Re-Centering our Faith

What do our churches believe? Obviously, I can’t speak for all churches across the country. However, I can speak to part of what my friend was asking. To do so means a little bit of history and a little bit of missiological theory—plus a good dose of theological imagination. Are you ready?

The End of the Story that Never Ends

One of the struggles for many new Christians is that everything is not immediately different. In fact, they soon realize that there are still many struggles and battles to be fought. Temptation, sickness, poverty, and difficult relationships are not always instantly better just because we are born again. We spend time reminding our new brothers and sisters that this world is not our true home.

Turn Your Bible into Prayer

Here is an invitation whose ambiguity begets a kind of clarity. What does it mean to turn my Bible into prayer? I’m not quite sure, to be honest. And yet, it seems that saying it exactly that way reveals something about the nature both of the Bible and of prayer. 

Adaptability as Faithfulness

Many churches fail to realize that their cultural, social, and technological landscapes are also changing, as it is in the rest of the world. The ability to adapt is essential for staying effective to the mission and to remaining spiritually relevant in a changing world. 

Sterling’s Song

I would grow to be endeared by Sterling’s humor, caring nature, and honesty in the face of death. Sterling was not a particularly religious person, holding no particular allegiances to any established faith. We had very little personally in common, but sometimes you just click with someone. 

Living in the Shadow of Death

It is not unusual for patients to experience spiritual distress throughout their medical journey. Conversely, many patients also find their faith deepened as a result of facing their own mortality. I find that patients who are allowed to express and explore their doubts and fears without judgement are the ones who find their faith most strengthened.

Is This Heaven?

When I imagine heaven, I don’t think about riches or a lack of struggle. I really only imagine two things: God and people being present. Beyond that, I don’t really care what else is there. Gold being there would be great, but I’ll take dirt just as well.

New Cultural Perspectives

At times, I am certain that Paul was frustrated by these cultural differences and the constant need to reacclimate to a new normal. He probably came to a point where he was never fully Jewish, never fully Greek, and had to rely on Christ even more to see him through.

Creating Experiential Bible Classes

Educators have long been familiar with the concept of a flipped classroom as a teaching tool. I have employed this method in a few of my classes when it comes to teaching additional material, books, and even sections of story and prophecy to explain. When the students have the opportunity to focus on one section of Scripture with the end goal of having to explain it, they have to grasp it at a deeper level.

Living with Death

There is the reality that the dying process may be painful, both emotionally and physically. Sometimes death is sudden, due to accidents, heart attacks, or even violence. But the day is coming when death will be no more. That is the promise of Revelation 21:4. No more death. No more mourning. No more pain.

At a Town Called Adam

Christ’s life becomes our life. Christ’s death becomes our death. And Christ’s resurrection will become our resurrection. Because in Christ, and through Christ, and with Christ, we are drawn out of the river of sin and death that all started at a town called Adam. 

Who Are the People God Has Entrusted to My Care?

These three convictions—everything we do derives from God’s doing, we are stewards of people, and God calls us not to a task but a people—provide something significant to us as leaders in our communities of faith. Even when we have persons that God entrusts to us that are “extra grace required,” persons full of anxiety, or those who are clothed in self-righteousness, we can find and hold space to care for them.

Hoops and Hope

As a spectator of the roller-coaster ride sport fans experience with player trades, injuries, coach firings, etc., I see a parallel lesson for believers about having confidence that good things are yet to come in the absence of proof. For Christians, no matter how long we travel in the valley, we will crest the peak once more.

Coming In Through Another Door (Part 2)

When people see me, do they just see a better-than-average person? Or do they see me acting in the world around me in the same way Jesus would act? Do my moral and ethical standards match his? Do I treat all people the same way he did? The answers to these questions will determine how effective I am as an evangelist.

Coming In Through Another Door (Part 1)

Rather than beginning by convicting people of sin and its consequences, we need to begin by exploring the effectiveness of their present lifestyle in enabling them to have hope, peace, and purpose. From there we can move to the reality of failing to live by God’s principles for life (sin) and the need to be free from our failures (redemption).