Topic: Relationships & Family
The Spirit of Community
Community sounds great…on paper. Lived out, it’s messy. We can see how investing in our relationship with God pays off, but relationships with others? Yes and no. The book of Acts is a game-changer. It shakes us up, pointing us to sacrificial, faith-shaping community. At least, until we hit the end of the chapter. Or...
Adam Rice
The Blessing: A Short Story of Loss and Reconciliation
Paul and Eden had adjusted well to life in Rochester, Minnesota. It was now home. They were there for Paul’s job in IT. A major company recruited him out of college eight years earlier. Great salary. Rehabbed bungalow. Fun neighborhood. Made up for the harsh realities of being really far from home and shoveling snow...
Bob Turner
The Role of Mentoring and Discipleship in a Women’s Ministry
So, what Is mentoring? The word “mentor” originally came from the name of a friend of King Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. Mentor was entrusted with Telemachus, the king’s only son, while the king was off at war. Mentor showed wisdom, care, and commitment, which are all essential ingredients of a good mentor by today’s standards...
Anessa Westbrook
What to Do When Your Child Stops Believing
When he was about fourteen years old, my son, Jonathan, sat me down and told me that he had lost his faith in God. I was hurt, but I wasn’t surprised. After all, he had not shown much spiritual interest in several years. He suffered from depression and had been painfully lonely since we moved...
David Young
10 Unromantic Bible Verses That Describe Real Love
Love can be celebrated in sappy ways. (That seems to be what Valentine’s Day is for.) Yes, the Bible celebrates romantic love and all that comes with it (have you ever read the Song of Songs?!). But the love described most often in the Bible isn’t sappy or sensual. It is real and dependable. This...
Daniel McCoy
RelationShift: Five Shifts for Disciple Makers to Live and Lead from Relationship
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO RELATIONSHIPS THAT FUEL DISCIPLE MAKING Many church leaders hear of the power of relational disciple making to transform churches, and they want in. The problem is they’re programmed to see everything as—well, a program. In the hurry…
Jim Putman
Ready for Real Relationship? A Review of Jim Putman’s ‘RelationShift’
*Editor’s Note: Jim Putman will lead an in-depth class at the 2023 Renew Gathering on April 26th on his new book, RelationShift: Five Shifts for Disciple Makers to Live and Lead from Relationship. It is easy for church leaders today to state that they believe in relational disciple making. In the ten years since Jim...
Bobby Harrington
Some Reflections on Foreign Accents
Isn’t it interesting that you don’t have an accent? Doesn’t it feel like you talk normal, while other people from other places are the ones who have accents? One of the unfortunate facts of a fallen world is that we can tend to judge and make assumptions of people by how different they sound from us. The word barbarian,...
Daniel McCoy
Family Worship: 6 Ways Connecting with God Together Will Bless Your Family
Family worship, at its most basic level, is the regular gathering of the family to worship God and receive instruction in the Christian faith. Parents have been given a responsibility to disciple their children, and one of the best ways is through regular times of the family gathering to worship God together and learn more...
Darren Williamson
What We Learn from Job’s Three Friends
The story of Job, from the Old Testament, is well known. He is the man who lost everything—family, wealth, health—and yet did not lose his faith in God. While in the midst of Job’s suffering, Job’s three friends came to pay him a visit. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar...
Ron Bay, Jr.
What God Accomplishes Around a Table
When I started out preaching, I attended a church growth conference where the presenter shared that the two most important rooms in the church were the nursery and the women’s bathroom. He explained that, if you wanted to make a good first impression, start here. He also said that the best day to have “Friend...
Rowlie Hutton
Want to Learn About God? Volunteer to Help Kids.
I am convinced that, to grow up, every young adult needs to spend some time volunteering with, tutoring, or coaching young kids. I recommend this whether the young adult is married with kids or single. No matter your athletic or artistic ability, no matter your income level or family background, every college kid or 20-something...
Jim Frech
Discipling Children: Protecting the Future (Part 3)
This is the final installment in a three-part series on parenting, outlining three phases of discipleship in our children. Plant the Seeds: Discipleship by Planting Seeds of Stability Provide for the Plant: Discipleship by Supportive Relationships & Training Protect the Future: Discipleship by Influence In the first article, I described the first stage of parenting,...
Renée Sproles
Making a 10,000-Year Difference
As summer was wrapping up and churches were ramping up for fall, I heard a couple of sermons challenging the church to make a difference in their communities. The question that often arises is, “If our church were to close tomorrow, would our community even miss us?” I think that is a fair question for...
Rowlie Hutton
Discipling Children: Providing for the Plant (Part 2)
This is the second in a three-part series on parenting, outlining three phases of discipleship in our children. Plant the Seeds: Discipleship by Planting Seeds of Stability Provide for the Plant: Discipleship by Supportive Relationships & Training Protect the Future: Discipleship by Influence In the previous article, I wrote about the first stage of parenting,...
Renée Sproles
