Sex And The Spiritual Realm: A Review Of Gordon Dalbey’s Pure Sex

June 30, 2015 By Guest Contributor

by Brandon Showalter No cultural division today is fraught with more confusion, bitterness, and deep pain than the current divide over the nature of marriage and human sexuality. As Rod Dreher noted two years ago in his prophetic essay “Sex After Christianity,” when sex is the subject at hand, the tack that Christians have employed in the public square has been primarily a moralistic one—an approach that has proven to be completely ineffective—and given the rapid increase of the legal enshrinement of... Read more

More Bang For Your Buck

June 25, 2015 By Guest Contributor

by Dave Martin Have you ever fired a rifle? Better yet, have you ever fired a shotgun? A shotgun cartridge contains hundreds of tiny pellets. All these pellets are packed tightly into a large casing, and, when fired, the casing opens and the pellets are propelled in multiple directions in a powerful explosion created by a large amount of gunpowder. The opening of the barrel of a shotgun is huge in order to allow all these little pellets to “spray”... Read more

SBC and Same-Sex Marriage: A Return to Relevance.

June 24, 2015 By Guest Contributor

By releasing a statement that they will not accept a definition of marriage based on anything other than God’s Word, regardless of the political and financial cost, Southern Baptists are shifting from a mindset of working within the political system to standing apart from it. Read more

Let the Seven Deadly Sins Guide Your Parenting

June 22, 2015 By Guest Contributor

by Ken Roach Modern parenting tends to lean heavily on either behavior—what children do—or on education—what children think. A growing number of parents, however, are most concerned with identity—who children become. I know for my wife and me, helping to form the character of our two children is far more important than making sure they follow a list of rules. So, when my pastor suggested a few years ago that parents could be guided by the ancient list of “seven... Read more

Nones, Civilization, and Christian Ingratitude

June 20, 2015 By Guest Contributor

by Brian Miller Civilizations rise and fall. The barbarians have been at the gates many times before at Rome, Constantinople, Vienna, and revolutionary Paris. The secular powers have not always survived these crises, but the Church has outlived them all. This should be of comfort to those of us fretting about the recent Pew study on religion. Christians are on the decline and “Nones” are on the rise. The effects of this can be seen everywhere in the culture around... Read more

5 Sure Signs of a Dying Church

June 17, 2015 By Guest Contributor

Nights of prayer and worship are often replaced with Bingo and fund raisers. We’re in a hurry to burn through a sermon, scurry through worship, and head to the nearest restaurant. This is a sure sign of a dying church. Read more

The Enigmatic Apostle Paul— Does Anyone Ever Get Him Right?

June 17, 2015 By Guest Contributor

Paul may have been the most intense man who ever lived. He said and believed that “to live is Christ and to die is gain,” and he proved he meant it every day. He was fearless. Shipwrecked thrice, snake bit, stoned and left for dead, flogged, imprisoned numerous times, and finally decapitated by Nero, Paul is the most convicting person I have ever written about. Read more

Holding Onto Unforgiveness Against Others in the Church

June 11, 2015 By Guest Contributor

by Greg Gordon Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. – Ephesians 4:29 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. – Matthew 6:12 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. – Luke 6:37 Using... Read more

Mr. Campolo – Opinions Change, but Truth Does Not

June 10, 2015 By Guest Contributor

by Shane Idleman Tony Campolo recently said this about gay-marriage, “…like so many other Christians, I was deeply uncertain about what was right.” But the Bible is crystal clear on sexual sin, including homosexuality. Unfortunately, those who are sounding the alarm are often categorized as irrational, judgmental, bigoted and intolerant. But how can we warn if we won’t confront, correct if we won’t challenge and and contend if we won’t question? We must speak the truth in love. Opinions change,... Read more

What God Does To Our Faces

June 9, 2015 By Guest Contributor

by Brandon Showalter Whenever I read the story of Moses entering the Tent of Meeting in Exodus 33, David’s words in Psalm 34:5, or Paul’s wisdom in 2 Corinthians 3:7-12, I am always intrigued by the effect God himself has on our faces. I am definitely not speaking of the insufferable, plastic Christian smile I must admit that I have worn more than once to communicate that I am just fine when in fact I am not. I am speaking... Read more