What Is a Eunuch in the Bible?
What is a eunuch in the Bible? Under the Old Testament law, eunuchs were banned from the priesthood and from God’s assembly due to their castration. Yet, we see men in the Bible fitting the description of a eunuch, many whom are depicted favorably and even a unique object of God’s promises. What does the...
Rahel bint Younas
God Renews Youth, Covenants, and Things
God is a God who loves to renew things. Like what? Here are three. God renews forgotten youth. I’m not sure if you look back at your younger years with joy or sadness. Whatever our particular story, it’s true our earliest years are a time of great promise. Our youngest selves were trusting and hopeful....
Daniel McCoy
A Conversation on DMM’s in North America: Q&A with Paul Huyghebaert
*Editor’s Note: Can Disciple Making Movements (DMM’s) happen in North America? Recently, I got to chat with Paul Huyghebaert, one of RENEW.org’s associate directors of learning communities and the senior minister of Grace Chapel Church of Christ in the Atlanta area. Paul has been facilitating some exciting DMM conversations between global DMM leaders and North...
Paul Huyghebaert
If we have not love…
I was deeply moved by this man. A renowned thinker, he wrote a profoundly insightful book on happiness. I have listened to his soothingly deep voice make deep mysteries both clear and attainable for some time now. People like this man make us better as human beings. He is a philosopher, scientist, mathematician, and engineer....
Christian Ray Flores
When the Devil Gains a Foothold in a Nation
“And do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph. 4:27, NIV) Be forewarned. This article is going to ask all of us to do something that sounds impossible. Especially something that sounds impossible right now. By now, we’re referring to where we sit stunned and sickened in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a...
I Still Go to the North American Christian Conventions (and You Should Too)
I set my single-trip driving record in July 2002. I was 32, a Bible college preaching professor, and I drove from Joplin, MO, to Columbus, OH—10 hours—with only one stop. (My bladder couldn’t handle that now at 53.) Why the urgency? I was registered for the North American Christian Convention pre-conference led by Dave Stone and Rick Rusaw,...
Matt Proctor
Sermon on the Mount: “Lord, Lord”
For most of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been happy to dance in the fuzzy intersection between the “now” and the “not yet”—between the old age that is passing away and the new age that is breaking in. So, it often seems like what he says could apply to either this life or...
Jeremy Bacon
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
God Renews Spirits, Minds, and Lives
God is a God who loves to renew things. Like what? Here are three. God renews crushed spirits. You ever been crushed underneath the weight of something dark you did in secret? You ever try to hide something because you just know that, if people find out about it, they’re going to stop admiring you?...
Daniel McCoy
The Words We Speak
How would your life change if the things you said came true? We talk plenty, but how many of those words motivate others to act—even ourselves? I came across this quote a year ago, and it stuck with me. “It would be a convenient arrangement were we so constituted that we could not talk better...
Adam Rice
Announcing a Disciple Making Movement Focus in Indianapolis in late April
We are living at a time where fresh approaches to promoting the timeless message and methods of Jesus are needed. So, we are announcing a special format we have built that is adjacent to the RENEW.org National Gathering at the end of April. The RENEW.org National Gathering ends two hours before Discipleship.org’s National Disciple Making...
Bobby Harrington
How Polyamory Changes the Discussion on Homosexuality in the Church
As stated in a previous article on the rise of polyamory, I originally wrote a large portion of that article around three years ago. Since then, I have been engaging in conversations with people about same-sex and non-monogamous relationships both within and outside the church. One of the things that I realized was that not...
Curtis Erskine
Summary of Galatians: Understanding the Basics of Galatians in the Bible
Here is a short summary of Galatians: Galatians was written by the apostle Paul to a handful of churches in the region of Galatia who were being led astray from the truth of the gospel. They were being told that in order to inherit the promise to Abraham, be justified, and be a full part...
John Whittaker
The Kingdom of God in the New Testament
What is the kingdom of God in the New Testament? If we see the concept of the kingdom of God introduced in the Old Testament Scriptures through the story of Israel, then we see it fulfilled in the life of Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament. As we look at Jesus, it should be...
Kelvin Teamer
6 Takeaways from Our Learning Community Event on Artificial Intelligence
On Thursday, March 16, we held our latest Learning Community event for the almost 280 senior ministers/pastors in the Renew.org Network. The Learning Community event takes place every two months, and this time, the topic was “Artificial Intelligence and the Senior Minister.” Artificial intelligence has advanced to where AI programs are now adept at content...
Daniel McCoy
God Renews Strength, Selves, and Sinners
God is a God who loves to renew things. Like what? Here are three. 1. God renews exhausted strength. You find yourself tired most of the time? Busier than is healthy? Under pressure and overextended? Guilty because of all the obligations you still haven’t gotten around to? And what’s even worse is that the way...
Daniel McCoy