Chapter 11 of Pagan Christianity is called REAPPROACHING THE NEW TESTAMENT: THE BIBLE IS NOT A JIGSAW PUZZLE. You can read a large excerpt from this chapter on PDF (just click those underlined words). You may distribute this chapter to your friends and even post it on your website or blog if you like. George Barna and I hope you find it helpful. Read more

The following is a guest post. Frank Viola did not write it. Finding friends who share the same beliefs as you might be tricky, but it’s not impossible. When your faith is in Christianity, it is quite easy to find some forums and web portals dedicated to uniting Christians, so that you don’t feel alone on this path. Find Christian friends on Social Media To meet Christian friends the simplest way possible, you can take advantage of the tools we... Read more

When I was in my early 20s, I read Watchman Nee’s book The Release of the Spirit. The content of the book came out of a long period of silence from Nee, after he was grossly mistreated by fellow Christians. Nee was someone who never defended himself against false accusation and attack. He, like Jesus, was silent at such times, entrusting himself to God as 1 Peter 2 commands. When Nee resumed his ministry, however, he delivered a series of... Read more

Here’s an article I wrote for Ministry Today called “Reframing Discipleship.” Just click the link above. I’ll just add one word about discipleship. If you are someone who claims to be a disciple of Jesus or you’re on the current “discipleship” band-wagon and you don’t treat others the same way you want to be treated in every circumstance, then all your talk about discipleship is hot air. If you don’t get Matthew 7:12 right, then everything else is wrong. Read more

This story of Mary of Bethany’s extravagant act of anointing Jesus for burial holds many profound lessons for every genuine Christian today. The narrative contains the only sermon that Judas ever preached. Listen to his three-word protest.  “Why this waste?”  When Judas saw Mary’s worshipful act, he exploded with criticism, saying, “Why are you being so wasteful? You could have helped the poor with this small fortune!”  But Mary stepped out in faith. Her act of extravagant love was shameless,... Read more

You can either build your life on appreciation or expectation. The former will bring satisfaction. The latter will bring misery. Learn the art of being appreciative. Gratitude is essential for a fulfilled life. Read more

Episode Overview Bob Crittenden of Faith Broadcasting pelts me with questions about how to properly receive Jesus Christ and why the story of Jesus in Bethany is so critical for Christians today. Christian Book Distributors (CBD) discusses with me how the message of God’s Favorite Place on Earth changed my life. Listen to the Episode Click here to listen to it on your computer or smart phone. Click here to listen to it on RSS Feed. Read more

With few exceptions, the story that Christians tell others and themselves begins with Genesis 3 rather than Genesis 1. Our starting point is the fall of humanity. The result: Everything is framed around God’s redemptive mission. It’s all about saving a lost world. Part of the reason for this, I believe, is that evangelical Christians have built their theology mostly on Romans and Galatians. And many nonevangelical Christians have built it on the Gospels (particularly the Synoptics—Matthew, Mark, and Luke). And for... Read more

I received the following email on 11/27/12: The reason I’m writing has to do with the subject of the swearing Christian. It has become quite evident that a large portion of professing saints have little to no objections for the use of vulgarity. In my research, I’ve found men lauding the right as a Christian to swear and professing the approval of Christ. Does anybody see a problem here? It appears that in attempts to “win the world” the favored... Read more

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” ~ Matthew 6:10 As long as I’ve been a Christian, I’ve noted two things that believers routinely get riled up about. One is the role of the Spirit vs. the role of the Scriptures. Christians seem to fall off one side of the horse or the other on this issue. Over the years, I’ve watched countless fruitless Word vs. Spirit debates that descended into noise. They... Read more