We talk about sex freely in ever corner of our society…except in the church, where it remains taboo. What we do with our genitals will determine where we spend eternity! For centuries that has been one the church’s loudest and most consistent messages. So why not spend more time–heck, any time–in honest instruction and dialogue about what to do with said genitals? Janice Ramkissoon tries to answer the same question at XploreMyFaith.

Are you the other ‘L’ word? A loser?

Technically, we all are at one point or another in this life. Not one of us, not even God, can avoid experiencing loss. It’s like it’s been coded into the sub-atomic structure of the universe. Wait, it gets worse. According to my man Adam Alvarado (and even God), if you’re a loser now you will always be a loser. Because you just won’t find or see the way out embedded in Adam’s article, and in the pages of scripture.

Are you fighting just for yourself?

Is the breakthrough you have been persistently laboring for only for you and your sense of accomplishment?

My man Bruce Chant says, “Heck, no!” No matter what our relationship status, family configuration, or station in life, our struggles to get there are about so much more than we can see at the moment. Knowing just who is depending on you to slay your Goliath could make the difference between success and failure.

image by Matt Wade

What makes you significant?

Money, and the stuff it buys? Power, and the influence it wields?

I can identify with my man Matt Wade‘s observation: the pressure to feel significant and appear so to others often leads us to divorce our true selves! Messy, indeed. That’s what Matt specializes in, the messy places where human struggle meets grace. It’s in those places that we can discover a whole new definition of significance.

Defining success isn’t easy. Achieving it is even harder. Richard St. John spent seven years interviewing 500 people who have achieved enough success to be invited to speak at TED, or to be able to afford the whopping $4,000 a pop entry fee. The 8 secrets he distills from those interviews may not be secrets at all, but putting them all together until they pay off? Ah, there’s the ticket! I wonder what Jesus would think of The 8 Secrets of Success, according to Richard St. John (and some TEDies).