Falls and faithfulness

‘Here’s the headline you never see; “Thousands of faithful pastors preached another sermon to a congregation they have poured themselves out in service of for another week.”’

Why Gen Z men like me are staying in church

‘While the culture keeps throwing around confused ideas of what men should be, the church has been steadily providing a model that makes sense: Christ. The man who laid down his life, led with love, and showed that real strength isn’t about puffing your chest but about putting others first. This is the kind of manhood Gen Z men crave.’

A cloth of wool and linen mixed together

Have you ever heard people claim Christians pick and choose bits of the Bible to follow because they wear mixed cloth clothes when the Bible says not to do so? Have you ever wondered why the Bible says not to wear wool and linen mixed together? This one looks at the reason behind the command and might, if you give it a little more thought, offer some insight as to why Christians can wear whatever they want.

10 diagnostic questions for you and your spouse

You may not agree with all of these. You may not reckon all of them to be that telling. You may find some of them culturally out of whack. But I think across all ten, there is some wisdom to be gleaned in this one.

Why Romans 12 without Romans 13 endangers those in destructive relationships

‘It is easy for us to think that the Bible was written as theological thought-units. We might mistakenly read the Gospel of Mark as a series of micro-stories instead of one big story, or Romans as a series of devotional thoughts instead of a unified letter. Sometimes the impact of this challenge can be relatively inconsequential, but other times it can result in seemingly faith-filled choices that put lives at risk.’

The normalization of slander

‘Our social media habits have made slander so prevalent, so normal, that we’re willing to overlook its pernicious effects as long as it helps our cause or confirms our narrative. We no longer see this sin as disqualifying. We no longer even see it as sin. I fear we’ve normalized this form of worldliness to the point that the righteousness described by James (“peace-loving, gentle, . . . full of mercy”) now gets reframed as soft, or squishy, or compromised.’

From the archive: How to have a good members’ meeting

‘Let me offer principles by which we try to run our meetings. These things tend to mean we have more helpful meetings than not.’