By Mike Elms The Parables were one of Jesus’ principal teaching and preaching tools, but 2,000 years later, they are dying. While this is a bold statement, there’s a reason to why this is happening. According to a recent Gallup study, only 44% of Christians in the U.S. regularly attend church. Since 2000, this number has decreased by 4%. Additionally, the American Bible Society notes that fewer people are reading the Bible. So, an increasing number of folks are not hearing the... Read more

Perhaps the easiest and most direct answer to “Was Hitler a Christian?” would be, “Well if he was, he wasn’t a very good one!” However, a question as provocative as this actually needs some unpacking, and it really opens a theological can of worms. After all, what does it mean to be a Christian? Does denominational affiliation make you a Christian? Is it belief in Jesus that constitutes your Christianity? Does one need to be “saved” in order to qualify... Read more

Often, when I hear a biblical word used out of context with modern, cultural meaning attached to it, I think to myself, in the words of Inigo Montoya from “The Princess Bride,” “I do not think that word means what you think it means.” One such word is hope, which today is used much like the word “wish,” as if there is something that we would like to see happen, but we really don’t know if it will. In faith-sharing... Read more

By The Rev. Dr. John T. Mathew The theme of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (August 31 – September 8, 2022 Karlsruhe, Germany) is all about how “Jesus’ love moves the world to reconciliation and unity”. Predictably themes designed for such global events are ornate, even overblown words – here the source of the theme is Jesus’ love. Jesus’ love has power to generate energy, hope, compassion and generosity in this world where we must deal... Read more

By Dayne Batten Christian teaching on sex and relationships is in crisis. Believers on both sides of the evangelical/progressive divide are rapidly reaching the conclusion that the purity movement of the 1990s and early 2000s caused a lot of harm. But this growing rejection of “purity culture” is leaving behind an alarming gap. After all, we still need to talk to our young people about singleness, sex, relationships, and marriage. We might need to do so now more than ever,... Read more

By James Werning We criticize unfair judicial courts with their biased witnesses, and yet we turn a blind eye to prejudice slander in our news sources. My experience has shown this to be true. For many years I was an outspoken critic of media bias on the other side of the issues, while ignoring my own biases. I simply stopped thinking critically when I heard truth-claims that aligned with my worldview. No matter where we stand on the issues, we... Read more