes it really easy to find. One drawback is that you have to re-launch the program anytime you add new software, but that's not a big deal.


Burn -This program allows you to burn various types of CDs & DVDs (Data, Music, CD Video, etc.). It's simple to use and really helpful. While Apple does have a nice Burn Folder feature, this little App just has more options and gives you a bit more control.




Caffeine - When I first heard about this program I was like, "big whoop, David Blaine", but after I started using it I noticed a huge difference. Have you ever been watching a video on Hulu or YouTube and having to move your mouse every minute in order to keep your screen from dimming? Or maybe you were updating software or sending a large file and then your computer went to sleep mode? Sure, you could go into your System Preferences and change all of that temporarily, but why waste that time? With Caffeine, you have a little coffee cup icon that loads into your menu bar that you just click whenever you need to disable your screen-savers & power savers, and then you click it again when you are done. It's a small little app, but very helpful.

Cyberduck - If you do any work with FTPs or stuff like it, then this little program is great. I have 2 little sites that I maintain for Lucid Books and Brenham Pressure Washing and I use Cyberduck all the time to make little changes. It's simple to use and very helpful. There are several other options out there if you want to pay, but this is a great freebie.



Handbrake - NOTE: I am not one to advocate the breaking of any copyright laws. With that being said, this is a helpful application that allows you to convert DVDs to MPEG files (it even supports iPODs and AppleTV). This program has helped me be able to listen to lectures for my online classes while driving. I simply take the lecture DVDs, convert them to iPod low-rez and then listen to the lectures while driving to and from camps. It has allowed me to redeem drive time and stay up to date on my lectures for class. This software is also available for PC and Linux.

Fan Control - This little App is a huge lap saver! I have a MacBook Pro and it gets HOT! While Apple seems to feel okay with themselves, because this type of computer is a 'portable computer' and not a 'laptop computer', I still find it on my lap quite often. I was reading David Alison's blog awhile back and he shared his insight about this little software, so I tried it out. What a blessing! I took his advice and bumped it up from 1500 RPM base speed to 3100 RPM. What a difference! Don't get me wrong, it is still warm, but I don't feel like I'm going to need skin graphs anymore!

NetNewsWire - This is my RSS (Blogs, News, MacNews, etc.) program that I use to keep up with all of my reading. This program has significantly reduced the time that was previously required in order to stay 'in the loop' while on the road. Now I can read all the news I am interested in, Blogs, and other articles in one little program that organizes them for me quite nicely. This will allow you to stay abreast on important developments in blogdom and the world around us while maximizing your time to do other stuff.


Nocturne - At the beginning of the summer I was 'suffering for the Lord' with Steph and 'B' down in South Padre Island, TX at a youth camp. We had a great time, but we were all sharing a room. At night, Steph and 'B' were ready for bed, but I needed to catch up on e-mails and such, and that is when I discovered this nifty little program. What it does is invert the colors and essentially makes everything gray-scale. This is helpful because your screen light is cut in half. It's even better than dimming your screen to the lowest possible setting. I definitely find it helpful when I am trying to get work done in a room that is not very permitting of light.

QuickSilver - This is a 'Hot-Key' type App Launching program. If you are a fast typer, then this is so helpful. While there are other programs that you can buy that have been built off this open source version, for those who are just looking to launch programs, then this is a great free option. I changed the settings to have Command-Space be my launch combo instead of the pre-set CTRL-Space (You'll have to change the current hotkey that makes your spotlight pop up with Command-Space). You can do that in your System Preferences. It's worth playing around with for a bit. I have found it helpful.

Well, this is my list for now. Let me know if you try any of these programs and if they are of help. Also let me know if I have missed any that I should try. One great site that has a great collection of free opensource programs for Mac is Open Source Mac.

Redemption

I had the privilege of baptizing my brother-in-law, Tyler Jett this past Saturday.

Photo Booth Phun With B-Lyn

Pop Tarts: Casey Cease Pulls a Britney Spears

With the mounting stress of summer camps and Myspace 'Friend Requests', Casey Cease pulls off the road into a Beauty Salon and shaves his head.

Once completing his head shaving, Cease, much like Spears heads out and goes to his car.

Pressure Washing Fun!

The past two weeks have been huge for Brenham Pressure Washing! God has really blessed us with two great jobs. I am thankful to my friends Peter (who is 25 and single ladies!) and John (who is 19 and very much spoken for) and my other new friend John (see below)...

This job was on a beautiful piece of property in Chappell Hill, TX on over 20 acres of land. We had the privilege of tackling the house and the barn! The property had been vacant for a few years, so mud daubers decided to take up residence. Here are some before and after photos...



Below is a picture of me after washing the above 'wasp room'...

OH! And John killed a snake!

I will be re-vamping the Brenham Pressure Washing site soon with a new Gutensite template. I'll post a blog when I do so you can see more pics.

More Fun with Photoshop

Fun with Photoshop

I have owned photoshop for some time, but until recently I have only used it a handful of times. However, as the summer has worn on and I often need a 'break', I have been finding myself opening up photoshop and goofing around on it more often.  

Here are a few pictures that I've 'Photoshopped':

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I know this is like 'big whoop!' to most of you arteests out there, but it's a start.  Nowhere near this guy's talent, but he is a good inspiration and coach!

Happy 30th from Myspace...

Being camp season I meet a lot of great students and they become 'friends' on Myspace. As many of you know, I turned 30 on Friday, which I wanted to thank you all for your birthday wishes. Well, I logged into Myspace yesterday to accept 'Friend Requests' and this is the new target marketing that I am now receiving...



Funny... Sad...

30's the New 20...

Today (June 27th) is my birthday. I am 30. Praise God! I'd like to share my past decade with you.

• 20 - Proposed and became engaged to my high school sweetheart, Ms. Steph Jett.
• 21 - Surrendered to the call to ministry and then became the Director of Student Ministries at Sugar Land FUMC.
• 22 - Married Mrs. Stephanie Cease
• 23 - Started my non-profit ministry: Casey Cease Outreach, Inc.
• 24 - Graduated with my undergrad degree from U of H. Became the Student Ministries Pastor at Crossbridge Church. Licensed as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
  
• 25 - Paid lower insurance premiums, rented vehicles, and started traveling and speaking Full-Time.
• 26 - Bought our first house in Richmond, TX; Casey Cease Outreach became Transform Ministries
• 27 - Became a father to Braelyn Nicole Cease (June 21, 2006)
• 28 - God moved us to Brenham, TX to help start Christ Church. Ordained as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by Crossbridge.
  
• 29 - Christ Church started public services, started Brenham Pressure Washing

Well, I know there are a lot of things that I am leaving out, but I think I mentioned most of 'em. Thank you all for your love, friendship, and support. You are a blessing.

Love,

Casey the Grown-Up

My OCD Cost Me a Dollar!

I'm admittedly selectively OCD.  If any of you have been in my home office the past month or so, you will know that I can let a lot of things be chaotic around me, but still get stuff done.  However, there are a few things that I CANNOT let slide.  One of them is that the final price on the gas pump must end in a 0 or a 5.  Today we were driving up to Wichita Falls, TX to week 3 of youth camps and we had to stop and get gas.  Rarely does the amount end on a 0 or 5, so I usually do the no-no of topping off just a bit to get it to a 0 or a 5.  For many years I was pretty good at it!  Today, though, I ran up an extra dollars worth of gas just to get to a 5!!!  It looks like this little quirk will have to be laid to rest...

Proverbs 11:14

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

(Proverbs 11:14 ESV)

Why is it that most Christians ignore this encouragement or resent it when you offer insight?

They can't be serious, can they?

For only $40/year you can keep a database of all your friends and family who are lost, and then when you are raptured, it will send them a letter/e-mail informing them of the Gospel...

Bad Theology run amuck...  Funny, yet sad at the same time.

Book Review: Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham, Jr.

This is from my 'Reaction' section of my Book Review.  If you would like to read my full 12-page review, you can leave a comment or E-mail me and I'll get it to you.

To be honest, I approached this book with guarded-optimism, curiosity, and skepticism. I began to realize that my presuppositions were not original and Dr. Baucham was upfront and open to addressing these criticisms and offer biblical and logical responses. There are many compelling points raised by the author that I had not thought of before, and others that I had experienced over-exaggerated responses to in the past. For instance, until recently I had viewed formal, planned, daily family worship as an obscure and out-dated Puritan practice. While my family and I do spend time praying and in the Word, we had not implemented a more formal time of worship into our schedule. After reading this book, I feel more confident that this practice would be appropriate for cultivating my family.

The first portion of the book, that was discussing the problem at hand, is not new to me or to most people who have been around youth ministry in the Church for any amount of time. Anyone who is honest can clearly understand the challenges of trying to cultivate spiritual appetites in students whose parents are disconnected from their spiritual development. The challenge of idolatry such as academics and sports is not foreign to my experience, and has served as an increasing frustration for myself and many of the youth workers that I know. However, Baucham did challenge me to realize that the answer to that problem is not just a prophetic confrontation of those issues, but moreover a need to point families back to the biblical mandate for parents to take responsibility for their child’s spiritual growth. This is a tough dynamic to think through, and I am still a bit flustered by the seeming impossibility in most churches to even acknowledge that there is an idolatry issue at play in some of our core families.

When the author transitioned to discuss how the family should honor God in their homes, I was challenged by my own tension in the public school, private school, or home school debate. Although he did not begin with this issue, I am aware of his stance, and I could tell at the onset of the chapters that were focused on the home that he was an advocate for this. Along with many others in the Southern Baptist Convention, I have concerns about the evangelistic consequences that would be experienced if there were a mass exodus of Christian children from public schools. However, I have also struggled with the idea of someone else taking full responsibility of educating my child. Baucham addresses this issue head-on when he makes the point that most Christian children, as supported by research statistics, are falling away from the faith at worst, or are succumbing to the culture surrounding them, which is of equal severity. He placed further emphasis on the role of education in the development of worldview, which has forced my wife in I in a position of submission to once again having hard conversations about these issues.

One area of critique is that I know that Baucham is a highly sought after itinerant preacher who does very well financially. He is able to limit his travel to eight to ten days a month, which places him at home for two-thirds of the time. While I, too, travel full-time and preach, and I am able to sustain my family and work at home, so that gives me the ability to understand where he is coming from. However, he does not address the challenges that a working father faces in leading his family in his home. The author does acknowledge the tension some, but arguing that the only solution is to work less, may not be a reality. Therefore, I think it would be interesting if Baucham could offer a follow-up work, perhaps as a compilation with working fathers, those with “real jobs” that could substantiate these assertions and testify to the fruit of their efforts. I believe that this will help the skeptics who dismiss his assertions based upon the flexibility of his vocation.

I must applaud Baucham in his biblical prowess as he walks slowly through the biblical mandates found in Deuteronomy 6, Proverb 31, and Ephesians 5. While I would expect nothing less than biblical astuteness from Baucham, I was refreshed to see that he did not lean on proof-texting verses out of context. He addressed these passages with great skill. While they were overly illustrated at times by seemingly repetitive anecdotal stories, the overall theological assessment was not only orthodox, but also accessible to the layman.  

His chapter entitled, “Enjoy The Gifts Without Forgetting The Giver” one of the only points of contention is that I feel was a bit of a self-justification was In this chapter I think he missed slightly on his application of prosperity found in the Old Covenant and ignored the appropriate interpretation in view of the New Covenant. Admitting that he and his wife have built two houses so far in their time together, and that he has admittedly done well financially, does not necessarily substantiate the litmus test of biblical prosperity.  

By no means am I accusing Baucham of being a ‘health and wealth’ prosperity teacher, but I do think that he missed the covenantal implications of the Old and New Covenant. In lieu of going into a full theological diatribe I will make a few brief observations. First, the covenant rewards of the Old Covenant could be paraphrased as stuff and land, however, the covenant promise of the New Covenant is Christ Himself as the reward. Secondly, I am not advocating an abolishment of the Law, but I do believe Jesus when He claimed to have fulfilled the Law (see Matthew 5:17). Thirdly, I would lean on the Old Covenant as a foreshadowing of the promise to come, and the use of the Law to point out our sin and need for a Savior (See Romans 7:7 and Galatians 3:19-22). Therefore, in reading his chapter on prosperity, I sensed a bit of self-justification, which I am fairly confident that he would deny, as his common posture both in preaching and in writing is does not convey one of humility and “teachability”, but of stubborn (or confident depending on the listener/reader) and at times appearing prideful in his convictions. These observations do not in any way diminish the truth Baucham presents, nor does it lower my respect of the man, but I do challenge him to think through his own position in view of what he is teaching in this chapter.

Overall, this book has been extremely helpful in helping me to put to words some of the underlying frustrations that I have been experiencing with the Church and the break down in families. It also offers sound, biblical insights into how a family is to order themselves and pursue God as a covenantal unit. I am also grateful to Baucham for being willing to address such a controversial and unpopular view and argue from the Bible its veracity and necessity. This book has challenged me to slow down and think through these issues, to discuss the future of family integration with the other elders at the church, and to force my wife and I to have much to pray and talk about. Whether one agrees with Baucham or not, this book should be read by all who care about the Church, the family, and the youth who are abandoning the church in droves following graduation from High School.

------------------------

I would recommend anyone who cares about their Family and the Church to read this book carefully, prayerfully, and have honest discussions.