Pastors, Should You Hang Up Your Robes?

Last updated on: April 3, 2022 at 11:58 am By Gregory T. Smith

Now more than ever, pastors are asking themselves whether to continue in ministry, retire early, or change professions altogether. If you’re a pastor, what are you going to do? PASTORS LEAVING THE CHURCH These days, many pastors are leaving the church, hanging up their robes and collars, taking their certificates off the wall and stuffing them in drawers. Ministers are finding it difficult to navigate the polarization in our society. From COVID guidelines to issues of racial and social justice... Read more

Praying Like My Cat

Last updated on: March 29, 2022 at 8:11 pm By Gregory T. Smith

Prayer isn’t about God listening to us—but about attendant believers getting to know God. Praying Like My Cat My cat amazes me. He has an incredible ability to concentrate on just one thing, blocking out all distractions. I’ve spotted him sitting on the window ledge, staring into the house, waiting for someone to walk by the window. Then he’ll submit his request with a meow, and we’ll let him in. Whenever he does this, he lingers in this concentration... Read more

When My Brother is Wrong: 8 Steps to Peace

Last updated on: August 6, 2022 at 7:53 am By Gregory T. Smith

Is there any hope of peace when the other person is just so wrong? Frienemies My older brother and I grew up as best friends and worst enemies at the same time. With not even two years between us, I always felt like I was riding his coattails. He must have been aggravated by his little brother trailing after him. He made me feel like everything I did was wrong unless I did it like him. So, when mutual... Read more

Is It a Sin to Get Tattooed or Pierced?

Last updated on: March 24, 2022 at 7:48 pm By Gregory T. Smith

People have often asked me, “Is it a sin for a Christian to get tattooed and pierced?” Followers of Jesus have mixed opinions. Many conservatives believe tattoos are of the devil, while other people honor God as the Creator of their bodies by covering them with artwork. I’ve gotten mixed reactions from Christians when they have seen my ink. Some want to know if I can recommend an artist (I can—my daughter Emily in Charlottesville, VA). Others want to know... Read more

Daddy Issues and the Divine: Children of a Disapproving God

Last updated on: March 26, 2022 at 2:01 pm By Gregory T. Smith

Viewing God as our heavenly father is problematic for people who always felt their dads were disappointed in them. Daddy Issues “Are you stupid?” I yelled at my son. Instantly, I heard my own dad’s voice in my words. That’s what he’d said to me when I was the same age as my kid. Without missing a beat, I answered my own question. “Of course, you’re not stupid—you’re way too smart for the stupid thing you’re doing!” But the damage... Read more

Apologize Like a King: 4 Steps to Making it Right Again

Last updated on: March 19, 2022 at 7:45 pm By Gregory T. Smith

As Jewish believers celebrated Purim this past week, I finished my reading of the Greek version of Esther. It’s a much better version than the Protestant canonical one—one that I hadn’t read before. There’s so much to say about this amazing book, especially at Purim which celebrates its events. Today, I want to focus on how to apologize like a king. Reason to Apologize The Persian King Xerxes from the movie 300 had a lot of reasons to apologize. But... Read more

Apocalypse, Part 5: “The God Who Wouldn’t be King”

Last updated on: March 17, 2022 at 6:17 pm By Gregory T. Smith

The world watches in horror as Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine and slaughters his enemies. Are Christians to believe that Jesus wants to do the same? Conquering King The Book of Revelation ends with King Jesus returning on a white stallion. Clad in a robe dipped in blood, he terrifies the nations with eyes of fire. He defeats them with a sword from his mouth, and rules them with a rod of iron. On his robe and tattooed on his thigh... Read more

What is the Christian’s Source of Ultimate Truth?

Last updated on: April 24, 2022 at 9:07 am By Gregory T. Smith

Do progressive Christians who no longer believe in an inerrant Bible still have a source of ultimate Truth? Recently, someone accused me of not having an ultimate source of truth. As a fundamentalist, he believes that the Bible is the Christian’s ultimate source of truth. As such, anything that diverges from the inerrant Word of God that he believes in must be a lie. Because I believe some of the doctrines he derives from a “plain reading of scripture” (eternal... Read more

“Apocalypse” Part 4: “Antichrist”

Last updated on: March 17, 2022 at 6:01 pm By Gregory T. Smith

Is Vladimir Putin the antichrist? Yes, and no. Who is the Antichrist? When I was young, it seemed like Christians were always trying to answer the question, “Who is the Antichrist?” Ronald Regan (who has six letters in each of his three names and survived a gunshot) was a possibility. Mikhail Gorbachev (who had the Hebrew letter vav dripping blood on his forehead) was another noteworthy candidate, along with the shah of Iran. So was every leader that emerged in... Read more

Apocalypse 3: “The Wrath of God”

Last updated on: March 5, 2022 at 7:34 pm By Gregory T. Smith

Are wars and rumors of wars, natural disasters, climate change, and pandemic signs of God’s wrath? Religion journalist Cathleen Falsani writes: A judge in Nebraska threw out a 2007 lawsuit filed against God by state Sen. Ernie Chambers, who had sought permanent injunction against the Almighty for bringing “acts of terrorism” against the Cornhusker state. Chambers…asked that an order be issued demanding God to cease and desist from causing ‘fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes, pestilential plagues,... Read more