Imagining Identity: When A Group Is Haunted By Suffering by Elizabeth Glass Turner

The media photographer clicked at just the right moment. The woman’s face is crumpled, crying out, grieving. In fact, the use of the picture almost feels…voyeuristic. How long will morning news shows play subdued tones, proclaiming the latest tragedy, in this case, “Special Edition: Charleston” in a way that reminds us all that every news outlet is for-profit? The photo

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A Fool And His Money by Mark Trotter

Incidentally, the Greek word translated “required of you” can also be translated as “a payment due.” That is the real point of the parable. Not just your possessions, but your life belongs to God. That is the classical, Christian understanding of our lives. We are sojourners here, pilgrims, travelers. In the beautiful words of the Letter to the Hebrews, “Here

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What The Church Can Do During Exile by Timothy Tennent

Jeremiah reminds us that we do not respond with hatred or anger to those who have plotted our demise. We pray for the peace and prosperity of the country. We pray for the well-being of a church which celebrates false prophets (Jeremiah 28). We realize – and this is the real lesson of Jeremiah – that judgement is actually a

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What Pastors Can Learn From Zumba by Elizabeth Glass Turner

Recently I took a college student with me to a Zumba class at the local Y. “What you see may not be pretty. What happens at Zumba stays at Zumba.” This warning is necessary for all who accompany me to a workout class, given my unique combination of Lucille Ball and Miranda Hart-like skills or, more specifically, lack thereof. Male pastors

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What Do You Really Want? by Carrie Carter

When I was four, I won a coloring contest. I don’t remember the picture or actually winning; however, I do recall flipping through the pages of a Hasbro toy catalog. You see, the prize was $100 in toys. That was a lot of toys in 1981, $282.89 worth in today’s market-according to the Inflation Calculator-when toys weren’t high-tech, expensive and causing

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Keep On Moving: Perfect In Love by Andy Stoddard

One of the things that I know most about faith is that we are going somewhere.  We are on the move.  We have a direction and a purpose. Now that somewhere, in time, is heaven. One day, for those of us that believe, we will cross over into eternity and we will forever be with the Lord.  That’s something to

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Why You Should Stop Obsessing Over The End Of The World by Tom Fuerst

Creation, time, space, love, truth, goodness, and beauty are not afterthoughts in God’s plan to save the world. Each plays an intricate role in that plan. Each contributes something the overall whole of the gospel. Each reminds us of God’s good intentions for his world and the inhabitants thereof. And no matter your eschatology, you are called to live in

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Why We Still Need Movements by Shaun Marshall

Sometimes, we disengage from challenging injustice because we have been conditioned to believe that our efforts will not matter; we don’t believe that we can make any real difference. God requires us, his people, to be the movement, humbly and faithfully carrying his mercy, his justice, and his transforming presence in our world.

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Christmas In Brazil

When I was a little girl, decorating the Christmas tree was a family ritual my parents and I looked forward to every year. We’d crack some Christmas tunes on the stereo CD player we had in our living room – yes, I feel old whenever I remember I actually used one of those – and we’d hang all kinds of

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God Is Moving | Part I

After living in Asia for several years, my wife and I moved to the United States in 2020. This past summer, we were able to return to Asia. By the grace of God, we were able to learn and shine in 17 cities in 4 countries over 6 weeks. We had an amazing adventure. (For security reasons, some names and

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Christmas In India

Christmas is the festival of Love, Joy, Peace and Hope. Christmas reminds us of God’s love and Salvation for humankind. The Indian way of celebrating Christmas is unique, colorful and full of cultural diversity. Unique Indian Christmas Celebrations and Festive Cuisine Christmas preparations begin weeks before the 25th of December. Homes are cleaned and decorated with stars, lights, and Christmas

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More Than A Barber

Even with modern technology, I like the daily newspaper. I pay close attention to the front page and read the articles there that get attention. Then I turn the inner pages to see what is there. It was an inside article, but the headline caught my attention: FORMER ADDICT OFFERS HAIRCUTS TO HOMELESS PEOPLE IN LOS ANGELES. I couldn’t resist

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Our Place In The Cloud

In many churches around the world, we recently marked All Saints Sunday. It’s a Sunday that often focuses on that wonderful passage from Hebrews 12: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for

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The Support We Need

When Nathaniel Hawthorne came home in utter despair and failure after losing his job in the Customs House, his wife responded, “Now you can write that book you have always wanted to write.” Under that kind of uplifting support, Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, one of the greatest pieces of literature the world has ever known. The truth is there

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Too Fast For Good News

Sitting with people after their surgeries, I often hear their prescription: slow down and heal. Sometimes, it is true the best thing we can do is just trust the same old story. The reality is that we live in an age where real rewards come from capitalizing in the attention economy. Quick searches reveal dozens, even hundreds of ‘get well

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How To Read The Bible in Context

My wife Angie and I have conversations all the time. But it’s not surprising that 5 minutes into the conversation, one of us will say these words, “What are you talking about?” We seem to be using the same words but they have completely different meanings. For you see, I am primarily a “thinker” and she listens as a “feeler.”

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Salvation Is More Than A One Time Event

As Christians we do not emerge full-grown. Salvation is not a one -time event. To see it in its fullness, we talk about “going on to salvation.” If any doctrines within the whole compass of Christianity may be properly termed fundamental, they are doubtless these two — the doctrine of justification, and that of the new birth. The former relates

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God Has His Eye On You

God has his eye on you. That’s what the psalmist says. Some may cower back from the question, “what is man that you are mindful of him?”(Psalm 8:4). Frightened even, thinking of God as a judge who is not going to let us get away with even the least wrong-doing.  Let’s look more broadly and attentively, “what is man that

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