Brian Franks, Author at The Artios Center for Vibrant Leadership

How My Struggle with Anxiety Proves My Victory

Brian Franks2022-07-20T09:49:00-06:00

By Caitlin Meadows “When a person struggles with anxiety, that person is not living in the victory of Christ.” That’s what I was told by someone with spiritual clout. During our first conversation, he picked up on the fact that I deal with anxiety. In an attempt to encourage me with the reminder of the victory I have in Christ, I ended up leaving feeling condemned. “If I’m struggling with anxiety and thus, not living in Christ’s victory,” I surmised, “then I must not have Christ.” With that thought, my anxiety quickly flared with hopelessness. For the Christian who deals with mental illnesses [...]

How My Struggle with Anxiety Proves My VictoryBrian Franks2022-07-20T09:49:00-06:00

ACT: Guidance for Relating to Friends with Mental Health Concerns

Brian Franks2022-07-20T09:47:09-06:00

By Israel Steinmetz “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness of empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” 1 This passage forms the basis for the acronym ACT which summarizes basic guidelines for [...]

ACT: Guidance for Relating to Friends with Mental Health ConcernsBrian Franks2022-07-20T09:47:09-06:00

From Veggie Tales to What’s in the Bible: Following Phil Vischer’s Lead

Brian Franks2022-07-20T09:42:53-06:00

By Israel Steinmetz The first time I saw Veggie Tales I was a high school sophomore in a room full of guys from around the country and we couldn’t stop laughing at Larry the Cucumber’s hairbrush song. Veggie Tales was funny stuff. Every half-hour episode was packed with witty cultural references, silly vegetables and a nice moral lesson, always ending with the affirmation, “God made you special, and He loves you very much.” Almost twenty years later, I still watch Veggie Tales with my kids as they’re introduced to Veggie-tized versions of classic characters from Indiana Jones to George Müller and classic literature from Hamlet to Huckleberry Finn. [...]

From Veggie Tales to What’s in the Bible: Following Phil Vischer’s LeadBrian Franks2022-07-20T09:42:53-06:00

Answering God’s Call: Living for a Greater Cause

Brian Franks2022-07-20T09:40:43-06:00

By Whaid Rose LIVING IN A FALLEN WORLD The sobering reality of life in a fallen world confronts us early in Scripture. In Genesis 4 we find a homicide, and by chapter 6 we read this sad commentary: Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart (verses 5-6). At that point it would have been justifiable for God to wipe the slate clean [...]

Answering God’s Call: Living for a Greater CauseBrian Franks2022-07-20T09:40:43-06:00

For Those Who Grieve

Brian Franks2022-07-20T09:38:36-06:00

By Whaid Rose Reflections on the passing of David Ross and words of encouragement to Makayla, her girls, and the Artios Community Life in our fallen world presents us with regular occasions to grieve. We grieve job change, loss of health, divorce, and major life transitions. But nothing rocks our world like the death of a loved one, which is what Makayla Ross, Artios’ Co-Director, just experienced. Walking with her husband David through the valley of the shadow of death for weeks, Makayla watched him take his last breath this past Sunday evening, May 16th. This isn’t the outcome I and [...]

For Those Who GrieveBrian Franks2022-07-20T09:38:36-06:00

What Our Stress Tells Us About Our Work

Brian Franks2023-08-23T15:56:57-06:00

By Amber Riggs There are these little markers in my life that let me know when I’m not managing stress well. My patience with my kids tanks. I become too busy to eat. When I get in bed at night, the very act of being still will trigger nervous twitching. I’ll avoid doing things that need to be done and perpetually put them off “until tomorrow”. Instead of going to bed, I will “wind down” by staying up way too late watching a Hallmark movie. Once I get in bed, my social media feeds will be treated to a few extra [...]

What Our Stress Tells Us About Our WorkBrian Franks2023-08-23T15:56:57-06:00

Three Ways We Get Vocation Wrong

Brian Franks2023-08-23T15:59:35-06:00

By Amber Riggs A huge chunk of your life revolves around your work. It isn’t just clocking in, clocking out, and everything between. You plan your entire day around your work. It determines when you wake up, when you go to sleep, when you eat, and when you play. When it comes to being a Christian who works, we find ourselves asking questions about how our job fits in with God’s plan for our lives. My job doesn’t give me any sense of purpose; does God care? Am I doing what God wants me to do? or maybe How can I serve God more when I [...]

Three Ways We Get Vocation WrongBrian Franks2023-08-23T15:59:35-06:00

Moving from Success to Significance: A Compelling Strategy for Maximizing Life’s Second Half

Brian Franks2022-07-20T09:32:38-06:00

By Whaid Rose When I turned 50 I took time off to read a book which had been on my reading list for some time. The book is titled Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance, by Bob Buford. It connects that transition period during a ballgame with that point in a person’s life when a new game plan is needed for maximizing life’s second half. In a ballgame, allowances are made for mistakes and fumbles in the first half. But as the clock winds down to zero, the players know they must give it everything they have. So it is in the game [...]

Moving from Success to Significance: A Compelling Strategy for Maximizing Life’s Second HalfBrian Franks2022-07-20T09:32:38-06:00

Ground Zero Perspectives New: Remembering September 11 and the Lessons We Learned

Brian Franks2022-07-20T09:30:11-06:00

By Whaid Rose GROUND ZERO For those old enough to recall them, the images remain vivid: the twin towers of the World Trade Center belching smoke and spewing debris; people leaping from the burning inferno to their death a hundred stories below; the buildings collapsing; terrified New Yorkers running, their clothes covered in ashes; the west wing of the Pentagon burning in the nation’s capital; in an open field in Pennsylvania, shocked residents viewing the scene of a downed airplane. That disastrous day is now twenty years past. It doesn’t seem so long ago. Lest we forget, this milestone anniversary is [...]

Ground Zero Perspectives New: Remembering September 11 and the Lessons We LearnedBrian Franks2022-07-20T09:30:11-06:00

Jesus-Followers, Instant Gratification, and Other Cultural Issues

Brian Franks2022-07-12T13:29:02-06:00

By Caitlin Meadows My little boy, Hudson is 20 months old. That said, it won’t surprise you that he has not yet developed a life skill parents grow to deeply appreciate. Patience. Hudson has none yet. The kid is pure impulse. Patience is something my husband and I are attempting to cultivate in him. We get to cultivate it in him when we have to cook our food before we eat it. Or when we have to drive 15 minutes first for him to see his grandparents. We cultivate it in him when I have to finish unloading the laundry before I hold [...]

Jesus-Followers, Instant Gratification, and Other Cultural IssuesBrian Franks2022-07-12T13:29:02-06:00

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