Two Perspectives on Racism and What They Need to Hear from Each Other
Saying racism is “wrong” doesn’t go far enough. I can make a wrong turn. I can give the wrong answer on a test. Wrongness doesn’t sufficiently capture the diabolical nature of racism. Racism de-humanizes and degrades. It is a toxin that destroys and victimizes both the abused and the abuser. It is an egregious offense...
Chad Ragsdale
God Sent Me a Friend: Part 3 of a 3-Way Conversation about Race
*Editor’s Note: This is part 3 of 3 of an honest conversation about race between 3 friends: Dr. Michael Patterson, Angel Maldonado, and Jim Lenahan. All three are ministers. The conversation took place on Sunday, June 7, at The Path Church in Atlanta, GA. Here is Part 1 and Part 2. MIKE: I really was...
Fathers Affect How We See God: Stories from Famous Atheists
Have you ever received a gift at Christmas which was so strange you didn’t really know what to say? The famous neurologist Sigmund Freud gave the world a few things like that. For example, it was Freud who gave us the idea that male children have a deep desire to kill their fathers and marry...
Daniel McCoy
Break for…Homecoming
Jesus once said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23 ESV). Homecoming. The inward pushing and pulling subsides. Breathless, lest anything disturb the calm, we wait outside of time. Anxious that no intrusive...
Tony Twist
Racial Division in the Church: Part 2 of a 3-Way Conversation about Race
*Editor’s Note: This is part 2 of 3 of an honest conversation about race between 3 friends: Dr. Michael Patterson, Angel Maldonado, and Jim Lenahan. All three are ministers. The conversation took place on Sunday, June 7, at The Path Church in Atlanta, GA. Here is Part 1 and Part 3. ANGEL: So has everything...
Changing Worldviews on Race: Part 1 of a 3-Way Conversation about Race
*Editor’s Note: This is part 1 of 3 of an honest conversation about race between 3 friends: Dr. Michael Patterson, Angel Maldonado, and Jim Lenahan. All three are ministers. The conversation took place on Sunday, June 7, at The Path Church in Atlanta, GA. Here is Part 2 and Part 3. ANGEL: It has been...
Lessons from the Church in Kenya: Spirit-Led Leadership
Q: I want you to pretend like you’re back in the States and you are asked to preach a chapel service at your alma mater. What’s your advice to help the American church? My sermon would revolve around walking in the Spirit. I would talk about the need for the American church and individual Christians...
Stephen Muhota
What’s the Alternative to Judgmentalism?
There is a consequence to judging: “Judge not, lest you be judged” (Matt. 7:1). Apparently, I need to watch my back. But watch out for whom? Who is the one judging me? Is Jesus warning that I would be judged by other people? The idea is that, when I come at them, they’ll come right...
Jeremy Bacon
Corrupted or Co-opted: 2 Non-Options as Christians Fight Racism
Bowling looks easier than it is. You have a fairly wide path for knocking down the pins. All you have to do is avoid the gutters, and you’ll accomplish something. Yet, even though the gutters are narrow and the lane is wide, somehow my bowling ball typically ends up in one gutter or the other....
Daniel McCoy
Grieving the Beliefs You Leave Behind
[Thomas] Campbell concluded by announcing a rule to guide them: “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.” . . . [Someone stood and said,] “Mr. Campbell, if we adopt that as a basis, then there is an end of infant baptism.” . . . [Campbell] simply replied, “If...
Matt Dabbs
Growing Wise in the School of Waiting
Something called the candy challenge has been making the rounds on the internet, the latest in a string of ideas to try while the coronavirus keeps us stuck at home. A few brave friends posted videos of their toddlers presented with a dish of candy. They told the child that mommy would be right back...
Bonnie Blaylock
Baptism, Salvation, and Discipleship
Conversion is a big deal in Scripture. Even the angels rejoice, Jesus tells us, for “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Surely this is because when a person…
Bobby Harrington
Bobby Harrington
4 Spiritual Pitfalls at the University
It was August of 2009. I was just days away from moving into a Missouri State University residence hall and beginning my college experience. I was a nervous wreck. I had grown up in a church environment that discipled me well. I was taught the Word of God accurately, I was given opportunities to serve...
Tyler Richter
Satan: Function and Foe
If you’ve read my previous articles on Satan and the Spiritual Realm, you may have found them interesting, but you may also be a little perplexed wondering, “What are we to take from all this?” Here is a brief summary of the scholarly information I presented: The snake of Genesis 3 most likely would not...
Jonathan Lichtenwalter
Gender Roles: Where to Land
In my first article, we looked at the tremendous array of ministry opportunities open to both women and men. The “playground” is indeed huge. The remaining question for us is whether or not there is a line—whether or not Scripture makes a distinction for types of Kingdom service based on our gender. There are some...
Vance Russell
Confronting Racism in the Church: Part 2 of a Conversation with Anthony Walker
*Editors’ Note: With some of the horrific recent stories of infuriating injustice done toward African Americans (e.g., Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd), I wanted to reach out to my friend Anthony Walker, an African American minister at a church in Murfreesboro, TN. We should all be feeling grief over these losses, and we need to hear...
