Monotheism: Why Did God’s People Keep Missing It?
(Here is Part 1 and Part 2 of this series on monotheism.) Perhaps the biggest problem with monotheism for ancient Israel was its uniqueness. Surrounded by cultures and peoples that believed in other gods, a monotheistic perspective would surely seem strange, simple-minded, backwards and perhaps even judgmental. What’s more, the Israelites who came out of...
Jon Kehrer
Promise Keepers: The Night We Encouraged Our Pastors
When I was approached by Renew.org to write a series of articles about the founding of Promise Keepers, I was asked to recount what I had experienced and learned from eleven years on the Board of Directors at Promise Keepers. There are so many experiences to report. So many absolutely amazing moments to share. Through...
David Roadcup
On Gender and the Bible: What John Mark Hicks and Scot McKnight Get Right and Wrong (Part 1)
Who doesn’t love a good story? John Mark Hicks’s new book, Women Serving God: My Journey in Understanding Their Story in the Bible, is full of them. We find the story of Hicks’s journey from rigid patriarchy to egalitarianism, the stories of church history and its various positions on the subject of women in ministry,...
How to Start 3 Types of Discipleship Groups Using the Teachings of Jesus
This booklet is an introductory guide to three different types if discipling groups and how to use material on the teachings of Jesus in each of the different groups. This book, along with Trust and Follow Jesus: The Leader’s Guide,…
Bobby Harrington
We’re Doing Evangelism in Wartime
“Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” (Ephesians...
Daniel C. Berk
A Reckoning for the Church
This one is going to be rough. We spent a lot of time looking at “Judge not, lest you be judged” (Mt. 7:1-6) because judgmentalism is probably the great sin of the contemporary American church. Let me explain. There are two kinds of unbelievers in the United States–those who haven’t heard of Jesus and those...
Jeremy Bacon
Caution Fatigued, Yet?
*Editor’s Note: If anyone knows “caution fatigue” during a pandemic, it would be workers at places such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Debbra has worked for a dozen years as office manager at an assisted living facility. You will find her perspective on the times helpful and hard-earned. There are lots of reasons...
Debbra Stephens
We Have Only One Life to Live
Time is a precious gift to us, and it is constantly slipping away. So it is all-important that we invest our time well. St. Jerome was the translator of the Latin Vulgate, which served as the official Catholic Scriptures for more than 1,500 years and is widely considered to be the most important translation of...
Curtis Sergeant
Monotheism: Where in the Bible Do We Learn There is One God?
The Bible begins like no other ancient Near Eastern text; it claims that the heavens and the earth were the creation of a single deity. This deity seems to operate without interference or assistance, and his sovereignty is supreme. This alone should give us pause; the book of Genesis assumes that the Creator does not...
Jon Kehrer
Preparing Students for College: Intergenerational Relationships
Generational distrust has been among us for quite some time now. It is rather comical when my grandparents describe how old and outdated their parents appeared to them while they were young and how keen they were to rebel. My parents can recall times earlier in life when they considered people older than 40 to...
Tyler Richter
How Do I Build Peace into a Stressful Day?
In my last article, we learned a lesson from my one-year-old daughter on how to find peaceful moments regardless of the chaos of the situation. We call them “rock-a-chair” moments, based on the song my kids started singing as they rocked in the kids’ rocking chair. May I share with you a handful of ways...
Katie W
It’s Time for a Second Wind
In March, the media said the virus was not able to survive in the heat. I was eagerly anticipating somewhat of a return to normalcy. However, in our state, Georgia, the numbers are trending to the wrong side. More and more people are contracting the virus, public schools are remaining virtual, and now the experts...
Michael Patterson
Intersectionality, Christianity, & Why Reconciliation > Reversal
In the land of India lived a woman named Kisa. She had a son, an only son, who unexpectedly died. Kisa could not accept that he was gone. So she scooped him up in her arms and went from neighbor to neighbor asking for medicine. Everyone she talked to knew the boy was dead. Yet...
Daniel McCoy
It Is Finished
“It is finished!” The cry from the cross rings out across the years. In the Greek New Testament, it is only one word (tetelestai—teh TEL es tie), but that word is packed with meaning. A brief look at the many ways the word was used in those days will greatly enlarge our appreciation for what...
Kenny Boles
Lessons from the Church in Pakistan: Boldness
Q: What are some tools you use to make disciples in Pakistan? I have a small group in my home, where we pick a Bible book and go through it verse by verse. This is because we want people to know the whole Bible, not just picking and choosing. We take references from here and...
Sam Gill
Break for…a God-Sized Question
Our Father accumulated infinite wealth. He did this through untold ages of creativity, ingenuity, integrity, honorable leadership and management. He ruled over everything that exists because everything came from Him. At the end of His ministry, however, Jesus told us, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18, NIV)....
Tony Twist