|
|
|
Confessions of faith: Jack Cotter
“If anyone’s out there and listening, I need help.”
|
So went the prayer of 14-year-old Jack Cotter. He had been bullied by his classmates since age 10, and they would continue their torment until he was 17. “Kids thought I was odd,” he says. “I tried to protect myself by being a clown. That made it worse. They called me ‘worthless’ and told me to go kill myself.”
|
In middle school, Jack got his first cell phone. He used it secretly to read the Bible, a book his family didn’t own. Lonely and sad, Jack was desperate to find someone to talk to, and so he prayed, “If anyone’s out there and listening, I need help.”
|
This is the story of how that prayer was answered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This month, young people across the nation will graduate. They may be moving beyond the comfortable surroundings of their local high school, leaving the smells of their college dorm rooms, or facing the reality that living at home will soon be a thing of the past. . . .
|
|
|
|
|
A shepherd with a flock of sheep is a familiar and friendly scene. Jesus himself uses words dear to every believer: “I am the Good Shepherd.” We treasure that truth drawn from Psalm 23 and John 10. Yet Jesus is also described as a lamb. How is that possible? . . .
|
|
|
|
|
Relationships. When asked what one word he would use to describe his experience in the ministry, Stephen Helwig chose to focus on the interpersonal connections he has formed with his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. “To me, it’s all about building relationships,” . . .
|
|
|
|
|