Mike Terrell
I'm a husband and father of 3 small children, 6, 3, and 4 months. The 6 year old is currently enrolled at West Side Christian School in Grand Rapids. God willing, all 3 of our children will attend Christian schools through high school. My wife and I are both physical therapists working at a rehabilitation hospital in Grand Rapids. I work in a chronic pain rehabilitation program and she works with patients with brain injuries & concussions in an outpatient basis.
Posted in: I'm Embarrassed to Be a Christian
I am a 42 year old father of three and I can fully understand how these teens feel. Many of their comments mirror my own thoughts and concerns. I have been bewildered and dismayed by some of the words, actions, and inaction of many in Christian leadership. However, I am heartened by your story of young people who are struggling. It is encouraging that they are concerned about current events and that they recognize the disconnect between their beliefs and the actions of leaders. These young people are demonstrating discernment and that is a beautiful thing. We need to encourage young people to live out their beliefs, as the Spirit leads them, and not fall in the trap of following the crowd. Even if that crowd is being led by persons with great authority.
Posted in: The Quran and the Mission of the Church
Yes, they are dangerous waters but waters in which we must dive.
Posted in: To Be or Not To Be ... an Insider
The one, true God works in ways we do not understand and this seems like one of them. My prayer would be that these insiders would be able to find ways to fellowship with other believers and continue to grow in Christ. I can certainly see the precarious position they would be in.
Posted in: Should the Government Support or Discourage Employment?
After being a physical therapist for 12 years, I've seen the upside and the downside to SSDI. There have been many patients I have worked with that have made me say, "Thank the Lord for SSDI". These persons typically have been severely injured in an accident and are truly incapable of performing 99.9% of jobs. On the other hand, I have run across many patients who are on SSDI and appear to me as someone who could be gainfully employed in some manner. From my point of view, the major issue is that the SSDI system rewards a person for not working. Once you have it, there is no external incentive to find a job. Even if a person on SSDI tries to find a job, they are often turned down because potential employers see the physical/temporal accomodations they would need to make as too costly or unproductive. In my mind, two things would need to occur for positive change to happen. First, change the SSDI system to reward beneficiaries for finding some type of employment. Second, provide employers with assistance or some type of incentive to hire workers with disabilities.