Every year Christmas seems to arrive faster, like a train thundering into the station before we’ve even packed our bags. We rush, we shop, we scroll and then sigh, "Did I really encounter Christ this Christmas?" That’s why we have Advent.
When a woman in a small village in southern Mexico heard verses from the New Testament in her language for the first time, she asked in amazement, “Does God understand Otomí?” The answer is yes, but millions of people in about 550 languages still do not know it.
Technology gives us unprecedented ways to collaborate as the global Church but it takes intentionality to use it for Kingdom purposes. During global Bible month the CEO of YouVersion Bible, with over 1 billion installs, notes that people walking closely with Jesus and investing in authentic relationships are what transforms the world.
Humans have a natural propensity to being judgmental. It is related to the knowledge of good and evil that we acquired. Is there a difference between judging and judgment? Yes there is, and its important that we explore it.
Brain-computer interfaces? Exoskeletons? Immortality? Enthusiasm for transhumanism is rising, what might it mean for the rest of us? In light of what enthusiasts are searching for, Christians can offer hope to a world searching for meaning because God has already provided it in Christ.
Christians must learn to do theology well in our rapidly changing contexts. Theology is not simply recalling and repeating doctrine or dogma. It is a living context-sensitive way of approaching life’s big questions. We all need to do the hard work of applying our best understanding of God's purposes revealed in the whole of scripture to new contexts in new ways.
Gone are the days of searching for true wisdom or sidling up to a parent to ask for help. Teens may now inhabit a world where feeling is primary and where, in times of difficulty, they can simply create the remedy with the assistance of artificial companions. If parents do not counteract this, the consequences will be severe.
faith-and-work organizations have developed a parallel path alongside the Church, discipling believers to glorify God through their work. However, pastors, church leaders, and denominations have often not been formally engaged. The Church needs a paradigm shift.
"One of the most surprising aspects of evangelical discourse on LGBTQ issues has been the insistence by some believers that same-sex attraction is a sin even if one doesn’t act on it", says commentator Bruce Baron. Gregory Coles has a different opinion and shares that with Bruce in this opinion piece.
What are the chances that churches could devote 50% of their budgets for missions? Some prove that it is possible to grow from giving beyond themselves to see the gospel embedded in places where it currently has little influence.
Parents can too easily experience continual frustration and marital conflict because of their children’s lack of obedience. Homes lack joy. Instead, they are filled with angry voices and aggravated cries, as parents try their best to do a job they have no training for and few (if any) healthy role models.
"Perspective turns pressure into praise, problems into possibilities, and pain into purpose, and sometimes the only difference between misery and ministry is the way you look at it." Evangelist J.John finds gratitude in a harrowing trip to Australia.
