Was It Loving to Affirm My Sin?
Years ago when I abandoned God and embraced sin, several Christians demonstrated their “loving like Jesus” by affirming my right to make my own choices, rallying around me as a “caring, non-judgmental” support system, and never once confronting my sin (or even implying that my adultery, drunkenness, and the like were sin). If someone accidentally […]
Accountability and the Bible: Are Christians Supposed to Hold Each Other Accountable?
Not too long ago, I attended church where I had been the senior minister/pastor many years earlier. After church, I had a conversation with a man about a Bible professor we both knew from a Christian university who was teaching pro-LGBTQ theology. I voiced my concern about the increasing influence of more progressive professors on […]
Jesus Clears the Temple (and What He’ll Do to You Too)
Have you ever seen somebody get really angry who normally doesn’t get angry? It’s a little like, “Oh! Never seen that side of you.” You realize it must be really bad if that person is upset. This is how we react to Unikitty from Cloud Cuckoo Land in the first Lego Movie. Unikitty is always […]
What Prevents Us from Life Transformation?
At a ministry conference recently, I commented that, when measured against the heart of God in the Sermon on the Mount, large segments of American Christianity seem to be going completely off the rails. Even though it was a rather sedate crowd, that comment got an “Amen!” That reaction tells me two things: 1) Not […]
Celebrating Conviction: Learning to Find Joy in Repentance
Conviction has a terrible reputation. At times, we say it’s a prick of conscience when you consider doing something wrong (think Jiminy Cricket). Or it’s discussed as a heavy emotion we feel wrestling with our brokenness. Setting definitions aside, is conviction something you welcome in your spiritual life? Ultimately, conviction is the awareness that we’ve […]
Why Should I Pray?
We have a relationship with an omniscient God who already knows every thought we have. Why would we talk to him, then, to tell him things and ask him for things? Why can’t we just live as his people and trust that he’s got everything covered without our input? The reason is relationship! Discipleship—what we’re […]
Andy Stanley, Albert Mohler, and Three Trajectories
October 4, 2023 – Daniel McCoy, RENEW.org Editorial Director There’s a lot I appreciate about Andy Stanley. In years past, I’ve led his small group DVD studies. I’ve gathered helpful communication insights from his books. His on-stage delivery can be masterful. His Principle of the Path continues to be formative for me. Yet appreciating someone […]
Prayer of Repentance: Learning U-Turns from Nehemiah
What’s a prayer of repentance? In the Bible, “repentance” means a change in mind and behavior so that we go from doing whatever we feel like to living for God and doing what he says. So, a prayer of repentance is a prayer admitting that we have made wrong decisions and done wrong actions and […]
