The only word necessary to cross the great ford that separates us from God is the name of Christ, and anyone can say it. May God spare us from becoming self-anointed gatekeepers over minor and insignificant issues. [Click title to read more.]
When we let ourselves be too easily influenced by other Christians – even the really, super-good ones! – we run the temptation of idolizing them. And then we’re crushed and brokenhearted when it turns out that they’re not perfect after all. [Click title to read more.]
In fact, sometimes – without even intending to – I expect that other Christians will always respond to situations or think the same things or share the same feelings or hobbies or preferences that I do. And that’s hardly the case! [Click title to read more.]
Giving up all to serve one isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s the kind of math the Bible tells us we’re supposed to be best at. [Click title to read more.]
That word, “clique” – people don’t like it. And they don’t like being described with it because they associate it with cattiness and backstabbing. But that’s not the way I mean it here. When I say “church clique,” I’m simply referring to a group of Christians with a shared history whose culture (often unintentionally) is more insular than inclusive. [Click title to read more.]
We as believers need to make it possible for people to express, to discuss, and to interrogate their discomfort without punishing, ostracizing, or condemning them for doing so. [Click title to read more.]
When people with authority speak, their words carry a lot of weight. An insult or a slight can crush. A discouragement can stop a growing ministry in its tracks. A baseless criticism can wound a tender soul. [Click title to read more.]
It’s true that people need a rest after the emotional intensity of Easter. But it’s also true that “rest” shouldn’t mean “take a vacation from God until fall.” [Click title to read more.]
I think sometimes that “inviting someone to church” is so encouraged and so ideal precisely because we don’t think it takes a lot of effort. You invite someone and boom! You’re done. Except that you’re not. [Click title to read more.]
The key is to understand what “criticism” really means before we tell people not to do it to the pastor. Because when we simply toss out “don’t criticize the pastor” as some unquestioning edict without thinking through the nuances of what it actually means, we create a space where corruption, sin, darkness, false knowledge, and destruction can grow unchecked. [Click title to read more.]
