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
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
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
by Shane Idleman In a recent sermon I confessed to my congregation that I’m not primarily a pastor. After a brief pause, and a few blank stares, I stated, “I’m not primarily a pastor… I’m a preacher.” Those who have been called to preach, much like the prophets in the Old Testament, will confront compromise, condemn moral digression, and powerfully denounce sin in the hope of reconciling man to God—they speak the truth in love. This is why the Old... Read more
Theology and science both have anomalies. That doesn’t mean that a given doctrine is bad or that our theory is false. It does mean that we don’t have all of the information. Adjustments might have to be made, even if we don’t know what they are yet. Read more
by David Theroux Marriage has been universal to civilization with most marriage ceremonies involving religion. Yet for years, traditional marriage and the family have been subjected to secular ridicule, with the family increasingly politicized and socialized by “progressive” government bureaucracies. The result has been an unprecedented decline of the family in America, producing increasing rates of non-marital births, divorces, juvenile crime, substance abuse, and other pathologies. This trend can be reversed, however, because the progressive narrative that supports it is... Read more
Too often Christians in the West seem to have more of a belief in the devil's ability to deceive them than in the Holy Spirit's ability to lead them into all truth. This is an unnecessary paranoia. Read more
we see this logic play out Sunday by Sunday in a slightly different context: mom wants the children in church, dad wants mom happy, ergo mom takes the children to the church of her choice. Sometimes dad may even go with them! Isn’t he a nice guy? No. Read more
by Jimmy Dorrell In 1986, a youth director from Oklahoma City called us. Janet and I had returned from several months in Haiti and India and were still overwhelmed by the harsh realities of a hungry and impoverished world. “My youth are good kids,” he said.” They attend church regularly, read their Bibles, and even go on mission trips, but they seem struggle in their ethnocentric middle-class values to love minorities and the poor in our own city and the... Read more
Following World War I, we gave up on science as a source of moral and religious consensus. Since 9/11, sociologists have largely abandoned the secularization thesis—the idea that as societies modernize they inevitably become less religious. Fundamentalism, at home and abroad, suggests that pressuring people to privatize their faith is itself a form of violence that usually provokes an undesirable reaction. Read more
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