Would Jesus and the Apostles Use Online Marketing?
As both a church leader (atxtribe.org) and a marketer (thirddrive.co/me), I have some perspective on both the importance of the impactful biblical teaching and the power of that teaching being amplified through well-implemented media strategy. Every week I speak to people who show up because they found us online. We baptize people whose first impression...
Christian Ray Flores
4 Righteous Responses to Evil (and Which Ones Are in Our Job Description)
“If I try and bend that far . . .” Tevye is a Hebrew milkman in czarist Russia with a snappy wife, five daughters, and very little money. We meet him in the delightful musical Fiddler on the Roof, where he explains that being a Jew in Russia is as precarious as trying to fiddle...
Daniel McCoy
3 Healthy Ways to Handle Ministry Pressure
Serving in ministry full-time, part-time, or even as a volunteer can be a daunting task. Constantly developing sermon series, teaching materials, leading or participating in staff meetings, board meetings, small group meetings (well, you get the idea). Not to mention dealing with numerous issues within the church. The litany of problems laid at your feet...
The Lord is My Shepherd
Why is the Lord called a shepherd? Why would an almighty, all powerful God choose to be a called a shepherd? With this post we begin a new series called Renew.org Features. This video is one in a series by…
Jon Kehrer
6 Keys to a Culture of Evangelism
Since its launch in 1982, Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV), in Phoenix, Arizona, has had one consistent mission: win people to Christ, train believers to become disciples, and send disciples to impact the world. In 2018, CCV baptized 3,729 people. CCV’s culture of evangelism and disciple-making exists in large part because of the staff...
Reggie Rice
It’s OK Not to Be OK: A Q&A on Mental Health and Following Jesus
*Note from editor: May was Mental Health Awareness Month. To close out May, we thought it appropriate to feature this interview by one of our contributors, Emily Andrews. A graduate student in clinical mental health, Rachel Stewart is passionate about the intersection of counseling/therapy and Christianity. She is currently working towards her final course in...
Emily Andrews
Pornography: Everyone’s Battle
The following statistics shocked me. A full-page ad in a recent issue of World Magazine reported on the pervasiveness of pornography in our culture. The latest studies by the Barna Group and Covenant Eyes are alarming. Over 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites. The average visit lasts 6 minutes and 29 seconds....
Bob Russell
Harding Commencement Address (Part 2)
We make disciples. Or we’re only singing half-tones. It really is that simple. Of course, this begs the question of what we mean when we say “disciple.” As you must already know, everyone has their own definition of discipleship; the word is confidently used by every church from the Episcopalians to the United Pentecostal Council...
David Young
Comparing New Testament Interpretations with the Church Fathers
Just a few months ago, I (Bobby) was a part of a meeting where national church leaders discussed/debated the essential definition of church (the subject of “minimum ecclesiology”). After all, if we are going to plant churches together, then we need to have a shared definition of a church. One of the leaders stated that...
Discover It: Cultivating a Disciple-Making Culture (Part 2)
Imagine for a moment that we have an entire group of football players wearing a jersey and standing on the field, but who have very little knowledge of how to actually play the game. They know some of the language but have no idea how to work together as a team, execute the most basic...
Brandon Guindon
Your Worth as a Disciple Maker
We stopped off to pick up a couple of things. Walking inside, our children scattered in different directions. My husband, Paul, stayed by my side as I gathered what I needed. By the time we made our way to the gift wrap aisle, children were buzzing around us once again. Our youngest was quiet. At...
Joanne Kraft
Harding Commencement Address (Part 1)
Renew founder and board member, David Young, gave the 2019 commencement address to the graduating class at Harding School of Theology. The topic will interest Renew readers as it underlines our conviction that “Jesus’ final command must be our first priority.” Students, family members, faculty, staff: Thank you for the privilege of offering a few...
David Young
From Hurt to Healing
Kevin explains how those we are closest to can hurt us the most. On the other side of that hurt, however, lies something stronger when we allow God to help.
Kevin Holland
Growing Deeper in Prayer
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you . . . . For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s...
Sydney Clayton
A Gift of Sacrificial Love
I had my Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem, in the synagogue near my home in the south side of Jerusalem. We lived on Bethlehem Road and the synagogue was just a little distance from my home—in the same building that I started school on first grade. In my Bar Mitzvah, I read Leviticus 1:1-5:26. This portion...
Joseph Shulam