When we are called by God and anointed for His purpose, we walk the fine line between the ordinary and the extraordinary. We pursue spiritual things while still living and walking in this world. As people, we still desire things. Coupled with spiritual pursuits, we walk a fine line between what we may seek as individuals and the many things we seek spiritually. People who haven’t had real intense experience with spiritual things don’t always understand the experience. They might... Read more
The Christian life is full of many different experiences.While many Christians believe their walk with God should always work out according to plan, Christian life isn’t quite that simple. Christian believers experience blessing, praise, favor, victory, and grace as a part of their walk. They also experience rejection, silence, persecution, frustration, misunderstanding, loneliness, and anger. While we hear much about how to handle the good Christians experience and never walk away from God in the good times, we hear little... Read more
It was Sojourner Truth who said, “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!” Hearing this quotation both inspires and pales in the face of thousands of years’ worth of Christian tradition. Women’s ministry doesn’t often focus on reconciling women back to women. Instead, it encourages women often to assume a place... Read more
Many Christians fail to see God’s true power and voice through nature. We are so busy seeking God through supernatural signs (that are often powerful and wonderful, no doubt) that we miss God’s power and glory manifest all around us. The colors, beauty, fragrances, textures, and design of our world sings great praises unto a powerful Creator, One Whose attention to detail is precise and Who cares as much about beauty and aesthetic appeal as any designer would. The glory... Read more
The Roman Catholic sex abuse scandal. The Southern Baptist Association sex abuse scandals. Assemblies of God Chi Alpha campus ministry scandals. Hillsong Church‘s scandal. The media loves to sell a great story. This is true nowhere more than when it comes to Christianity…especially involving the misstep of big-name leaders. While the drama is real, facts are often hard to come by, as they don’t shout quite as loud as big headlines. It’s easy to read these stories (or just the... Read more
My recent move was definitely not my first. In fact, it’s my seventh move in the past 18 years. If you’ve ever moved, you know you spend a great deal of time preoccupied with boxes. I know I’ve developed an interest in box sizes and their capacity to hold certain weights and objects. Boxes full of books need to be smaller than boxes full of clothes, because books weigh more than clothes. Loose shoes fit nicely in a big box.... Read more
Ask yourself the following questions to determine your comfort zones: When was the last time I took on something new and challenging? (I mean really challenging, not just something you don’t like or something you have an aversion to.) Do I do things with people who are not my relatives? When was the last time I spoke with – or reached out to – someone who was unsaved? When I discover I disagree with a friend of mine, does that... Read more
Experiencing judgment from others is a universal experience. It seems like no matter where you go, someone always has an opinion about what’s best for us, even if it’s not really best. From big things to small things, we live in a world awash of opinions, thoughts, concepts, and decisions about what others should do. Judgment, in its essence, is deciding for someone else what they should or shouldn’t do in a situation. When we judge, we disapprove of someone’s... Read more
Years ago, Justin Bieber was everywhere. No matter what station I found on the radio, they were playing something by him. Usually when he came on the radio, I would start scanning the dial for anything that wasn’t Justin Bieber. It didn’t matter what the song was or what it was about, I was not going to listen to it because I was sick of hearing about, looking at, or seeing pictures of Justin Bieber in various states of undress... Read more
During a recent seminary class, my students and I explored the current trends in advocacy. Within the past few years, we quickly identified various social justice “causes” that were once front and center on everyone’s minds, but have since faded in favor of new causes. From Ukraine, to Palestine, to boycotts of Chick-fil-A, Target, Kellogg’s, and now ICE policies, many are eager to be on the “right side” of history and jump in debates. Some go as far as to... Read more
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