How Then Should We Live: Models of Christian Engagement of Culture
How should a Christian live his or her life in this world? We rightly assume that our Christian faith is not merely abstract belief. Our faith means something. It has consequences. It weighs upon and informs our decisions, our relationships, and our values. Or at least it should. After we have found the answer to...
Chad Ragsdale
Spiritual Abuse: 4 Twisted Values That Enable Churches to Hurt People
Spiritual abuse happens when a person with spiritual authority or power uses it as leverage to exploit another person’s trust and vulnerability to get what they want. Spiritual abuse is enabled in churches that have twisted value systems. You’ve seen the headlines: Report confirms a major denomination for decades has covered up sex crimes of...
Daniel McCoy
6 Reasons Why You Need to Attend Church in Person
Since the Covid lockdown, many churchgoers no longer attend worship services regularly, alleging it is easier and less time-consuming to stay home and watch an online service. When confronted, some suggest they have grown beyond the need for in-person worship at a local congregation, claiming they get as much fulfillment when viewing a service online....
Bob Russell
Amid Unspeakable Tragedies, This Is What I Most Appreciate about Jesus.
Nineteen children and two teachers were gunned down yesterday in a 2nd–4th grade elementary school in Uvalde, TX. Their parents will be sobbing and rocking themselves in grief tonight at the time when they should be kissing their children and tucking them in bed. Responses to this hellishness vary, from demands for stricter gun control...
Daniel McCoy
What Is a Biblical Worldview? Definitions, Dilemmas, and Dangers
What is a biblical worldview, and does it matter? A biblical worldview is a view of the world which seeks to answer life’s biggest questions from the teachings of the Bible. Many people see having a biblical worldview as unimportant. This includes non-Christians who see the world from a different worldview, as well as Christians...
What do I do when tragedy strikes? Here are 5 action steps.
Bad news is everywhere. It’s easy to become calloused when you hear so many tragic stories of everything going on in the world. Our hearts can’t handle the constant barrage of heartbreak. Most of us turn the channel and move on with our lives. But what do you do when tragedy strikes close to home?...
Joshua Branham
What Does the Bible Say About Death? 10 Truths About Death
What does the Bible say about death? The biblical writers give us a comprehensive and nuanced description of death. We learn that, from God’s perspective, death is both menacing and merciful. It is both an ending and a beginning. It can be both a separation and a reunion. Here are ten truths about death from...
Daniel McCoy
Fearing the Waves, Trusting in Jesus
I like to blame my fear of water on the 2006 film Poseidon. In the movie, a cruise ship is hit by a massive wave, and nearly everyone drowns. It’s one thing to hear about the Titanic, and it’s another to see it on the TV screen at 10 years old. But there are really...
Jake Sutherlin
Who Were Jesus’ Brothers? A Q&A with Brian Cunningham, PhD
Who were Jesus’ brothers? The sons of Joseph and Mary were James, Joseph, Jude, and Simon. While they were skeptical of Jesus during his ministry, this changed after Jesus’ resurrection. Two of Jesus’ brothers, James and Jude, went on to become leaders in the early church, each writing a New Testament book. The following conversation...
Brian Cunningham
Racism, Mass Shootings, and Our Enemy’s Strategies
If we want to truly understand racism and mass shootings, we will think through our enemy’s strategies. The same Devil who blinds a murderous person from seeing another person’s humanity blinds people after a tragedy from seeing the real enemy. In John 9, John gives an account of Jesus healing a blind man. His blindness...
Anthony Walker
3 Ways to Respond to Mass Shootings
Have you heard of the “Serenity Prayer”? Although the original prayer written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr is longer, here is the prayer as it is commonly quoted: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” It’s a popular...
Daniel McCoy
3 Suggestions for Church Leaders Who Are Wearing Too Many Hats
In ministry, there is the constant pressure to wear every hat of every role that people expect you to fulfill. In smaller and rural churches, this can be especially true and exhausting. One day you are the preacher; the next day, you are the plumber. You read, study, write, mow the church grass or clean...
Matt Stieger
The Devil Comes to Steal, Kill, and Destroy—and What This Says about False Teaching
One of the clues that something is evil is that it’s not very creative. Instead, it takes what’s been created and seeks to destroy it. The Bible teaches that the Devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. From the early pages of Genesis to the final chapters of Revelation, he’s attempting to take good things...
Daniel McCoy
Revisiting Jesus’ Unabridged Invitation
Picture a typical worship service, youth group lesson, or revival meeting somewhere in America. There’s been worship in song, prayer, preaching, and now the invitation to “accept Jesus into your heart,” “trust Jesus for salvation,” or something similar. It’s an appeal to salvation from a typical, transactional-type Christianity. You know how it goes: Just believe...
Jim Frech
Sword of the Spirit: How the Word of God Puts Satan on Defense
In Ephesians 6:17, the apostle Paul talks about the importance of wielding the “sword of the Spirit.” What is he talking about? The sword of the Spirit is how Paul describes the word of God and its role in spiritual warfare. While truth, salvation, faith, and righteousness are also depicted as essential pieces of armor,...
Daniel McCoy
We Need Mutual Accountability in Three Crucial Areas
Christians need to cultivate mutual accountability in the areas of learning, doing, and sharing. International disciple maker Curtis Sergeant describes what this can look like. Accountability is often viewed as something unpleasant, especially in an employment context where it may involve discipline for subpar performance. But in a Christian context, holding one another accountable is...
Curtis Sergeant