Rip Current
I’m a native Floridian, so when northern kids were learning how to survive if you got stuck out in a snow storm, we were learning how to get out of a rip current at the beach. I’m sure those in the Midwest were learning about tornado safety or what to do if you got stuck...
Michelle Eagle
Songwriter Marty Sampson and the Unsustainability of Feelings-Based Faith
I remember a dilemma I faced as a worship leader figuring out whether we should add a particular worship song into our mix. Solid lyrics, catchy tune—however, I had just learned that the songwriter had been covering up a years-long affair during the same time he was writing chart-topping worship songs. What do we do...
Daniel McCoy
Shane Wood on Why He Loves Revelation
Shane is a husband and a father of four kids. His Phd is from the University of Edinburgh. He’s a professor at Ozark Christian College and scholar on the book of Revelation. He’s also the author of three books. Recently, I got to talk with Shane about his studies in Revelation, as well as about...
The Most Important Question in the History of Thinking
Years ago, Christian philosopher Terry Miethe (Ph.D., Ph.D., D.Phil. (Oxon. Cand.) debated his atheist friend Antony Flew on the question of “Does God exist?” What follows is Terry’s introduction to the debate, as recorded in the book Does God Exist: A Believer and an Atheist Debate, by Terry Miethe and Antony Flew. It was thanks...
Terry Miethe
Can Your Church Love Its Community Well? Here’s How This One Did.
Matthew Stieger leads the Crossroads Christian Church in Macon, MO. Recently I got to talk with Matt about their morning of “Loving Our Community.” With lots prayer and preparation, they embarked on a Sunday morning of meeting needs around the community. Here’s our conversation: How did you all come up with the idea to do...
What If the Church Just Goes?
Whose job is it to fix all the broken things? Who can we turn to? Where can we find an answer? What if it is with us already? What if the church goes?
Matt Stieger
Matt Stieger
Fight for It
If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know I have a passion for the great outdoors. I love God’s creation, the smell of pines, the sounds of nature, seeing a trout breaking the surface of the water to catch its dinner. Nothing, though, tops bow hunting in September in Idaho....
Brandon Guindon
Worship Leading: Minutes, Moments, and Memory
I have prayed. I have planned. I have practiced. I have equipped our team of volunteers. The countdown clock has started. Five minutes until go-time. It’s at this point that the service coordinator approaches to inform me that one of our camera techs has still not shown up. I have to check the schedule to...
Corey Scott
5 Important Things New Ministers Need to Know
A mentor of mine once asked me an interesting question. He asked me to write five things new ministers need to know. I want to share what I told him. I was prepared well for ministry. I had close friends and mentors to lean on. I did a ministry apprenticeship before leading a ministry. I...
Neil Reynolds
Do You Know What You’re Asking for Your Kids?
Mothers can be bold. Unabashedly so. When it comes to our kids, it’s easy to assume the sky is the limit—and we don’t flinch in asking for it. Unfortunately, that sometimes carries over into our prayer life, as we make our requests known before the Lord. But do we always know what we are asking?...
Debbra Stephens
Admonition.
Felix carried a real grudge against Jonathan the high priest. He was bitter about the priest’s frequent admonitions to be a better governor. And as Josephus recorded this story he commented that “incessant rebukes are annoying to those who choose to do wrong.” So Felix paid a great sum to certain evil men to get...
Kenny Boles
A Pastor’s 4 Reflections on Joshua Harris’s Latest Goodbye
My (Bobby’s) children grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They remember… WWJD Bracelets DC Talk, Jars of Clay, and Steven Curtis Chapman Big youth groups and youth camps And then there was Joshua Harris’s book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. As parents, Cindy and I asked them to read it because we remembered...
My Decade as a Born-Again Virgin & Why the World Doesn’t Understand Sex
As I approach 40, I have watched far too many of my peers go through tragic affairs, divorce, and the separation and destruction of families that change the landscape of children’s lives forever. Being a child of divorce myself, I am now reflecting on what I learned during my decade as a “born-again virgin.” A...
Jon Sherwood
How Do You Remain Faithful to God When Life Has Been Terrible to You (Part 2)
How do you remain faithful to God when life has been terrible to you? First, stay connected. Second, stay focused. What do we focus on? On Christ our Savior and the price He paid. We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but One who has experienced everything we will...
Julia Martin
Daniel McCoy
