It’s OK Not to Be OK: A Q&A on Mental Health and Following Jesus
*Note from editor: May was Mental Health Awareness Month. To close out May, we thought it appropriate to feature this interview by one of our contributors, Emily Andrews. A graduate student in clinical mental health, Rachel Stewart is passionate about the intersection of counseling/therapy and Christianity. She is currently working towards her final course in...
Emily Andrews
Pornography: Everyone’s Battle
The following statistics shocked me. A full-page ad in a recent issue of World Magazine reported on the pervasiveness of pornography in our culture. The latest studies by the Barna Group and Covenant Eyes are alarming. Over 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites. The average visit lasts 6 minutes and 29 seconds....
Bob Russell
Harding Commencement Address (Part 2)
We make disciples. Or we’re only singing half-tones. It really is that simple. Of course, this begs the question of what we mean when we say “disciple.” As you must already know, everyone has their own definition of discipleship; the word is confidently used by every church from the Episcopalians to the United Pentecostal Council...
David Young
Comparing New Testament Interpretations with the Church Fathers
Just a few months ago, I (Bobby) was a part of a meeting where national church leaders discussed/debated the essential definition of church (the subject of “minimum ecclesiology”). After all, if we are going to plant churches together, then we need to have a shared definition of a church. One of the leaders stated that...
Discover It: Cultivating a Disciple-Making Culture (Part 2)
Imagine for a moment that we have an entire group of football players wearing a jersey and standing on the field, but who have very little knowledge of how to actually play the game. They know some of the language but have no idea how to work together as a team, execute the most basic...
Brandon Guindon
Your Worth as a Disciple Maker
We stopped off to pick up a couple of things. Walking inside, our children scattered in different directions. My husband, Paul, stayed by my side as I gathered what I needed. By the time we made our way to the gift wrap aisle, children were buzzing around us once again. Our youngest was quiet. At...
Joanne Kraft
Harding Commencement Address (Part 1)
Renew founder and board member, David Young, gave the 2019 commencement address to the graduating class at Harding School of Theology. The topic will interest Renew readers as it underlines our conviction that “Jesus’ final command must be our first priority.” Students, family members, faculty, staff: Thank you for the privilege of offering a few...
David Young
From Hurt to Healing
Kevin explains how those we are closest to can hurt us the most. On the other side of that hurt, however, lies something stronger when we allow God to help.
Kevin Holland
Kevin Holland
Growing Deeper in Prayer
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you . . . . For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s...
Sydney Clayton
A Gift of Sacrificial Love
I had my Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem, in the synagogue near my home in the south side of Jerusalem. We lived on Bethlehem Road and the synagogue was just a little distance from my home—in the same building that I started school on first grade. In my Bar Mitzvah, I read Leviticus 1:1-5:26. This portion...
Joseph Shulam
Contrasting Measures
Judging by the standards of the world often seems the natural thing to do. I reckon it’s a timeless trait of all Jesus followers—because occasions of just such a response is recorded for us in the gospels. There were times the disciples of Jesus passed judgment using worldly values as their standard. When we come...
Debbra Stephens
9 Fears Related to the Alabama Abortion Law
On Wednesday, May 15, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill which criminalizes doctors who perform abortions in the state. This is being called the “most restrictive abortion bill in the country.” And everybody’s afraid. Everybody. Here are 9 fears related to the bill. Which of these are most important to you? The...
Daniel McCoy
4 Ways to Treat the Prisoner as a Person
Did you know that two-thirds of those currently held in American jails have yet to be convicted of a crime? Jails are typically short-term holding facilities, whether a person has just been arrested, is awaiting sentencing, or must serve a brief sentence (usually up to a year). Pew Charitable Trusts recently polled 1,215 people on...
Emily Andrews
3 Ways to Shepherd Well
One of the foremost elders of the church, the Apostle Peter, gives us a clear picture of our role as elders. In 1 Peter 5:1-4, he states: Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to...
David Roadcup
Is it safe to follow my feelings? (Reflections on Lukianoff & Haidt’s The Coddling of the American Mind – Part 2 of 3)
“Keep his mind on the inner life. He thinks his conversion is something inside him, and his attention is therefore chiefly turned at present to the state of his own mind–or rather to that very expurgated version of them which is all you should allow him to see. Encourage this. Keep his mind off the...
Chad Ragsdale
Celebrating Your Loved One in Heaven
Mom went to Heaven on April 27, 2001. Her name was Mary Lou. It’s not a very common name. I didn’t realize the things I’d miss when mom passed, like hearing someone say her name. I felt betrayed by the calendar when mom died. Days kept coming. Life kept moving. How could the earth keep...
Joanne Kraft