It's important that Christians not neglect the joys of a mentoring relationship, but it's equally important that we recognize those relationships when we enter our lives - or where they might be present already. [Click title to read more.]
Category: fellowship
How Forgiveness Makes Space for Honesty
Because I'm a college professor, I assign homework. Students are not into this. A few years ago, one of my students was so not into this that she forgot to write down the page numbers of the reading assignment. Logging on to the forum for our class online, she promptly wrote an email that she … Continue reading How Forgiveness Makes Space for Honesty
What It Means To Come Together
As believers, disparate as we might be in our denominations and our methods, we all belong together to the body of Christ. When you have the chance, permit that wonder to enter into your life, and don't be afraid to reach out to believers outside your denomination or worship style. [Click title to read more.]
Why The Church Must Make An Effort To Value Solitude With God
It's true that the Christian life is not always meant to be a solo affair. Teachers, pastors, fellow believers, even small groups: all of those things are a part of our faith community, and they can help us and grow us. But in elevating these, I fear that we dismiss what I perceive to be the fundamental necessity of individual solitude with God. [Click title to read more.]
Breaking Up With A Church
It's easy to go in idealistic and hopeful, to be attracted by a church's best qualities and to ignore what might be potential problems down the road. A shiny exterior seduces and attracts, and churches these days market themselves like candidates on The Bachelor. [Click title to read more.]
How We Talk About Sin
I worry sometimes that in my own life I fall into the trap of believing there are "acceptable" Christian sins like pride and arrogance and envy. That there are sins that are shameful and sins that are, somehow, not - sins that should be hidden from the world and from others, and sin that it's okay to admit. God has been convicting me about this lately. [Click title to read more.]
Christian Peer Pressure: When It’s Okay To Be Out Of Step Sometimes
The thing is, peer pressure to participate in certain activities or trends or events exists among Christians as much as it exists in any other group, and I'd argue that for Christians it's especially difficult to navigate, because we often wonder if it's okay not to like something "godly," or to want to do something different than all of the believers around us are doing. When is it okay to take a pass and not participate, to be the odd duck of the group? [Click title to read more.]
Please Don’t Make Me Shake Hands: A Christian’s Plea
If we're not careful, the exhortation to "welcome each other" on Sunday mornings results in a slew of awkward hugs and handshakes, a few cheerful "good morning"s, and conversations between people who already know each other and want to catch up on the weekend. [Click title to read more.]
Samaritan's Song 