For six summers, Jim Slevcove was my supervisor at Forest Home, a Christian conference center in California. I held a responsible position over junior high and high school kids, but couldn't pass up a chance to play a prank. Like the time I passed off a laxative gum as chewing gum to some coworkers. Word of the rigorous purgative's effect got back to Jim.

He asked me to come to his office the next ...

In his book Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer, a Quaker, tells the story of how God used Palmer's friends to shape his vocational path in a significant way. Palmer had been offered the opportunity to become the president of a small educational institution. He was certain the job was for him, but he honored the tradition of the Quaker community, which is to call on a dozen trusted friends to engage ...

I had been serving in the church high school ministry for just over a year. I loved it! It had become my passion. Though I was still a senior in high school, I had been asked to be a campus leader and was doing some teaching under the mentorship of our youth pastor. I knew in my heart that this was training for a lifetime in ministry. I could feel the Holy Spirit working through me. I was having the ...

Dangerous Minds is based on a true story about high school teacher LouAnne Johnson (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) making a difference in the lives of troubled but smart inner-city students. In this scene, while LouAnne is in front of her class teaching, the students are upset with her because they felt she "ratted" on three students for fighting. LouAnne asks them if they want to discuss the issue. ...

On Sunday, October 28, Belgian felon Nordin Ben Allal escaped from prison for the fourth time.

The prisoner's most recent jailbreak is by far the most sensational to date. During an inmate recreation period, Ben Allal's accomplices hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to land on Ittre prison premises. Ben Allal first climbed aboard the helicopter, but so did several of his fellow inmates. Overburdened ...

In his Focus on the Family magazine article entitled "The Problem with Nice Guys," Paul Coughlin insists Christians must avoid passive and aggressive extremes, opting instead for assertiveness. He offers the following example from pop culture to illustrate what Christian assertiveness looks like:

Three major personality types are found among the judges of the popular reality TV show American Idol. ...

It's not all that hard to argue that Ken Burns is the biggest name in the world of documentaries. His stirring works about the Civil War, baseball, and jazz have garnered numerous awards and helped put PBS back on the "must-see" list. What could be argued, though, is his ability to consistently give the Latino population its rightful due.

It began with Burns's 1994 documentary on baseball. In 18 hours ...

According to economist Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics, being part of a community where others know us does influence behavior. The proof is in Paul Feldman's bagel business. Feldman delivers bagels to companies and allows individuals to pay on the honor system. Over the years, Feldman has kept meticulous records. Among the lessons learned, Levitt points out that smaller offices are more honest ...

When finding the right fit for clothing, women trust the following people the most.

Self: 37 percent

Husband/significant other: 26 percent

Friend: 13 percent

Daughter: 11 percent

Mother: 5 percent

Sister: 5 percent

Other: 3 percent

Four years after Minnesota Viking offensive lineman Korey Stringer died from a heatstroke during football conditioning drills in 108 degree heat, three NFL teams are offering their players a "radio pill."

Teams pay between $30 and $40 apiece for the pills, which last 24 to 36 hours.

A crystal sensor in each pill has a frequency geared to the player's body temperature. When the player's body temperature ...