The time is short, the needs are great, and too many people are moving straight toward Hell. As Christians we have so much to be doing to stand in the gap with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But then there is this email I received back in mid-December (on an early Sunday morning, nonetheless, just READ MORE
Stupid Church Stuff
Posts, often satirical, highlighting the plethora of really stupid and foolish things commonplace within Church
Thom Rainer on the Sentence Pastors Hate
Thom Rainer just put out a compelling piece that strikes a deep sounding chord with every single pastor I know. It gets to the dirty underworld of pastoral ministry, touching on one of the most challenging, painful, and discouraging aspects of the entire calling. His article speaks to when someone comes up—elders, laypeople, other staff, READ MORE
Gossip
It is easily dismissed in our day and age, though it is no laughing matter. Sadly, Christians, even in good Bible-believing churches like the ours, are especially notorious for it. Callie Glorioso-Mays says it brilliantly: at its root, gossip is a manifestation of two insidious sins: pride and idolatry. Check out Glorioso-May’s post for more. It’s worth the READ MORE
“Out of the Heart”
Mark 7:1-23 serves as a powerful hinge between the captivating miracles embedded in Mark 6 and the outreach Jesus puts forward to the Gentiles in Mark 7:24 and following. With the miracles, one finds Jesus offering hope to people who are like sheep without shepherds. With the outreach, one finds Jesus embodying the missionary spirit READ MORE
Bearing the Marks of Jesus
As the Apostle Paul concludes his impassioned letter to his Galatian friends, he starkly contrasts a life of nominal Christianity with being a new creation because of the work of Jesus Christ. These are very important distinctions; worthy of amplification. Nominal Christianity. A “nominal value” is often a value that exists in name only. For Paul, the READ MORE
The Blind Side of Things
There is a messy reality about life that we Christians too easily wish to whitewash and pretend is not real. For some reason it appears to me that conservative Christianity in the modern era is far more concerned with a kind of piety that seeks to categorize life in neat little boxes and drawers. The READ MORE