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I’m Sorry, I Can’t Pray for You
Read more: I’m Sorry, I Can’t Pray for YouDear whoever you are church member, This past week you probably felt somewhat confused and hurt when I told you in no uncertain terms that I would not be able to commit to praying for you after you shared your struggles with me. Now, I did pray with you after we talked about your situation…
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Brittany Maynard: A Holy Response?
Read more: Brittany Maynard: A Holy Response?A few weeks ago my wife alerted me to the plight of Brittany Maynard. As a millennial who has a fairly strong disdain for technology and news media, I was proud that it took so long to discover the cultural flashpoint that this woman’s life had become. My wife further pointed me to a blog…
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Leaving Christian Gurus Behind
Read more: Leaving Christian Gurus BehindI recently read through Carl Trueman’s book Fools Rush In Where Monkey’s Fear to Tread: Taking Aim at Everyone. As a Christian who prefers not to be identified with evangelicalism, I have always appreciated Trueman’s thought provoking essays. I was especially struck by the following quote in his book: The American church reflects the culture:…
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Mis(?)-Judging the Ray Rice Saga
Read more: Mis(?)-Judging the Ray Rice SagaBy now, most of us have been thoroughly inundated—thanks, largely in part, to ESPN’s wash-rinse-repeat approach of showing the elevator video—with coverage of the NFL’s domestic violence problem specifically as it relates to Ray Rice. The reaction against Rice was swift, virtually unanimous and severe. Understandably so. The reaction against the NFL could aptly be described…
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Do We Have a Male Vanity Problem?
Read more: Do We Have a Male Vanity Problem?I’ll never forget the moment that I was slapped in the face by the most fashion conscious city in America, Los Angeles. Near the end of my four years there, the city began to wear off on me. I started to “up my game.” Bought some nicer clothes, some flashier shirts, some tighter jeans. The…
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How a Migration Bloom Should Change Missions
Read more: How a Migration Bloom Should Change MissionsThe global missions landscape is far different today than it was fifty years ago. Transportation has become steadily more efficient and cheaper over the past five decades which has set up off a migration bloom all across the globe. This migration bloom has led to large-scale movement of the world’s unreached people groups (UPG’s) into…
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“You Should Come to My Church.”
Read more: “You Should Come to My Church.”As we go about our week we often run into people in our community who are not believers and are not connected to any church. During the course of small talk, the topic of church is broached and we then ask our new acquaintance if they go to church anywhere. They say, “No, my wife…
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Insider Movements: A Response to Dave Garner
Read more: Insider Movements: A Response to Dave GarnerThis past week a few people alerted me to Dave Garner’s article on The Gospel Coalition website regarding Insider Movements (IM). While I strongly agree with Dr. Garner’s overarching assessment of IM, certain aspects of the essay needed further clarification and elaboration. It is my hope that this rejoinder can further the discussion on IM…
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Relearning How to Follow Jesus
Read more: Relearning How to Follow JesusWhen I first came to the mission field I spoke with a teammate who told me about a man named Mamadou who I would meet shortly. He told me, “Mamadou is a Muslim background believer from Africa. And just so you know, he fasts more than he eats.” When my teammate relayed this information to…
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Social Security: To Opt Out or Not to Opt Out?
Read more: Social Security: To Opt Out or Not to Opt Out?On the internet over the past few years, Christian leaders have taken time to voice their opinion about IRS form 4361 (Russell Moore, Gospel Coalition via Justin Taylor, Matt Wittmer and Dave Ramsey have all spoken on the matter). For those unfamiliar, form 4361 is the form that a minister may sign within his first…