The Celebration, Floats, Party Atmosphere and My Broken Heart
I love parades; especially the Santa Claus parade. Always have. It’s about family fun and connection with my community. In Canada this means huddling out in the frigid cold in early December with my family and neighbors, drinking hot chocolate while the local high school marching bands and colorful floats work their way down the...
Guy Hammond
Untangling Addiction
A psychiatrist describes how addictions are an intense “hijacking” of the brain; the addicted brain believes it needs addictive substances the same way it needs basic substances, such as food and sleep. In the book, he shows how repetitive behaviors…
Marcus De Carvalho, M.D.
The Illusion of Progressive Christianity
You know the scene: You’re taking a university religion course, and one of your assignments is to read sections of the Hebrew Scriptures. As you read through the first several Old Testament books, you notice how violent God appears to be: he sends plagues. He orders the death penalty for blasphemy. Sometimes he actually commands...
David Young
Leadership Matters
A number of years ago I made the trip back to my alma mater to serve as part of a think-tank. The school administration asked a small group of former ministry students what, if anything, they could improve upon for the sake of future graduates. I remember one question well, “Based upon your ministry experience,...
Paul Huyghebaert
The Key To True Discipleship Is This
Most pastors in the US long to teach to a huge crowd of excited people on Sunday mornings: people packed into pews, pens and notebooks in hand, waiting for a download of all kinds of top-rated, inspiring information from the Bible. But this kind of learning environment is exactly what a good schoolteacher would hate:...
Jim Putman
Training for More
We are quickly approaching that time of year when we can get inundated with trying to do more: more parties, more gift giving, more commitments, and oftentimes more overwhelmed! It’s easy in all of this to let the importance of caring for our body and soul take the back seat to our other priorities. We...
Christina Charley
Does Cannabis Have Medicinal Value—Even for Christians?
What’s your interpretation of how using marijuana is depicted in the Bible? There is no specific or clear biblical answer to this question so we have to use Scriptures to guide us. As with any issue on which the Bible is silent, we should exercise caution to not over-interpret Scriptures and be cautious of not...
Sasha Noe, DO, PhD
Inviting the Invisible: Why the Church’s View of Prisoners Matters
“I was in prison and you came to me. … Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” —Matthew 25:36, 40 When was the last time you thought about prisoners? Maybe you saw a news reporter cover a crime story...
Emily Andrews
Discipleship is the Core Mission of the Church
Most local churches try to do too many things. They seek to worship God, serve the poor, reach lost people, proclaim justice, support one another and on and on. In this eBook, Founding and Lead Pastor Bobby Harrington pursues the…
Bobby Harrington
The Kingdom Unleashed
Learn how ordinary people launch disciple making movements around the world. This sampler eBook focuses on how God is using prayer movements to fuel disciple making. This book shows a vital path for Renew leaders to follow. About the authors…
