“Give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus told us to make this bold and practical declaration when we pray. He knew that we need sustenance—both for our souls and for the bodies our souls inhabit. We tend to classify as “spiritual” practices those we (perhaps erroneously) separate from our physical experience: prayer, study of the Bible, worship, or confession. They seem to “happen” in our thoughts and mind, not our bodies. However, we cannot ignore the fact that our... Read more
The American church is in crisis. We have traded Christ’s passion for our own church programs. We have traded the Kingdom of God for the kingdom of politics. We have traded selfless community, existing to worship God and serve others, for selfish community, existing to entertain ourselves and maintain a social club. This is the opening premise of Mark Labberton’s new book Called: The Crisis and Promise of Following Jesus Today (September 2014, IVP). Let me be very clear: If you read... Read more
1 Corinthians 15:35-50 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:43-44 To the Christians in Corinth, the idea of resurrection from the dead seemed strange indeed. They were no doubt comfortable with the... Read more
The Walking Dead starts again tonight. I love this show, but I don’t have quite the heart for death and zombies like I used to. Sometimes, I fear that our culture is pushing it too far. For example, last year, a disturbing image came through my social media news streams, a life-sized mannequin for shooting practice. Life-sized targets shaped like white tail deer are not unusual where I live in the Texas Hill Country, but I have never seen one... Read more
Eighteen months ago, Kay Warren’s 27-year-old son Matthew died by suicide. As co-founder of Saddleback Church, in Lake Forest, California, and wife of the Rev. Rick Warren–one of the nation’s most famous pastors, Matthew’s death was headline news. What the public did not know was that the Warrens had been dealing with their son’s mental illness for more than two decades. When he died, one journey ended and a new journey into activism began for the couple. Saddleback Church added... Read more
Ephesians 4:1-3 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1 We don’t hear the language of calling very often in common speech anymore. When I was growing up, I heard people talk about their calling even outside of church, mostly as a way of describing their careers or professions. The question, “What is your calling?” might be answered with “I’m a doctor” or “I’m a... Read more
Ephesians 4:1-3 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1 As an ordained pastor, nobody would flinch if I said I have been called to my line of work. We’re familiar with the notion that clergy have a calling. But could this also be said about teachers, butchers, attorneys, and carpenters? What about parents and those who volunteer their time to care for the poor?... Read more
by Skye Jethani For years I served as a teaching pastor at my church, but then left the pastoral team to pursue a calling outside the institutional church. For the first time since graduating from seminary, I found myself in the pews more often than in the pulpit. It changed my perspective. Working as a writer and editor, traveling more often, and juggling a young family left very little discretionary time in my schedule. There was simply no way I could... Read more
“Why do you assume that me acting like a Christian means I’m not being honest?!” This question is hurled at Sam, our brawny antihero, at a crucial moment in Will Bakke’s new comedy, Believe Me. After watching the film, we could probably ask a similar question of Mr. Bakke himself: What is it about acting like a Hip Evangelical Christian that seems dishonest to you? A number of things, apparently. But we’ll get to that in a minute. Believe Me... Read more
Psalm 19:1-14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 Growing up, one of my heroes was a Presbyterian pastor named Ben Patterson. He was the speaker at many of the Christian conferences I attended as a teenager, and I was gripped by his theological insight and poetic skill. When I began work as a young pastor, I listened to dozens of Ben’s... Read more
The High Calling
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