Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.
Identify What Is Important to You The 2007 movie Bucket List followed two terminally-ill men facing the end of their lives. They each listed things they wanted to do before they “kicked the bucket” (died), which they called their “bucket list.” Then they set out to do as many of those things as possible. This […]
Understand the Word of God In the letter Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus he tells them to put on spiritual armor. Included in his list of gear is only one offensive item: “the sword of the Spirit,” which he says is the word of God. Many people understand this as a reference to […]
Most people whose faith is more than in name only, have certain religious rituals as part of their spiritual practices. A common one is church attendance. Another may be giving money or tithing to the church. Participation in a Bible study, small group, or midweek meeting is a third practice many people pursue. Introspective spiritual […]
In this blog, I write a lot about the church. My comments are mostly critical. This isn’t because I hate the church. It’s because I love the church. Really I do. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t bother to point out how church could be better. The church often falls short of what it could […]
Whenever I come across the word Pharisee in the Bible, my first thought is, I’m glad I’m not a Pharisee. Then I rush on to read the next verse. Pharisees comprised a sect of Judaism. A religious bunch, they received the bulk of Jesus’ criticism over their conceited behavior and self-righteous attitudes. Though Jesus accepted […]
Most people who go to church say they want their church to grow. However, they usually have an unstated assumption: they want the new people to be just like them. Although understandable, this is also wrong. Unfortunately, the only place to find more people like them is at another church. In essence, they want to […]
Celebrate the Savior Many churches call their Sunday morning services a worship service. Does that mean going to church is worshipping God? I suppose it could be, but I don’t think many people believe that. Instead, they focus on a particular aspect of the service as worship: the singing part. So singing can be worship. […]
A Good Thing Versus a Slippery Slope That Threatens Our Faith’s Essence I’m a huge advocate of Christian unity and an equally huge opponent of denominations. After all, denominations are the antithesis of unity. Think about it. Virtually all denominations resulted from disunity: of disagreements over things that didn’t really matter, of not getting along […]
Christmas is almost here; my mind swirls with a jumble of thoughts as I try to connect the calendar with my celebration of Jesus. Here are three items I’m considering: 1. When my wife and I were in a state of transition between one home and the next. Most of our belongings, including everything relating […]
Worshiping God in the Afterlife One of the key reasons there are so many churches is that people have different musical tastes and prefer different forms of worship. They pick a church with music they like. Even though I know I shouldn’t, I do too. Worship shouldn’t be about what we prefer; it should be […]