1. Go to a concert/sporting event:  Especially in Nashville, there is always live music to be heard. Several minor league sports teams, too.  Check your community calendar and go have some fun!
2. Volunteer: Go help serve a meal at the homeless shelter or help out at the local animal shelter. Habitat for Humanity is always a great organization to work with and you might even learn a new skill! There are hundreds of volunteer opportunities in and around your community and I’ll bet your friends would love to get involved, too.
3. Invite them over to your house for dinner/dessert: People gotta eat, right? Why not feed them on your home turf? Give them a chance to see you and hang out with you at home.
4. Invite them to church/small group: They don’t go to church, huh? have you invited them? This one might seem obvious, but it might just be that your friends aren’t coming because you aren’t bringing.
5. Go for a motorcycle ride: Maybe you don’t ride a motorcycle. Well, start! Or go for a scenic drive. Or go for a bicycle ride. Get out and spend some time in the world God created.
6. Host a Guitar Hero/Rock Band night: Everybody needs to unwind.  Break out the PS3 or Wii and rock out!
7. Go play (insert your sport here): Football, Ultimate Frisbee, Tennis, Golf.  If you have the equipment, why aren’t you using it as a witnessing tool? Huh?
8. Start a book club/study group: It’s not as nerdy as it sounds. Surely there is a book that has been written sometime in the history of the printed word that you might find appealing. If you are a student, you’re gonna be reading it anyway. Invite your friend/classmate to talk about it with you.
9. Serve Them: Do they need help moving? What about helping them do a full-on cleaning of their house/apartment? Fixing their car? Volunteer yourself to help them get the mundane done; they will appreciate it.

Looking back over this list, I see a recurring theme: these are mostly things I like to do anyway. Theoretically, my friends like to do these things, too (would we be friends if we didn’t like even few of the same things?).  Connecting is simple: find common interests and go do them!

9 is a weird number for a list, so I need your ideas to finish it off.  What are some ways that you (specifically) can connect with your non-believing friends?  Leave your ideas in the comments.

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the garbage pile in order to seat them among nobles… Psalm 113:7

Today is Blog Action Day 2008. Thousands of bloggers around the globe are focusing their attention on Poverty to raise awareness for the poor and downtrodden. The eradication of global poverty seems to be a gargantuan task, but there are little things that each of us can do to help out a little bit at a time.

“OK, OK,” you say, “hold up right there, dude. How can I (and heck, why should I) help with poverty when I’m on the verge myself? My stocks just crashed through the floor!” Well hang on there, cowboy; I’m about to tell ya.

I know that many of us are feeling the pressure of the economic downturn of the past couple of years. Gas is still (relatively) astronomically-priced, nobody can get a mortgage loan, and new jobs are seemingly a thing of the past. But believe me, God has blessed us tremendously and we have a responsibility to help those who are less fortunate. So, without any further ado, here are a couple of ways you and your friends can help combat poverty both in the United States and around the world:

• Become a mentor- Check out some place like Big Brother Big Sister of America. There are tons of underprivileged children in your city that just need someone to hang out with and teach them about life.

• Donate clothing- There are tons of places to donate all types of clothing. Check out Dress for Success or Nashville-based Soles4Souls.

• Join a relief organization- I’m sure your local church has a relief program that sends teams to help whenever disaster strikes across the country. If you are connected to a local church, check out organizations like the Peace Corps.

• Donate a micro loan- Check out organizations like Kiva that let you donate small amounts of money toward and entrepreneurial venture in a third-world country.

So there you go, tons of ways you can help fight poverty by doing something little. Don’t sit back and wait to do something. Go now and spread the love of Christ through your actions.

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. Proverbs 28:27 (NIV)

We arrived at the school at about 8 AM and met Steve Christiansen, the Project Coordinator, and Jason Taylor, Dodson’s Assistant Principal. Jason gave us a quick tour of the grounds and then we got to work. About halfway through the workday, we had the opportunity to meet the school’s new principal, Mrs. Tiffany Curtis, who seemed very grateful for our help. By the end of the day, we had painted five entryways to the schools portable buildings, one swing-set, and pulled more weeds than you can shake a stick at.

I want to send out a big thank you to everyone from the Singles Ministry that came together to help out with this wonderful event. You guys should be very proud of the work you did. I would also like to extend a special thank to Steve Christiansen of Deloitte for coordinating the event, and to Principals Curtis and Taylor for allowing us to come help. We hope to continue our relationship with your school in the future!