Resources by Daniel McCoy:
A Simple Definition of Grace? Yeah, About That…
We know grace is amazing, but what exactly is it? For starters, the Greek word translated “grace” is charis (it helps that the two words sound alike, doesn’t it?). Before Christians picked up charis and connected it to the gospel, the word was useful for describing the patron-client relationship (we’ll get to that in a...
Daniel McCoy
3 Stages in Our Fight against Sin (and How the Holy Spirit Wins It for Us)
There are three stages in a Christian’s fight against sin. They’ll be easy to remember since they all rhyme: Lust Disgust Trust Let’s go through them so you can ask where you are in your fight. #1 – Lust This first stage in the fight against sin is when you don’t put up any fight...
Daniel McCoy
How Pride Month Taught Me the Power of Spirituality
Since it was Pride Month, I googled the pride flag to explain to my eldest the meaning of the flags around town. I went with the traditional rainbow flag and explained the basics of the acronym LGBT. When the conversation was over, I decided to do some exploring, knowing that there was at least one...
Daniel McCoy
Why Did Jesus Pick Fishermen? Answer: The Gospel.
A good joke leads an audience down one path (the setup), but then jolts them with an unexpected turn at the end (the punchline). In the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we may not read any jokes, but we experience an unexpected twist. Mark 1:15 gets us going down one path. Jesus begins his ministry...
Daniel McCoy
This Pastor Doesn’t Know the Sky Is Falling. Is He Right?
I recently took an afternoon to hang out with a pastor friend of mine. Nice guy. But the impression he left me with as I got on the highway to head back home was that his ministry, though effective, was missing something I had come to expect from conversations with other Christians in 2021. What...
Daniel McCoy
My Favorite Paragraph of Disciple Making: The Core Mission of the Church
Buried deep within my house is a treasure chest. By “deep,” I mean it’s in my office in the basement. By “treasure chest,” I mean exactly what it sounds like: it’s an antique, wooden treasure chest, maybe 10 inches long and 8 inches high. And what’s inside is a literal treasure. I feel safe putting...
Daniel McCoy
The Secret to Telling the World a Better Story
Although I enjoy writing songs from time to time, my recurring attitude toward my own songwriting could be summarized, “Andrew Peterson already exists. What’s the point?” We in the church could be tempted to have the same attitude toward telling stories. In order for our Western culture to stop and pay attention, we’re going to...
Daniel McCoy
We’re about to Make a Big Mistake – Reflections on Rebecca McLaughlin’s “The Secular Creed”
In describing the big mistake our culture is making, I’m going to point you to 2 resources. One is meant to make you say, “Eh.” (This first resource is not going to be super engaging—but hang on, because it makes an important point.) The other is meant to make you say, depending on where you’re...
Daniel McCoy
How to Read a Progressive like the Bible
*Editor’s Note: For Part 1 (“How to Read the Bible like a Progressive”), click here. In 2014, the late Rachel Held Evans wrote an autobiographical account called Faith Unraveled. It was her story of plunging from robust evangelicalism into cynical unbelief until she settled for a proud progressivism. Although progressivism is often not the ending...
Daniel McCoy
How to Read the Bible like a Progressive
How to read the Bible like a progressive—is that really a good idea? No, I’m not suggesting you try this. In fact, I’m going to suggest that you learn how progressive Christians read the Bible in order to keep yourself from doing it. What’s a “progressive”? I’m using “progressive” to refer to a person who rewrites important...
Daniel McCoy
What Are 5 Things People Want from God That Don’t Exist?
Did you know that a lot of people want non-things? Here are 5 non-things which will make you dissatisfied if you pursue them. The other videos in this series include the Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part…
Daniel McCoy
Daniel McCoy
Good Friday: Buffet or Cafeteria?
I had just spent a week in Mexico on a high school mission trip. We crossed back over the border and stopped at a restaurant where we could enjoy familiar food. Best of all, we were told that the meal was a gift: the leaders of the trip were covering the cost. Now, I had...
Daniel McCoy
Why Should Christians Learn World Religions?
Why should everyday Christians bother to learn the basics about other religions? Here are three reasons you should consider. Clarify the Facts It’s too easy to misunderstand other religions. On the one hand, some writers will make religions seem more similar than they really are. Such authors fudge the facts in order to bring about...
Daniel McCoy
Mirage #5: I Want to Find Freedom through Sin
Where does freedom really come from? This video based on Daniel McCoy’s Mirage: 5 Things People Want from God That Don’t Exist examines the desire that people have to find freedom outside of the moral boundaries God has set up.…
Daniel McCoy
Daniel McCoy
On World Religions: A 10-Lesson Learning Guide on Buddhism, Hinduism, and More (Volume 2)
Have you ever finished a book that was helpful only to realize that you couldn’t remember much of what you had read? Perhaps you had highlighted profound points that you never actually internalized. Perhaps you had learned something new in…
Daniel McCoy
On World Religions: A 10-Lesson Learning Guide to Islam, Judaism, and More (Volume 1)
Have you ever finished a book that was helpful only to realize that you couldn’t remember much of what you had read? Perhaps you had highlighted profound points that you never actually internalized. Perhaps you had learned something new in…
Daniel McCoy