The TikTok Challenge and a New Authority Over Gen Zers
I’ve changed my mind. At first, I was annoyed with a video title I saw about a viral TikTok challenge, but I’ve come around to agreeing with the title. Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show, the longest running program on Comedy Central, called the segment “This New TikTok Challenge Is Making Kids Vandalize Schools.”...
Daniel McCoy
The Barbell Strategy and the Church in the New Covid World
In the financial world, there is a concept known as the barbell strategy. The strategy consists of putting 90% of your money in low-risk investments—something like mutual funds or maybe investing in silver. Then you take the other 10% of your money and invest in something very risky—something like cryptocurrency. What you don’t want to...
Christopher Barras
Storytelling: How to Create Good Characters
Imagine you’re in the middle seat for a long flight. You’re not usually a talker on rides like this, but you need all you can get to help pass the time. On one side of you is a middle-class businessman who has taken this trip several times. He seems busy on his tablet and doesn’t...
Taffeta Chime
You Are Unique!
A deck of cards that is shuffled correctly is an example of something profoundly unique. The number of possible orders for a deck of cards is a 68-digit number. That’s an incredibly large number of possible orders! I can comprehend seven-digit numbers and ten-digit numbers, but 68 digits? How large is that number? There are...
Stephen Brownlow
When the Burden Feels too Heavy: Maintaining Spiritual Health and Emotional Empathy amidst the Challenges of Full-Time Ministry
Yesterday was one of those days. If you’re in full-time ministry, you know what I’m talking about. The kind of day where my phone seemed to go off incessantly, alerting me to just one more need, crisis, challenge, or painful situation someone in my congregation under my care was facing. There was the brother who...
Josh Brooker
Book Review and Reflections on Embodied, by Preston Sprinkle
I have been praying about this review/thought piece for some time. In the United States, the Equality Act has long been working its way through the government. This act has erupted in debate on both sides of the aisle. It is the cause of arguments about women’s sports, bathrooms, how to treat young children, and...
William Butt
It’s Time to Leave the Starship Enterprise for the Blue Origin.
What do you think of blunt Christian billboards? It’s easy to get annoyed at stoplights because they rigidly alternate between only three options (stop, go, and slow). Imagine how most people feel toward the billboards that bring it down to only two options and say curtly, “It’s your choice…heaven or hell.” Spiritually speaking, most people...
Daniel McCoy
How Can I Help Others to Be Prepared for the End of Time?
This is Question #5 in Gary Johnson’s The End: The Return of King Jesus and the Renewal of All Things.
Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson
Sermon on the Mount: How to Cut Off Your Hand
The problem with most Christian discussions of sexual ethics is that they’re usually heavy on the “why” and light on the “how to.” But in Matthew 5:29-30, Jesus is pretty serious about the importance of doing something. Objectification is not okay. We get that. But quite a bit of my unredeemed body doesn’t care. So...
Jeremy Bacon
What Is the Promise of the New Heaven and New Earth?
This is Question #4 in Gary Johnson’s The End: The Return of King Jesus and the Renewal of All Things.
Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson
3 Ways Fear Lies to Us
Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. We all know fear; we’ve all experienced it. From the time we are young, we understand it. Whether real or imagined, fear is a part of our life on this earth....
Holli Turner
What Future Awaits the Unrepentant?
This is Question #3 in Gary Johnson’s The End: The Return of King Jesus and the Renewal of All Things.
Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson
Blessed in Mourning: 3 Gifts to Give Someone Who Is Grieving
Unexpectedly over the last few months, I’ve gained deeper understanding of the second beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” I’ve known with my head that there will one day be a final fulfillment of this teaching of Jesus, where all those believers that have experienced grief and loss will find...
Chris White
Persecuted Christians Are Lights in the Darkness
Abdul Baith has lived in Pakistan most of his life and is a Christian of immense courage. He is not ashamed of the gospel, nor is he afraid of saying what needs to be said. As I sat across the table from him, drinking his delightful Pakistani tea, I needed him to say something. It’s...
Jake Sutherlin