How Do I Make My Teenager Love Jesus?
This was a question I received recently from a mom. She reached out to me and was desperate for answers. “He goes with us to church and is fine going to his youth group, but when I try to talk to him about faith he seems so disinterested.” How can she light a fire in...
Joanne Kraft
Conviction and Civility
We live in a time where we must learn when and how to communicate without eliciting extreme and polarized reactions. At the same time, too many people who are good at being civil, lack strong convictions and too many people…
Becoming a Disciple Maker: The Pursuit of Level 5 Disciple Making
Becoming a Level 5 Disciple Maker is an introduction to the five levels of disciple making with a focus on how to become a Level 5 disciple maker like Jesus. The authors discuss why we should pursue Level 5 disciple making, how we can pursue…
Bobby Harrington
Abba.
In the darkness of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed alone. Despite the coolness of the evening there were sweat-drops on his brow. Despite the apparent calmness of the hour there was agony in his heart. With loud crying and tears he lifted up his voice to God, saying, “Abba, Father” (Mark 14:36). This was the first time...
Kenny Boles
I Led a Growing Megachurch, and We Were Losing
At its three-year mark, Real Life Ministries enjoyed what other church plants achieved only in their loftiest dreams: a brand-new 25,000-square-foot building and 2,300 people. And yet… We were overwhelmed. The largest church any of us had ever been in was three hundred. None of us had ever done what we were doing. I...
Jim Putman
Revisiting the Master Plan of Evangelism
The two friends and co-authors believe that Jesus’ method incorporated all the divine wisdom, knowledge and insight included in Jesus’ identity. In this resource, they point out the ways in which Jesus’ method is the perfect method. Throughout Harrington’s interview…
Bobby Harrington
Marijuana and the Bible
An interview with a leading medical marijuana expert and Renew partner on what the Bible says about Cannabis. Is the recreational use of marijuana okay according to the Bible? What if a doctor suggests medical cannabis to you as a…
Sasha Noe, DO, PhD
The Best Illustration of the Gospel That I Know
The good news of the Gospel is that though I’m an impure person, I’m declared to be holy in Jesus Christ. Let me summarize this good news using the best illustration of the Gospel that I know of. Joseph Serna served four tours in Afghanistan in the Special Forces, receiving three purple hearts. In the...
David Young
Two Halves That Make a Perfect Whole
“What happens in Small Group, stays in Small Group.” Agreed, but maybe that statement requires a qualifier. The group I met with on Sunday evenings for over 18 years fed both body and soul, mind and spirit—because after our group discussion we always shared a meal. We would talk Jesus . . . Scripture ....
Debbra Stephens
Could the Way You Approach Change Be Short-Changing Your Results?
Several years ago I bought a guitar. It was a relatively cheap $250 guitar. I called a friend of mine and blurted out excitedly, “I bought a guitar! I want to learn how to play guitar!” There was an awkward silence after my declaration of elation. “No… No, you don’t,” he replied, sounding so...
Joel Singleton
Serving God Doesn’t Mean Living Life in Fifth Gear
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT) I would like to begin with a confession. On three occasions, I have thought seriously about leaving full-time ministry. I didn’t contemplate leaving behind my ministry job because of a desire to make a career change. It wasn’t because...
Paul Huyghebaert
Baptism: What the Bible Teaches
A GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING BAPTISM AS A DEFINING COMMITMENT FOR DISCIPLES As church leaders, we see it on people’s faces — they want renewal. Baptism helps disciples and seekers find a renewed faith in Jesus and commitment to following him.…
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: A Modern “Faith”
Today’s Christian faith in the western world has taken a sharp turn in modern multiculturalism. A new faith has, and is, emerging especially in the younger generations of American’s that takes the name and shape of “Christianity,” but is in fact an anemic and gutted version of traditional Christian faith. Some have termed this emerging...
Jon Sherwood
Book Review: Peter Williams’s Can We Trust the Gospels
Peter Williams is one impressive person. He isn’t just Principal of Tyndale House, Cambridge, and Editor of the Tyndale Bulletin. He is also Chair of the International Greek New Testament Project and Associate Editor of the Tyndale House Greek New Testament—my favorite Greek N.T. Williams holds three degrees from Cambridge University (MA, MPhil, PhD). I...
Douglas Jacoby