Between the Senate’s Supreme Court hearings and midterms, how can the church make its way through a relentless news cycle? Last week, millions of Americans were caught up in the Senate’s Supreme Court hearings. There, psychologist Christine Blasey Ford testified that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually attacked her while the two were in high …
As he retires from public ministry, the ‘Celebration of Discipline’ author reflects on the heart of spiritual formation. Richard Foster wrote Celebration of Discipline 40 years ago as a young pastor. The book—which has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into 25 languages—launched a ministry of speaking, writing, and teaching on spiritual …
Do Christians have a unique call to avoid strong language? Recently, rushing late to my son's orthodontic appointment, I missed a critical left turn. Much to my surprise, I exhaled a "bad" word by our family's standards. (Please understand, dental receptionists don't suffer tardiness lightly, and my punctuality track record isn't strong.) "Mom!" exclaimed my …
Compiled by Matt Reynolds. Honest Worship:From False Self to True Praise Manuel Luz (InterVarsity Press) Luz, the creative arts pastor for a church in Northern California, describes himself as a worship leader who specialized in “spectacle”—musical and technological wizardry in a big-church setting. In Honest Worship, he measures this emphasis on human creativity against Jesus’ …
A better case for overturning a bad Supreme Court precedent. Hopes are running high among pro-lifers these days. With Justice Anthony Kennedy’s departure from the Supreme Court, many of us can’t resist a peek at the political crystal ball. Dare we entertain the thought of finally overturning Roe v. Wade? Possibly. At one point, it …
When advocacy for persecuted Christians harms their fellow believers. While Andrew Brunson languished under Turkish detention this year, thousands of Iranians had death sentences suspended. A factor in both was international advocacy. Brunson, an American evangelical pastor in Izmir (biblical Smyrna) for two decades, was arrested two years ago in the aftermath of a failed …
The former megachurch pastor asks today’s churches to measure their practices against the New Testament standard. Eight years ago, Francis Chan resigned as senior pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California—the church he helped grow from 30 people gathered in a living room to a multimillion-dollar ministry. He wasn’t burned out. There was …
Mercy is what holiness looks like in the lives of God’s children. I hate to admit it, but vindictiveness comes easily to me. Recently, I was online for less than two minutes before I found myself relishing an opponent getting publicly mocked. He had said something particularly and typically foolish, so he surely deserved it. …
He was a budding white nationalist leader. His friends thought he could be something different. Growing up, I imagined I could easily spot the racists around me. They were the ones proudly displaying the Confederate flag across the back of their pickup trucks or blatantly disregarding other people based on the color of their skin. …
Underneath the gentle smile and neighborly manner, he was driven by anger at the way the world treated children. Fred Rogers—perhaps you know him by the title “Mister”—is a cultural icon, a walking meme, a man forever frozen in sweaters and white sneakers, a gentle smile on his face. You can paint him in a …