Campus ministries do not steal away Christian students who should be enrolling at a Christian college. Rather, campus ministries are missional groups striving to make disciples for Christ.
I Hope She Stays
We need her leavening influence to grow into the kind of community that more fully embodies the Jesus Way. Churches of Christ need the leavening of those like her.
Breath Prayers
Breath prayers are simple in practice and in theory. In theory, breath prayers are one short refrain, sometimes even a single word, repeated silently or audibly, to the rhythm of your breath.
Most Read Church Posts in 2016
Here's a quick recap of some of our most read posts from 2016. What were some of your favorite CHARIS posts in 2016? We would love to hear from you!
Reaching Goals and Holding Them Loosely
The New Year is convenient times in my life but I recommend looking at the rhythm of your life and look for the natural breaks or cycles that you are already following.
Everywhere a Sign
Jesus performs seven acts, or miracles, that are classified as signs. John calls them signs because their purpose is to reveal Jesus’s identity as the Word become flesh.
Who Is God Connecting You To?
God’s answer to their seeking is to connect them to one of his believers – maybe even you. So follow up on that urge to answer someone’s questions about Jesus, or to read the Bible with them.
Happiness and Sadness as Temptations to Idolatry
I have a very simple proposition: rejoicing and weeping, great joy and great sorrow, leave us in places of great temptation to idolatry.
Closing Thoughts
Depression does not define you. You are a person, not a condition. You are more than your darkest feelings, your worst mistake, or your lowest moment. There is good news. You matter. You are loved.
Blue Skies, No Rainbows (Part 2)
A conversation alone will not solve every issue; it merely preserves the relationship so we can work out everything else.
Healthy Responses for Church Leaders: What “Getting Turned Around” in Atlanta Taught Me about Church Leadership
Focus on direction can be difficult for leaders because we so often get swept up into the tyranny of the urgent.
Uninvited Guests in Worship
If Jesus calls the church to be its own culture and society, why is it that some people feel unwelcomed by the church when the church is in fact its own way of life?
Depression and Addiction
People battling depression often turn to a wide array of coping mechanisms, many of which are addictive and ultimately destructive.
Children and Heirs of God (Galatians 4:4-7)
God adopted us because our reception as sinners into a familial relationship with God, by the work of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, well—all of this is God’s gift, God’s work, God’s initiative.
Holy Ordinary
I am convinced that our spiritual lives aren’t defined by the mountaintop experiences but, instead, by the ways in which we utilize and redeem the wholly ordinary moments of our daily lives.
Shell-Shocked Preacher
If you are wounded and shell-shocked, I want to encourage you to find some healing. Do something that is life-giving, and please listen for the prompting and the timing of the Spirit.
Nuremberg Funnel: Reenvisioning the Work of Leadership
A look at three metaphors that help teachers re-envision the work of education: pilgrimage (journey), gardening, and building.
Depression and Doubt
While I never stopped believing in God during my struggle with depression; I questioned God’s involvement in my life deeply. Was God there? Did God care? Why was God so unresponsive?
The Crossroads of Art and Faith: A Contemporary Christian Conversation
Dan McGregor discusses the value of art to faith in an image-based culture, highlighting how art has the potential of conveying the divine in a way that words alone cannot.
Shocking Judgment
When you are a preacher or teacher, every experience becomes a raw material for teaching. I hope the implications of this analogy are obvious and you might come up with your own in your messages.