InSite, May 2010

Inspired by the Inspired

They help us make it through tough days. They give us wisdom to overcome life’s challenges. They teach us to praise. Chances are, you have a few of them yourself. What are they? Favorite passages of Scripture—and we want you to share yours.

You may have read about the enormous impact of Answers in Genesis’s “I am not ashamed” campaign on this site, or perhaps you’ve seen one of the ads on TV, in the newspaper, or on a billboard during your daily commute. Perhaps the firm commitment to standing on God’s Word has inspired you.

Maybe you didn’t know that you can be a part of inspiring others.

The iamnotashamed.org website provides a number of ways you can declare your faith in God and His inerrant Word. On the front page, for example, you can sign in through your Facebook account to tell the world you’re not ashamed. Christians around the world can share in your declaration.

If you’d like to comment further on how you’re unashamed of the Bible, consider joining the conversation on the blog. There you can encourage others, ask for prayer, or simply post your own stories. You’re also invited to submit guest posts detailing the authority of Scripture in your own life—your life stories, your thoughts, your testimony. These posts encourage and challenge believers—and seekers—in ways you may never even know.

Of course, one of the main attractions of the site is the ever-growing video Bible that features content from people like you. Children and adults have already recorded dozens of their favorite verses—and many more still need to be posted. Choose one of your favorites, get creative, have fun, and upload the results through the site. Your short passage could be just the encouragement or admonition someone else needs to hear from God’s Word.

If you’ve never been to the site or you’ve been numerous times, we invite you to head over to iamnotashamed.org. Help us build an Internet community of believers who declare their unabashed love for God and the authority of Scripture.

What’s Keeping Us Busy?

You may have heard about our Answers VBS program. What you may not know is that we also have a VBS Manager that helps the VBS leaders handle the many tasks required for any VBS program. Over the past several weeks, we’ve completely re-engineered our VBS Manager from the ground up, adding many new features and taking advantage of the latest in web technology. A great deal of thought went into redesigning the interface so that it’s easier for users to manage—and more features are still being developed!

Among other additions, you can now use an attractive public VBS homepage with an easy-to-remember URL—complete with a map to your church, dynamic display of information, customizable descriptions, and easy-to-find buttons for registration.

The new VBS Manager is free to use with up to 20 students for as long as you want—and available for purchase by itself or with the Super Starter Kit.

In Store: Living under Authority

In God We Trust takes a deeper look at living a truly God-focused life. You’ll learn not only to defend your faith according to the authority of God’s Word, but also to live it out in every part of life.

Answers in Genesis has never shied away from strong statements based on the authority of Scripture. In our Statement of Faith, for example, you may have read this: “By definition, no apparent, perceived or claimed evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the scriptural record.”

That is a bold claim to make, but it’s absolutely necessary.

Some people say, “Why can’t we just trust God and not worry about the details?” However, in order to really trust God, we first have to believe that He (and His Word, the Bible) can be trusted. That may sound simple enough, but putting it into practice in everyday life can be very challenging.

That’s why we are excited to announce a brand new resource available in our online store: In God We Trust. In this thought-provoking book, Steve Ham gets to the heart of why biblical authority matters, how it is displayed in God’s character, and how that authority must impact our daily Christian lives. A commitment to the Creator’s loving authority inevitably impacts us to the core, and helps us in such diverse areas as; family, worship, the way we view and interact at church, and even how we share the good news of Christ’s redeeming love with others!

In God We Trust takes a deeper look at living a truly God-focused life. You’ll learn not only to defend your faith according to the authority of God’s Word, but also to live it out in every part of life.

Question of the Month

Is there a way to contact a specific speaker?

Yes, our speakers always welcome feedback and questions. Simply head over to our inquiry form, type your question or comment (be sure to include the speaker’s name), and submit it—the process takes only a few moments. However, as much as we’d love to promise a response to each query, this isn’t possible.

The speakers at Answers in Genesis do their best to answer inquiries at live conferences—whether through question-and-answer sessions or impromptu meetings after their talks. However, there’s no way to answer all the questions conference-goers have in the limited time available.

In many ways, the Internet compounds this problem. Inquiries come in from all over the world at all times during the week on topics as diverse as botany to politics. Because of the sheer volume, our speakers cannot address each one.

That doesn’t mean you won’t find an answer—now or in the future. One of the purposes of this website is to address common questions that we receive, since answering one-on-one isn’t always possible. If you can’t find information in our archive or in the resources from our online store, submit your question, and it may be answered in a future article.

(Have a question for InSite? Let us know! Be sure to mention that your question is intended for InSite.)

Did You Know?

Did you know that there are over 23,000 fans on our I Am Not Ashamed Facebook page? If you’d like to find out the latest information about the campaign and keep in touch with other believers, join the wave on Twitter and Facebook. (Please note: Facebook and Twitter contain user-generated content.)