Articles by James Thayer

Ladies and gentlemen (are those politically correct words to use?)!

Welcome to the final and most awesome rap battle to ever grace this sweet planet we call Earth!  In one corner we have the Son of Man Himself, the Bread of Life, the Rose of Sharon, Advocate, and Lamb of God; itsssss Jesussss!

In the other corner we have the most power angel to ever leave heaven, the father of lies, and prince of darnkess; itssss Satannnn!

Okay, so that’s just a sweet little metaphor I created; sorry to get your hopes up.  We’d all love to hear Jesus spit some rhymes on the mic and show everyone what Godly flows sound like.  The next best thing to Christ rapping would have to be someone rapping about Christ.  Am I right?

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If you haven’t heard the news yet, a 19 year old from Florida committed suicide on a live webcam last Wednesday.  Many watched it as it happened; some were even warned he might take pills to kill himself.  Most just thought it was a hoax, and even once moderators were warned they brushed it off because of his former “trolling” status on the forum.  Finally a forum member took the initiative to look up the teen’s real name and address, which he tried to give to the police. They still thought it was a hoax. All the while Abraham’s body lay motionless on his bed. Read the rest of this entry »

As described by pastor Mike Plewniak himself, last night’s message was a “sobering subject.”  He began by commenting on society’s stigma against “offending” people.  He related his point to an incident where a school banned the book “The Friendly Dolphin” because it was intolerant of kids who did not live by the sea.  He then went on to ask the pertinent question, “Is there a dividing line that says some go to hell, and others to heaven?”

To answer this question, Mike dove into the gospel of Matthew quoting:

“The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

- Matthew 13:41-42

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

- Matthew 25:46

Earlier in the service VFC showed an interview video that revolved around many questions about hell.   Some said it didn’t exist, others that it was made up much like the boogey man to scare people, and even others admitted it was a real place, just not as bad as the Bible depicts.  Mike explained Jesus’ view on hell as being a real place set aside for those who rebelled against God. Read the rest of this entry »

As the title might imply, this post is about evangelism.  I want to diverge from my normal way of writing and delve into a deeper topic which is the second most important thing in life to me (next to God); and that is people.

I will discuss the reasons why, as Christians, we must evangelize, and then I will thoroughly explain why you can’t save a single soul on this earth. Not only will I use stories from my own life to back up my claims, but I will give you practical advice on how to reach your lost friends.  This may take a while…

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A news article has recently sparked my memory.  CBS reported two days ago,

A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human rights group said. 

Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo,Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. 

The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.

My freshman year at high school was the year I really started loving God and the Bible.  I read it before, during and after classes while attending church, youth group and a men’s bible study. It was an intense year of growth for me.   

I became enthralled with the romance of Christianity, things like dying to live and uncanny sacrifice made me passionate about my religion.  They also made me aware of what my religion had been, was currently, and could become.  

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“A civilization in which there is not a continuous controversy about important issues is on the way to totalitarianism and death.”

–Robert Maynard Hutchins

It has come to my attention, which is nothing short of old news for my life, that my articles may be sparking up controversy among readers.  I’d like to take a few words and write my true thoughts on this matter as to make my agenda clear while I write for B2C.  I am not here to hand out gold stars or to make people feel good about themselves.  I am not here to maintain the status quo and forge myself a gong to be struck repeatedly, only to give off a bland resounding sound.  I am here to write music with words that will spark imagination, inspire adventure and make you think. Read the rest of this entry »

Who are you fighting for?

When I was making the promotional video for this series I was thinking of a whole gamut of Christians; from the newly re-born to those who have been in the service for most their lives.  It doesn’t matter where you are at in your walk with Christ; there is always a question begging to be answered, “who are you fighting for?”

When the spiritual world becomes known to someone it can be frightening.  C.S. Lewis called this world “enemy-occupied territory.”  What they never tell a person when they are considering Jesus is that things will get tougher than they are now.  Before a person serves Christ, Satan already has them in his hands.  They are not a threat in anyway to his power or dominion.  However, once a person dedicates their life to Jesus, they become a walking bull’s eye for evil beings and evil people alike.  The formula goes like this:

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A note to the reader:

I am quite biased toward this book in that I’ve read it more than two times and advocate many of its principles in my daily conversations.  However, I will attempt to take an objective look at Wild At Heart for your sake.

“Wild At Heart” is a Christian inspirational book written by John Eldridge. It targets a male audience and attempts to explain how one may come to terms with his masculinity while living in a seemingly contradictory world.  The book’s subtitle is, “Discovering The Secret of A Man’s Soul.”  There are over two million copies in print.

In “Wild At Heart”, John Eldridge clearly states what our world has done to men:

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On the way to my sociology class today I was abruptly stopped as my ears were greeted with a voice only heard in the movies. A tall man stood on a brick wall as hundreds of college students walked by. The man seemed to be quoting Genesis and the story of the flood. I stopped, wanting to listen, but I could not stay - for I had class.

On the way back to my dorm I wanted to hear his voice again. My true reasons were very insidious - I wanted to debate with him as he seemed to be a fire and brimstone type of man. To my dismay, he was no longer upon the wall. As I was about to leave the pedestrian walkway (where the man once was), I turned around to see the street preacher talking intimately with a student.
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Today, the politicians, legislatures and many leaders of our multifaceted society have strived to resolve the breakdown in cohesion and unity among our nation’s people. Philosophers, scientists, religious leaders and special interest groups have tried to change our society and solve our problems, but they have missed the mark by a hair. Through women’s rights, gay rights, animal rights, black rights and the many other “rights” activists, we’ve come to the conclusion our society lacks one important element – tolerance.

From many years of debate and deep thinking on the topic I have seen the results of “tolerance” and I am certain it is the cause of more destruction within our society than unity. An advocate of tolerance has this mindset: “I don’t care what you do, so long as it doesn’t affect me or anyone else - have at it.” He is “tolerant” on issues like drug use.

I went to a high school where at least 80 percent of the people I knew smoke marijuana and drank themselves dumb at least once a month, some once a week. Tolerance dictates that I should not be wary of their actions, and my peers even told me this. They say the drinking and drug habits of others do not in any way affect me and because of this I should stick to my own business.
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When you hear the word “dream” what do you think of? What kind of image do you associate with such a word?

Is it a sweet sports car? A fancy house? A beautiful husband/wife? A resort in Cancun? Lots of money?

When I think of the word “dream,” I get an image of an enormous sphere made of water, like the earth. Electricity is surrounding it as water constantly flows on it’s surface. The sphere grows larger and larger.

I suppose my question is, how is your dream doing? How large is it? Why do you dream it?

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As I grow older, I find myself enjoying things I once dismissed. It is at this time, when I’m beginning college, that I find myself enjoying independence. I walk all over campus by myself, not because I couldn’t easily call a friend to hang out with, but because I am seeking God in a new way.

The other day I went to UT’s main library. I specifically left my dorm and made the journey there for the purpose of traveling to the 6th floor (the very top one). I felt called to go because I was searching for something. I wanted to be captivated. As I got onto the elevator, I pressed the 6th floor button and it stopped on another floor before reaching the 6th. A woman walked in holding some books and she saw that I was the only one there and was headed for the 6th floor. She turned to me:
“So, obviously if you are going to the 6th floor you are either a graduate student, or looking for books written by (an author) like me.”


As I walked off the elevator I said, “actually, I just wanted to see the view.”

We parted ways and I saw her turn back and look at me for a few seconds. I walked to the large windows past desks and grad students and I stared out of the library. It was beautiful. The entire campus was alive and I looked out at a gorgeous blue sky with buildings reaching up. I looked down at large trees that had been on campus for decades. And for a moment, I was captivated.
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