Exploring Faith and Spirituality

Religion

Wait, His Name Isn’t Jesus?

One of my favorite seminary classes to teach is a survey of the four Gospels, where we work through Christ’s life from birth to resurrection. While students have several aha moments, none is bigger...

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Discover Rich Connections Between the New and Old Testaments

The more I study Scripture, the more deeply aware I become of the dependence of the New Testament on the Old Testament. Beyond the quotes, which most of our modern translations identify for us, the...

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Preserving Our Own? The Bible’s Teaching on Ethnicity, Nationality, and the Promises of Christ

Topics like Christian nationalism, mass immigration, and cultural heritage dominate much of the national conversation and social media ecosystem, and for good reason: We want to know who we are as ...

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Why ‘Lost’ Gospels Go Viral—and the Real Ones Don’t

Two years ago—in fall 2023—the internet was abuzz over the publication of an ancient manuscript that seemed to contain material from one of the most famous gospels outside our New Testament: the Go...

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The Church as an Apologetic

My neighbor Evan (I’ve changed his name) is a successful, extroverted fortysomething: hip, engaging, friendly, and easy to talk to. He’s always willing to lend a hand, an ear, or a tool. His kids a...

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Going to Church When It Hurts

Melissa and Courtney talk with Megan Hill about how God’s Word helps us understand the deep hurts that can come from God’s own people. They discuss why church hurt is so painful as well as why we s...

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Why I Changed My Mind About Dressing Up for Church

Does it matter how we dress when we enter the Lord’s house? I wonder if we’ve given this question enough thought, even among pastors and church leaders. Church members often wear what’s comfortable...

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Make Changes Wisely in an Established Women’s Ministry

As the announcements wrap up the Sunday service, someone highlights the upcoming women’s spring tea. Depending on their experiences with church women’s ministry events, women in your congregation m...

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AI’s Usefulness and Its Dangers for Preachers

I recently had lunch with my former pastor, Tony Merida. He’d heard that I work in the world of artificial intelligence (AI), and he was curious. “I get asked about AI all the time,” he told me. “M...

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What Forrest Frank Reveals About the Problem of Christian Mockery

“I signed up for mockery from the world, and I signed up for unity with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Vastly, what I’ve seen is crickets from the world and mockery with my brothers and sisters...

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Simple Islamic Homemaking Practices to Purify Your Home and Heart

Why Do We Link a Clean Heart to a Clean Home? There is a unique sense of peace in stepping into a home that smells fresh, looks organized, and feels serene. Yet, in Islam, cleanliness is not just...

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Escape the Little Hell of Porn

Log in, click, click, click . . . indulge, delete history, pretend it didn’t happen, burn with shame, promise never again, punish yourself, feel tempted again, despair . . . log in, click, click, c...

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Why Are Women Leaving the Church? Learning from Jen Hatmaker’s Deconversion

Whether or not you’re familiar with Jen Hatmaker, you need to know her story. She rose to Christian celebrity in the early 2000s; her witty, conversational writing on Christian living resonated wi...

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Confessions of a Former Social-Mediaholic

My name is Tanner, I’m 26 years old, and I’m a former social-mediaholic. I’ve been sober now for nearly six years, and I’m not turning back. My story isn’t radical. I got my first smartphone in mi...

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Your Kids’ Heroes Don’t Have to Be Perfect

From the moment I was born, my parents began instilling the lesson that I can look up to people who are different from me. Though Christa McAuliffe’s Roman Catholic beliefs differed from my parent’...

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Whatever Became of Original Sin?

A recent survey, The State of Theology, revealed that 64 percent of American evangelicals believe “everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God,” and 53 percent believe “everyone sins a little, but...

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With Autism, Don’t Focus on Causes but on God’s Purpose

With new warnings from government officials and the FDA’s approval of new treatments, autism has roared back into the headlines. Sadly, this news has brought a flood of pain, confusion, and shame f...

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New Archbishop of Canterbury Further Fractures a Fragile Anglican Communion

Dame Sarah Mullally, the current bishop of London, is the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate. This is a landmark appointment, as she will be the first female Archbishop in the Church of England...

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Faithfulness amid the Culture War

Faithfulness to Jesus’s mission isn’t less than boldness in the culture war; it’s much more. Many wonder if the days of a nonpartisan approach to Christian cultural engagement are over. In recent ...

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How to Exit Tech

If we as parents could see what our children see on social media, we wouldn’t hesitate to keep them away. That’s why Clare Morell calls for a tech exit: “no smartphones, social media, tablets, or v...

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5 Reasons to Read Eugene Peterson on Pastoral Ministry

A younger pastor recently asked me what resources have most formed my thinking on pastoral ministry. He was somewhat familiar with most of the books I mentioned, but then I brought up the works on ...

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