You’ve seen them in your community. They’re popping up in old buildings, fields, and other empty spaces. They show up with catchy names and make lots of loud noise, often attracting quite a crowd in the process. But what are they? Where do they come from? And why are they here?
I’m talking, of course, about church plants—when a new local church begins where none had previously existed. Continue reading
Christians have long talked about life as a journey, whether as runners or pilgrims or travelers or something else. Journeys tend to involve forks in the road, decisions to make, and obstacles to overcome. Sometimes, the decisions of this journey are between light and darkness, holiness and sin, redemption and backsliding. In these instances, the follower of Christ is called to choose the path of faithfulness. Other times, however, the decisions we make along the way do not seem to be inherently good or bad—it’s not immediately clear whether one path is better than the other.
Such an image of journey has been on my mind lately as I’ve wrestled with what seems to be an increasingly common trope for contemporary Christians: the ongoing debate between orthodoxy and relevance.
Per Merriam-Webster, orthodoxy means “right belief, sound doctrine” and relevance means “the quality or state of being closely connected or appropriate.” Based on those definitions, you wouldn’t expect contemporary Christians to believe that orthodoxy and relevance are at odds with one another. But if you talk to many Christians, you’d be wrong. Let me explain. Continue reading
If you read one article this week, engage The Long Theological Shadow by John Ehrett.
For those of you with additional reading time, check out the following selections, gathered from around the blogging world. Happy reading! Continue reading
If you read one article this week, engage Leadership and Suicide: When Ending It Seems Like the Only Way Out by Carey Nieuwhof
For those of you with additional reading time this fine September (!) day, check out the following selections gathered from around the blogging world. Happy reading! Continue reading
If you read one article this week, look at Doctrine is Inevitable by Samuel James.
For those of you with additional reading time, check out the following suggestions, gathered from around the interwebs. Happy reading! Continue reading
If you read one article this week, engage The Great Commission Starts in Your Backyard by Noel Green Estes.
For those of you with additional reading time weekend, check out the following selections, gathered from around the interwebs. Happy reading! Continue reading
If you read one article this week, engage Letter to an Aspiring Theologian by Kevin Vanhoozer.
For those of you with additional reading time this weekend, check out the following suggestions, gathered from around the interwebs. Happy reading! Continue reading
If you read one article this weekend, look at No Victory for Religious Liberty by Darel Paul.
If you have more reading time, check out the following selections gathered from around the blogging world. Happy reading! Continue reading
If you read one article, reflect over The Amish Understand a Life-Changing Truth about Technology by Michael Coren.
For those of you with additional reading time this weekend, check out the following suggestions, gathered (as always) from around the interwebs. Think I missed sharing something important? Let me know in a comment below. Happy reading! Continue reading
If you read one article this week, engage Evangelical Gnosticism by Abigail Rine Favale
For those of you with additional reading time this fine Spring day, check out the following selections, gathered from around the interwebs. Happy reading!
Lessons from the Worst Sermon I Ever Heard by Mike McKinley
Pope Francis, Nondenominationalist? by John Ehrett
Southern Baptist Women Launch Petition Against Paige Patterson by Kate Shellnutt
Miracles and Modernity by Benjamin Winter
April Biblical Studies Carnival by Ruben Rus
Gospels and Names by Larry Hurtado
Does Genesis Make Claims about History? by RJS
How Present Technology Changes Our View of Past Technology by Peter Gurry
“Avoidance Is Not Purity”: An Ode to the Pence Rule by Eric Hutchinson
Should Abused Women (or Men) Stay with Their Spouses? by Roger Olson
