Topic: Xtreme Ministries

Relief from Constipated Christianity

By David W. Shelton | April 30, 2008 |

In an unlikely pairing of words, I’ve decided to define the phrase “constipated Christianity” since I know that this will probably come up in discussion among my friends and family. So what is it? It’s really quite simple:

Constipated Christianity: A form of religious impersonation where the devotee is always tense, bloated, and never moves. It’s characterized by constant straining, nothing good ever comes out. As a result, the poor person is just generally full of it.

It’s crude and offensive. It’s sophomoric. Yes, I know. This also happens to be all too true! Makes me wonder if there’s a spiritual laxative. Of course, the opposite of this would be religious diarrhea. And believe me, I DON’T want to define that one since it’s pretty self-evident.

Neither is pretty. Both are ugly pictures of what can easily come about when someone takes their eyes off the glory of Jesus Christ. When someone is so stuck on tradition (we’ve always done it like that!) and scoffs at new ideas and new ways to reach the unchurched, it’s easy to criticize… especially when an idea is totally unconventional. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Spirituality | 2 Comments

SECURE website charts path for gang awareness, pro-active youth resources

By Christine Anne Piesyk | October 10, 2007 |

Build it and they will come. Kevin Costner said those words in the modern film classic, Field of Dreams.

In Clarksville, a dedicated group of citizens, social activists and area ministers gathered together to build a program and tonight, when the doors finally opened, the people came.

S.E.C.U.R.E., the acronym for Safe and Effective Community Using Resources for Empowerment, is the brainchild of Pastor Tommy Vallejos, director of Hispanic Outreach for Progress and Education (HOPE) and former gang member.

Vallejos bears the internal and external scars of gang life: the 20+ year old tattoos he wants to strip from his skin and the ever-present heartfelt loss of more than 20 family members and friends to gang violence.

Vallejos was the perfect answer to a difficult problem.

“When the kids come here, they have to talk to me first. They have to listen. And we have a lot for them to do,” Vallejos said. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, News, Technology | No Comments

SECURE: not just another website

By David W. Shelton | October 8, 2007 |

When Terry McMoore asked me to help out with a new website he had in mind, thought it would be just another online brochure or nonprofit website presence. I wasn’t sure if it would be something I really wanted to do at first.

Then he explained the purpose of this proposed website, S.E.C.U.R.E. or Safe and Effective Community Using Resources for Empowerment. It would be a site that would provide critical information to local parents and schools on gang awareness. He didn’t have to twist my arm anymore. I was sold.

After all, this wasn’t my first exposure to working to help promote gang awareness. When I attended the Citizen Police Academy back in 1998, I was astonished as to just how much of a problem it really was, even nine years ago. I didn’t know what a Crip or a Blood was, or even that there was a difference between ‘people’ and ‘folk.’ It was a bone-chilling evening for all thirty-plus people in that class. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, News, Technology | No Comments