When discussing child sexual abuse, the media often highlights high-profile cases involving Catholic clergy, leaving the impression that religious leaders represent the most abusive group.…
In Jesus’ parable of the sower (Mark 4:1–20, Matthew 13:1–23), he describes different types of soil that represent how the human heart receives the word…
I’ve lived long enough to realize that spirituality does not grow without attention. Not only that, it doesn’t grow in isolation – those who think…
In The History of Theological Education (2015), historian Justo Gonzalez examines the historical events and ideologies that influenced the Christian approach to theological and general…
In The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church (2010), Witmer provides biblical and practical teaching for prioritizing and accomplishing genuine spiritual care within…
This paper was written as a final assignment for my M. Div. program at Fuller Theological Seminary, for the class IS502 – The Practice of…
I admit it, the title of this post is misleading. In actuality, as Christians, we are to forgive others without condition. The relevant passages teach…
1. A Brief History of My Communities My childhood was spent within a family whose ideology can be characterized as agnostic, scientific, and feminist. My…
It’s no secret that I am discontent with the way we Christians do church. Sundays involve: passive listening instead of active participation education instead of…
I have a confession to make. Though I am generally a theologically conservative Christian, I do lean center/left slightly on many issues, including abortion (I…
When we think about communicating the truths of scripture to one another, and especially to the outside world, we often focus on only one of…
All good visionary organizations have not only a vision statement, mission statement, and value statement, they also have a motto that encapsulates them all in…
In church growth circles, there’s always some new trend that promises to revitalize and grow our churches in size, and sometimes in maturity. Conferences are…
So, I went on my lunchtime walk today and had a ‘conversation with God.’ Do you ever wonder if such conversations are possible, or even…
The New York Times has an interesting article on churches that use violent video games to draw and engage teenage boys as part of their…
My brother’s old church actually preached harshly against gays, and the pastor used some unkind epithets. He asked me about it, and this is my…
Yesterday I had lunch with NeoFundamentalist, who is actually a pastor here in my area. We talked about the history of fundamentalism and evangelicalism, modernism,…
Purpose can be defined as “the application of one’s self, with its talents, to a noble task.” This begs the question, what are the available…
Currently, I attend a small country church of about 100 people. And I do mean country – many of the members are farmers, and I’d…
Aaron, nice post. However, while you are addressing some extremes that need attention, I would like to also present some extremes we should correct, along…
There are three ways to reform bad religion. These methods of reform may be described as modernization, restoration, and liberalization. Modernization, in a religious context,…
Robert over at echurch.com is asking about creating and supporting community within churches. He has mentioned funtionality similar to linkedin.com, as well as making other…
What signifies a healthy church? Is it a building? Or the number of people who attend on Sunday morning? Or the number of activities the…
I love the Church – but I don’t love how we ‘do church’ on Sundays. An hour of passive listening, often followed by everyone going their…