The Threads Blog

The Threads team is filming video for the Scouting the Divine leader kit by Margaret Feinberg, which will release January 2010. We want to give you a sneak peek of the first day of shooting at a rural Tennessee farm. Sheep were the main feature of this Bible study video, but we spent the day with lamas, bulls, dogs, chickens, and a few roosters.

Have you ever watched a movie with low expectations but realized it was actually really good? That happened to me just yesterday when I stayed home sick from work. SportsCenter got old after about five times so I scrolled through the DVR to see what I had saved. There on my list was 10,000 B.C. I didn’t remember hearing a lot about the movie, but there wasn’t much else to do, so I clicked play.

The movie is about a tribe that lived—as the title implies—around the year 10,000 B.C. It’s an epic adventure that had me intrigued the whole time. There was also a level of symbolism that kept jumping out at me. So, my movie suggestion for this week is 10,000 B.C. Rent it and enjoy.

Welcome to autumn! It’s hard to believe, but the harvest season is officially upon us. As summer wraps up, so does another great year of Connect Conferences. A big thank-you to everyone who attended a conference this year. We hope you walked away with great ideas and insight for the next steps of your young adult ministry, and we look forward to seeing you in 2010.

What does it take to follow Christ? Matthew 7:13-15 paints a different picture of Christianity than we typically see from the TV and many churches these days. Following Christ is often seen as a way to the easy life, comfort, and the Promised Land. But these verses talk about the narrow gate and few finding it. Wide is the path that leads to destruction though. Watch this video and think if it is something you’d sign up for. To join the Royal Marines, I’d definitely say you have to enter through a narrow gate.

Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith by Jen Hatmaker, is a new short-term Bible study from Threads. The leader kit includes a member book, a DVD with documentary video clips to jump start discussion in your small group, and a CD-Rom with leader helps, music, audio files, and more!

I have something to confess. God taught me this very lesson this week and I didn’t respond right away like I should have. Here’s how it went. I lead a small group at my church. I couldn’t be there last week because my wife was sick, and apparently, we had a new person show up. Based on what I heard later, things didn’t go so well. The pastor was teaching about sex that night, and our very honest visitor was quick to share some things from her past, making things a bit awkward at times. Then, about halfway through discussion time, she began breast-feeding her hungry baby. Needless to say, the public feeding added to the discomfort some of the group members were feeling.

Hello, Threads followers! The weekly newsletter you know and love is now being circulated bi-monthly. You can expect it in your in-boxes on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month. Not on the e-newsletter mailing list? Register now—it’s quick and easy.

Ah, the inner workings of the editorial world. Here’s a video snippet of the editor/graphic designer relationship as we wrapped the Fall 2009 issue of Collegiate. Sometimes it’s amazing that we get anything done …

Did you know that one billion people on our planet (that’s 1 in 6) don’t have access to clean drinking water? Did you know that our generation alone has the means to eliminate this problem? Donating just $20—possibly giving up a dinner out or pocket change for the month—means one thirsty person can gain access to clean water for 20 years. Charitywater.org is asking that all people with September birthdays give this month. How about adding one more thing to that long list of why the world should be glad you were born?