Let’s All Get Along Why can’t we all get along? Living in peace and harmony are lofty goals that most everyone agrees with. Aside from wacko militants, no one says, “I want to live in constant conflict with my neighbor and quarrel with those around me.” No one seeks to start a fight with others, […]
Search: “unity”
We found 490 results for your search.
It’s fun to be in the company of likeminded individuals. It’s comfortable to hang out with people similar to us. But are fun and comfortable, necessarily good things? Do they promote personal growth and advance understanding? Being with people like us?—uniform or at least similar in perspective—is a homogeneous experience. The opposite of homogeneous is […]
Categories
What is a Spiritual Community?
As a writer, I write alone; it’s a solitary activity. So it’s good for me to periodically emerge from my self-imposed cocoon and spend time with other people—and other writers are the people who understand me best, those with who I am most comfortable to be around. I just returned from a Christian Writers conference. […]
For the past 19 weeks, my bride and I have been visiting different churches to expand our understanding of how others worship and understand God. We call this initiative “52 Churches” and I blog about the experience each Monday morning. However, friends frequently ask for more: “What are you learning,” “Is your journey changing,” or […]
Categories
A Missed Opportunity to Help
Last week I attended a convention and gave a couple of presentations. Traveling is not an adventure I enjoy; instead, it is a duty I endure. Knowing this—and that self-focus is not God-honoring or kingdom advancing—I asked God for opportunities to interact with and help others during my trip. This did indeed happen, especially after […]
It is interesting how the Old Testament of the Bible is often in contrast with the New Testament. For example, in the story about the tower of Babel, God confuses the people’s languages and since they can no longer communicate, they scatter. He did this because they were working together; their goal was so that […]
Spend Intentional Time with Other Faith Seekers and Fellow Spiritual Pilgrims Instead of celebrating community, in the individualistic society in which we live, most who pursue spiritual things do so in an individualistic manner—by themselves. This is not good, and it is not wise. Living the spiritual life is best accomplished in conjunction with others. […]
Seek First His Kingdom We know we need to make God a priority in our lives. Regarding Father God, Jesus says we are to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Then other things will fall into place (Matthew 6:33). In the Old Testament, Moses quotes God telling the people—and us—that we’re to have no […]
Categories
What Did the First Church Do?
Four Keys from the Early Church Just days after Pentecost, the people who follow Jesus begin to hang out. This is the first church. What did they do? In the book of Acts, Doctor Luke records four key things: In addition, they meet every day at the temple (outreach) and in homes (fellowship). They share […]
If We’re to Influence the World, We Can’t Let the World Influence Us I’ve written a lot about personal influence, but not so much about church influence. As followers of Jesus, we should seek to influence others, to have a positive impact on them. This means we must seek positive influences for our lives and […]