Proverbs

My Favorite Verse In The Message

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

Some people hate on The Message, the modern translation of the Bible crafted by Eugene Peterson. Not me. While it’s not my everyday Bible translation, I often turn to The Message for a fresh perspective on God’s word. Plus it’s probably the only Bible translation with a quote from Bono on the back.

There’s a lot of great translations in The Message. John 1:14 gets tossed around a lot by Younglife leaders – “The word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.”

But my favorite verse in The Message doesn’t come from the Gospels.

It doesn’t come from Genesis.

It doesn’t come from a prophet major or minor.

It doesn’t come the Psalms or the Proverbs or the Song of Solomon.

In fact, it doesn’t come from any of the 66 books of The Bible.

My favorite verse in The Message translation comes before the table of contents: Continue reading →

10 Things I Learned At Big Stuf 2013

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

IMG_2360You’re never too old to learn something from youth camp.

Last week I took my students from The Hill Baptist Church of Augusta, GA to Big Stuf camp in Panama City Beach, FL. Together with about 1500 other students we laughed, sang, and learned together about God’s Reality.

This is the 25th year of Big Stuf. Each summer founder Lanny Donoho and a crew of speakers, musicians, magicians, acrobats, and comedians have come together to proclaim the crazy things God wants to do in the lives of students. Here’s a few things I took away from the main session speakers Jamey Dickens and Jon Acuff: Continue reading →

What Would Taylor Swift Do?

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment
swift

Billboard

Without heartbreak Taylor Swift would have no songs to write.

Without the pain from relationships gone bad, where would Taylor Swift’s inspiration come from?

Her scars tell her story. Her pain inspires her art. Her conflicts create an opportunity for a greater victory.

Without getting knocked down we have no reason to rise up.

Without conflict there is no reason for us to rise off the couch.

Without getting fired from Apple Steve Jobs would have never invested in a little company called Pixar and we would have no “Toy Story”.

Without getting saddled with the horrible name “The Ringmaster”, Steve Austin would have never gone home and brainstormed the name “Stone Cold”.

There is significance in our struggle. There is art in our unrest. With conflict comes the chance for heroism. Continue reading →