In our zeal for mass conversion and standard strategies, we overlook the fact that evangelism requires far more than effective methods. The gospel is not a consumer product to be marketed by drawing from a strategic tool kit. People come to faith in Christ through a...
Many of us are unable to “see” things “as they are,” because we see “as we are.” Until we change, until we learn how to love and forgive, to live with gratitude, generosity, and compassion, we will be blind to what is “really real,” to what is of ultimate worth and...
Next to the calling of the disciples, I expect that Matthew’s story about their sending forth is one of the most confrontational stories in all the Bible. Can you imagine? There you are, perfectly content to be a follower, when Jesus comes home all worn out one day...
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.
Now testimony is…”who we are and who we are becoming.” Our stories no longer tell tales of spiritual acquiescence and conformity. Rather, they tell of finding meaning, finding unique selves, and finding God in a confusing and chaotic world. Contemporary thinkers have...
Here comes Jesus, closer and closer to me. Ah, the closer he comes, the less I like it. His very existence threatens me. I’ve grown used to my way of life. I like the familiarity. I know my place in society, my reputation, my rights and privileges, all of which are...
The Kingdom is served in greater ways when Christians and churches are collaborating and cooperating to proclaim the Gospel and minister to human need… The call and challenge for each individual, each church, and for all of us as a Fellowship, is to be the presence of...
The context for much of what Jesus said about the family was his vision of the coming crisis of God’s reign which would turn ordinary life on its head. He perceived the coming of the kingdom to be a revolutionary event; the family could no longer provide true security...
Justice differs from private charity: Charity is about giving a hungry person some bread, while justice is about trying to change the system so that nobody has excess bread while some have none; charity is about treating your neighbors with respect, while justice is...
Gratitude keeps us clear that not only do our gifts and our challenges come from God, but that our gifts and challenges are essentially one and the same… Without gratitude, our enjoyment of the world shrinks into cramped self-indulgence and the unscratchable itch of...