Fourteen Accusations Against Christianity Answered
4. Christianity is the only religion where another person (oops sorry. GOD) takes the blame for everyone else’s sins.
No other religion can satisfy God’s wrath. This is why the gospel is the love of God before mankind. He shows us that we are helpless, and then His Son voluntarily comes to earth to do what we cannot do. No other religion can come close to dealing with our sins, or reflecting God’s rich love toward His people
Study: Most churchgoers don’t read Bible daily
"Almost all churchgoers want to honor God, but more than a third indicate obedience is not something they have done when it is costly to them,"
These findings on Bible engagement are part of the largest discipleship study of its kind. Results from each of the eight attributes of spiritual maturity will continue to be released over the coming months.
Who Is An “Evangelical Theologian?”
The problem, of course, is that “evangelical” has so many meanings
After all, there is no evangelical membership committee who decides who is and who is not truly evangelical. And who wants there to be? The only people I know who want there to be such want it to be they!
Parenting for Recovering Pharisees
I know how the self-righteous heart can look down on those who don't follow the rules.
I don't want my children to grow up with the heart of a Pharisee. I do want them to know the holiness of God. I want them to know all that he expects, what he commands, and what glorifies him. I also want them to realize that they can't perfectly obey him, and they need a Savior.
A Tale of Two Kingdoms
With Abraham, we are “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God”
There is no better time to refresh our memories about the “two kingdoms” doctrine than at election time in the United States, when American Protestantism often seems divided more by its political allegiances than its faith and practice.
Is Bigger Really Better? The Statistics actually Say “No”!
Smaller churches are necessary, needed, and often more fruitful than we have been led to believe.
There are millions of people in smaller congregations across the country who live with a feeling that they are failures because their church isn’t as big as the megaplex congregation down the street. This is sad and should not be the case.
Holding the Church Hostage
"The leaders of the church feel this is what is best for the mission of this church and cannot allow the church to be held hostage by threatening words or acts.”
Jesus encouraged us to “shake the dust from your sandals” and move on if folks were not receptive to the Gospel. I believe the same guiding lesson should be taken to heart when the work of the church is threatened by hostage-takers. And not once did Jesus ever let those who were either followers or potential followers hold his work hostage. He let them walk away
What is a pastor?
"A pastor is a CEO; a pastor is a motivator; a pastor is an entrepreneur; a pastor is a counselor; a pastor is a best friend; a pastor is a teacher."
A pastor is a nutritionist. I am called to feed Christ’s sheep. That means I have to know what they need and lead them to the pastures where those needs are met. It means I don’t preach for my interests, but for their health. Overtly or in round-a-bout ways the question “what do you... Continue Reading
What Is Forgiveness?
The offer of forgiveness is unconditional (for God, and it should be for us), but forgiveness itself is conditioned upon repentance
Overcoming anger and resentment is important, but forgiveness is something more, something different, something that involves two parties instead of one. Many Christians, influences by Lewis Smedes and a lot of pop psychology, have a therapeutic understanding of forgiveness. They think of forgiveness as a unilateral, internal effort to get our emotions under control.... Continue Reading
What a Woman Wants in a Man
An artist has an eye for beauty, and yet, the unbelieving artist struggles with the truth associated with it
As I was rollerblading the other day, I was thinking about artistic geniuses (stop laughing). It seems that every unbelieving artistic genius is also a bit insane—or a lot insane! I always thought it was because they just had too much talent to handle, but I came to a different conclusion about halfway down Sudley Lane.