Resources by Daniel McCoy:
A Resilient Church in a Cancel Culture
There’s a joke that’s told about a couple of hunting buddies who are walking along outside when one of them collapses to the ground and goes motionless. When his friend discovers that he’s stopped breathing, he calls 911 and says, “My friend just died! What do I do?” The operator answers, “Calm down. First, what...
The Less We Use This, the More Relevant It Will Become.
I predict that the Bible is going to increase in its relevance in the near future. To explain, I’d like to tell two boat stories. Boat #1 – A Disposable Raft The founder of Buddhism was a man named Gautama who found enlightenment. He then gathered together a group of monks and nuns to help...
Daniel McCoy
A Tragic Choice for a Hill to Die On
We aren’t as strong as we think we are. Heaven-hell cycles seem to be speeding up. So small was the latest cycle that those of us who are Americans couldn’t make it a week after merrily ringing in a new, unsoiled year before seeing radicals breaking windows and scaling walls of our own US Capitol....
Daniel McCoy
Disciples of Jesus Choose Hope – Q&A with Michael Patterson
*Editor’s Note: In an anxious and angry season, how can disciples of Jesus practically show the world the hope of Jesus? At the juncture of 2020 and 2021, I was able to speak with Michael Patterson, church leader and history professor, to get his perspective on how to cultivate hope in difficult times such as...
Try to Avoid a Star Wars Christmas
After its underwhelming prequels (Episodes 1-3), Star Wars seemingly came back to life with Episode 7 in 2015. But the most notable rise for Star Wars (more notable even than 2019’s Rise of Skywalker) was in 1980. That’s the year Empire Strikes Back was released. In my opinion, Empire Strikes Back in 1980 followed the lowest low in Star Wars history...
Daniel McCoy
Church Leader, We Are So Thankful for You
Dear friends, If you’re a church leader in 2020, wherever you have served, it has been a tough year. Well done. When we think of you, these words of Paul come to mind: “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father...
Mirage: 5 Things People Want from God That Don’t Exist
These days, reasons for irritability pop up as regularly as Facebook advertisements. Of all the reasons to be irritable, this one has to be the worst: We often want things that turn out not to exist. People can spend their…
Daniel McCoy
Did Religion Come from God or Us? Interview with Winfried Corduan (Part 2)
*Editor’s Note: Where did religion come from in the beginning? Was it something that humans created which later evolved into belief in one supreme God (monotheism)? Or is it possible that monotheism was the original religion which later religions deviated from? I recently caught up with a dear friend and exceptional scholar named Winfried Corduan....
Daniel McCoy
Did Religion Come from God or Us? Interview with Winfried Corduan (Part 1)
*Editor’s Note: Where did religion come from in the beginning? Was it something that humans created which later evolved into belief in one supreme God (monotheism)? Or is it possible that monotheism was the original religion which later religions deviated from? I recently caught up with a dear friend and exceptional scholar named Winfried Corduan....
Daniel McCoy
A Four-Word Solution to Reach a Divided Nation
Chances are, you might be ticked off at roughly half of America right now. Whichever way you voted on Election Tuesday, you are probably asking—when thinking about the other candidate—”How in the world could that many millions of Americans have voted for that guy?!” Polarization is nothing new for the United States. Remember the Federalists...
Church, You Can’t Lose on Tuesday
It’s becoming clear that this isn’t going to be the article I had wanted to write. I had wanted to write something as upbeat as the ska songs I listened to in high school. It’s my personality. As an optimist, it’s not like I’m unaware of the challenges my nation is facing. It’s just that...
Daniel McCoy
Something You Can Never Be
Have you ever been told an expression by somebody older than you which makes absolutely no sense to your generation? Expressions like, “That’s the cat’s pajamas!” “Take a chill pill!” “Be there or be square!” Ever wonder where such strange expressions come from? Take the word square. Obviously, it means the 4-sided geometric figure. But somewhere along...
Daniel McCoy
Good News: You Will Have Trouble
Good news: It appears that the church across the globe is on the rise. Depressing news: It appears that the church across the United States is on decline. It appears from the statistics that the American church is following the troubled trajectory of Europe and Canada—where fewer and fewer Christians raise their kids to love the church...
Daniel McCoy
A Leadership Training Manual on Avoiding the Ditches
*Editor’s Note: We will be giving away a copy of An Authentic Experience to each registrant at the Renew.org Gathering on October 15, in Franklin, TN. Here is why it is an important resource for us to feature. [Click HERE to learn more about the Gathering.] We at Renew.org are convinced that disciple making is...
On Gender and the Bible: Can Women Be Elders? (Part 5)
“If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” —Margaret Thatcher. “Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to give them justice.” —Helen Keller. “It’s time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through, no right, no wrong, no rules...
A Simple Way to Share the Gospel
Mortality is on the news and in our minds in a way we haven’t experienced for a while. While it has always been true that everybody dies, there is nothing like a viral disease to expose our fragility. There are going to be quiet times—away from the stocking up and checking up on 401Ks—when people...
Daniel McCoy