Almost every struggling church I know has at least one dysfunctional bully who goes out of his or her way to be a big fish in a small pond... The sad thing is that most of the leaders know this person or group is a stumbling block to the church's future and they will...
This is the work. It is not towing the line or fitting right in or getting comfortable or getting out of dodge or getting in good with someone or that group. It is getting clear on who you are and getting free of who you are not.
Solidarity is a group that stands together, and would do so for its weakest member. It is that community which resists the intoxicating lie of individuality—we live for ourselves and by ourselves. Solidarity dismisses self-preservation in favor of a new way—to sense...
To the Materialist things like nations, classes, civilizations must be more important than individuals, because the individuals live only seventy odd years each and the group may last for centuries. But to the Christian, individuals are more important, for they live...
The issue should not be oversimplified into whether people will live by God's word or mere human teaching. Given this choice, all religious people will choose "God's word." But for all sides of the debate, God's word is not available directly, only through human...
People view hospitality as quaint and tame partly because they do not understand the power of recognition. When a person who is not valued by society is received by a socially respected person or group as a human being with dignity and worth, small transformations...