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At that time in my life, it seemed everything in my circumstances was hopelessly falling apart. Broken relationships, failed initiatives, financial
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Leading From A Healthy Soul
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To Guard Against the Monsters in My Life, I Became a Monster Myself
A lifestyle of violence and addiction nearly destroyed me, but it brought me to the foot of the cross.I grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, in a home filled with chaos. Home was an ever-changing address, with my parents’ fights the only constant. My dad enjoyed his plethora of drugs, and my mom enjoyed pushing his buttons and being the victim. They finally decided to call it quits when I was 11 years old, but not before I got some startling news: The man I had called my father wasn’t rea
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‘I Thought I’d Be Further Along by Now’
An excerpt on risk, worship, and spiritual growth from The Expectation Gap: The Tiny, Vast Space between Our Beliefs and Experience of God.We often think we should be further along in our life of faith than we actually are. This tendency is connected to how we read the Bible, how we compare ourselves to others, and then how we reinforce these dynamics in our faithcommunities.I want to point out upfront that it is quite possible that we should be further along. I am not suggesting that we get laz
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How to Face the Headlines with Hope
The Papua New Guinea mudslide is yet another reminder that our world is not as it should be. But take heart! Christ has overcome the world.Family members sit atop boulders, weary from lifting rocks to search for bodies. Men with shovels bend under the weight of sorrow and effort as they work to leave literally no stone unturned. Disaster has struck again: A massive mudslide in Papua New Guinea on Friday morning buried an estimated 2,000 people alive, covering dozens of homes and an elementary sc
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Boy Meets Girl, Fans Meet Jesus?
As Christian romances make their way to theaters, their writers are seizing opportunities for evangelism.This spring, Someone Like You, based on the Christian romance novel by author Karen Kingsbury and produced by the newly formed Karen Kingsbury Productions, was released in theaters across the US and Canada. The movie—a tale of grief, romance, and a secret frozen embryo sister—grossed about $5.9 million.Kingsbury’s accomplishments as an author and movie producer are impressiv
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World Vision Appeals Employment Discrimination Case to Ninth Circuit
Federal appeals courts are starting to wrestle with how nondiscrimination laws apply to religious organizations when it comes to sexual orientation and gender identity.
After sustaining a court defeat in November, this week Christian humanitarian aid organization World Vision appealed an employment discrimination case to the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A lower federal judge had ordered the organization to pay $120,000 in damages in the case earlier this month after ruling
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What I Would Change After 30 Years of Marriage
I should have invited Ruth to our wedding—to acknowledge how much our ordinary moments point to the story of Christ.This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here.On Monday of next week, my wife, Maria, and I celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. As I think about those two kids standing at the altar, I would want to say “I do” all over again to everything. One of the very few exceptions would be one decision that had to do with the wedding, not w
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Pastors Will Try to Spare South Africa’s Tense Elections from Violence
Oscar Siwali is mobilizing conflict mediators as the country goes to the polls. He only wishes his organization could train more.Oscar Siwali remembers watching Nelson Mandela’s triumphant walk as he left prison after 27 years. In 1990, as the young pastor of a Baptist church, Siwali saw himself as an evangelical focused on winning souls and tending to his flock’s spiritual needs, not needing to prioritize political concerns. Nonetheless, he shared the pride of his people’s suc
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Mad Max Does Genesis
Furiosa begins with a retelling of the biblical Fall. After its apocalypse comes something new.One of the first lines of dialogue in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a question: “As the world falls around us, how must we brave its cruelties?”Across its 148-minute running time, Furiosa offers various responses to that inquiry, presenting a post-apocalyptic set of scenarios bound in blood, gasoline, and bullets. Ultimately, the film settles on hope—however foolish it may seem—as
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As More Brazilian Pop Stars Praise God with Their Lips, Does It Matter If Hearts Are Far?
Gospel music is soaring in popularity in Brazil, leading artists with little Christian background to release worship songs and pastors to mull motives.“Dwell in me, Jesus,” sings Ana Castela in “Agradeço” (I Thank You), a single the 20-year-old Brazilian pop star released in December. The lyrics resemble words that evangelical congregations sing in contemporary church services across the country: I surrender, I trust, I accept, and I thank you.Castela emerged on Br
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Iranian Christians Contemplate God’s Justice after President’s Death in Crash
Believers in the diaspora reference Daniel and the “writing on the wall” as many mull if helicopter accident portends more changes to come.Iranian Christians in the diaspora shed few tears over the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash along with the foreign minister and six others in the northwest mountains of Iran.The leadership vacuum will be filled within 50 days by a new election. But it comes at a tumultuous time for the Islamic Republic, which last mon
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In Succor and Silence
On praying past the end of silver linings to a God who often does not answer as I hope.Around the bonfire at church camp on the Oregon coast, we sang “River of Life” to get warmed up, and then, to mellow the mood for the gospel presentation, “Seek Ye First.” A haunting descant rose over the melody, swelling my 12-year-old heart with grateful longing. I walked forward to accept Jesus into my heart, and a counselor prayed for me, shadows from the flames flickering across ou
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What Believers Can and Can’t Affirm in Those Who Affirm Same-Sex Marriage
Rebecca McLaughlin takes care to filter their legitimate claims from their flawed assumptions.Maybe you believe that the Bible opposes same-sex sexual relationships. Where in the Bible would you begin to explain your view? Maybe you doubt that the Bible opposes same-sex sexual relationships. Where in the Bible would you begin to build an argument for affirmation? Or maybe you are unsure whether the Bible affirms or opposes same-sex sexual relationships. Where in the Bible would you begin to inqu
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Anglican Bishop Removed as Clergy Call for Transparency in Investigation
While the ACNA hasn’t offered public updates on a trial for Stewart Ruch’s abuse response, Todd Atkinson, a bishop appointed to assist him, has been deposed over inappropriate relationships.Nearly three years ago, Bishop Stewart Ruch of the Anglican Church in North America’s Diocese of the Upper Midwest admitted “regrettable errors” in handling sexual abuse allegations against a lay minister, before taking a leave of absence. An acting bishop took over the diocese a
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The Flannery O’Connor Novel That Might Have Been
Her final work was continually revised but never finished. Can we know what she was aiming to achieve?Flannery O’Connor was an inveterate rewriter, working, reworking, and deleting episodes from her stories and novels. Her archives, collected at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, bulge with deleted scenes and alternate versions of characters scarcely recognizable as the people who inhabit the published versions of her stories.O’Connor spent five years crafting Wis
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DOJ Issues First Indictment in Southern Baptist Investigation
A former official at Southwestern Seminary has been charged with falsifying records in the federal probe into the denomination’s abuse response.
A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and interim provost has been indicted on a charge of obstructing justice in a sexual misconduct case, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.Matt Queen, who was previously an administrator and professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, allegedly gave the FBI falsified notes during an o
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Moral Failures by Christian Leaders Are a Huge Problem. Can New Standards Help?
ECFA is adding leadership integrity to its accountability criteria.
The accreditation agency for over 2,700 evangelical nonprofits wants to raise its standards to address “one of the greatest financial risks” posed to churches and ministries today: moral failures by leadership.For decades, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) has established guidelines around financial transparency, stewardship, and governance. This year, the organization announced plans to add
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I’m a Political Prisoner in Congo. My Ministry Is Thriving.
Even as I long for health and freedom, I see the good that God is doing.The end of April 2024 marked my 10th month in detention at Makala Central Prison in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Each day passes, leaving the impression that I will be free tomorrow. I know the day I hope for will finally come, because I have put my hope in the Master of times and circumstances. As he says in Matthew 25:31–46, he is also detained with me here. When he is done with detention, he will lea
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How to Be a Christian Influencer Worthy of the Name
We do not deserve to wield influence in the church while being simps and sycophants to the secular world.There’s good reason for the church to be wary of social media influencers—particularly those who speak to spiritual matters. We aren’t wrong to be disconcerted at the idea of Christians being led by online personalities who might be more charismatic than theologically sound or more creative than credible, especially when the influencers are disconnected from church disciples
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Forrest Frank Is Making the Internet’s Vibiest Christian Music
His upbeat hits and worship collaborations are capturing younger listeners on social media.
Some of the most popular music we hear in our Instagram and TikTok feeds comes from Forrest Frank, the independent artist and music producer known for his viral, feel-good songs.His beat-driven pop combines vibey grooves and infectious hooks in hits like “Up!” and “Good Day.”Frank was the top-ranked new artist on last year’s Billboard Christian charts, and his advice for fell
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The Loosening of American Evangelicalism
Long-standing norms against drinking, tattoos, and Catholic-coded church practices have rapidly fallen. What’s going on?Something has happened in the last 25 years in American evangelicalism—what I believe to be a massive generational shift. I’d like to sketch a picture of the change I see and ask if you see it too.First, though, let me set the scene. I have in mind low-church Protestant traditions in the United States: churches centered on the Bible, evangelism, and personal f
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Don’t Skip Chronicles in Your Bible Reading Plan
What we can learn from the chronicler’s stories about the kings of Israel.To the dutiful Bible reader, Chronicles might seem a bit baffling. As we read, we might find ourselves wondering, Haven’t I read this before? The short answer is yes and no .
The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles retell some of the same stories of Israel and Judah that appear in the books of Samuel and Kings. But the chronicler also offers a fresh perspective on those years by incorporating new material and leaving o
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The Church Fathers Belong in Creation Debates. But Handle Them with Care.
We can humbly seek their wisdom without treating them as mascots for one position or another.On September 11, 2020, I found myself under a large tent, where 51 ministers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church had assembled for a COVID-era presbytery. They gathered to receive charges against me, initiating an ecclesiastical trial. I had published a book that affirmed the possibility of theistic evolution—a view regarded by some as dangerous.Through that process, I became personally (and painfu
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AI Preachers and Teachers? No Thanks, Say Most Americans.
American Bible Society study finds majority don’t trust technology with spiritual matters.Ask ChatGPT how to improve your spiritual life, and the natural-language processing artificial intelligence chatbot has plenty of suggestions.But Americans are skeptical that artificial intelligence, or AI, has much to offer in the way of reliable religious guidance.Sixty-eight percent of people don’t think AI could help them with their spiritual practices or “promote spiritual health,&rdq
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A New Era of AI Is Here, and the Church Is Not Ready
In the uncanny valley of the shadow of data, we should fear no evil—and prepare for a very different future.This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here.In the past several weeks, two events occurred that are going to change our futures. One of them was the launching of OpenAI’s new artificial intelligence program, GPT-4o, just ahead of several competitors who will do the same in a matter of weeks. The other was the defrocking of a robot priest for tea
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Billy Graham’s US Capitol Statue Unveiled
The late evangelist is one of just four Americans who have received the nation’s three highest congressional honors.
Salvation in Christ Jesus was offered in National Statuary Hall May 16 at the unveiling of a statue of the iconic late global evangelist Billy Graham, which has John 3:16 and John 14:6 carved in its base.“Friends, God’s grace is undeserved, but through Christ it is freely given. And it is by trusting in God’s sacrifice that we are saved,” US Sen. Ted
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Police Officers Are Burning Out. Can Chaplains Help?
Spiritual care is essential as stressors among law enforcement rise.Sitting in the front row of a supervisor training in 2016, Stamford Police Sgt. Sean Boeger raised his hand every time the instructor asked who had dealt with a particular experience, including homicides, fatal accidents, and child deaths.During his nearly 30 years as a police officer, 48-year-old Boeger had helped with body recovery efforts at Ground Zero after 9/11. When 20 children were killed by a lone shooter in 2012 at San
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The Caregiving Boom Needs Spiritual Support
By calling or circumstance, millions in the “sandwich generation” feel the weight and cost of tending to aging relatives.
Shanoah Bruner is among the quarter of American adults who find themselves in the “sandwich generation,” raising children under 18 and supporting aging parents.At her home in the Indianapolis suburbs, the 40-something mom lives with her husband, tween and teen daughters, mother-in-law, and biological father.The caretaking role comes naturally to Brune
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The Miracle of the Ear
Speech was not God’s only miracle at Pentecost. The Spirit also gave the gift of understanding, overcoming division and contempt.Tongues of fire, everywhere. In this loud and furious age, a time of protests and counter-protests, words come burning, singeing, scalding, stinging.“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” James wrote, “because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (1:19–20). But few of
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The Sustaining Breath of God
As a physician, I witness countless first and last breaths. As a Christian, I am constantly reminded of how God breathes life into us through his Spirit.The scalpel sliced through the uterine wall. The amniotic sac ruptured, and fluid flowed across the blue surgical drapery toward me. The obstetrician’s fingers curled around the baby’s head while my gloved hands pressed firmly against the mother’s abdomen. The baby was larger than we had expected. I shifted my full body weight
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