Exploring Faith and Spirituality

Religion

‘It’s Not Like That’: TV Takes a Christian Pastor Seriously

I’ve long wondered when—or if—someone in Hollywood would create an interesting TV show about the life of a pastor and his family. The drama inherent in ministry—interpersonal conflict, familial str...

Credit:

Stoic Virtues Are Trending, but Can They Truly Transform?

Stoicism may not be a household topic for many people, but it’s gaining momentum in our culture. An online event, “Stoic Week,” which began in 2012, has drawn more than 40,000 people from around th...

Credit:

Challenges Facing the Protestant Church (Part 1)

In part 1 of this session from TGC25, three speakers address critical weaknesses in our discipleship that cause believers to drift from the gospel. They provide a defense of Protestantism and give ...

Credit:

How to Fight for Life When Abortions Are Invisible

It’s been a confusing couple of weeks for the pro-life movement. On January 6, President Donald Trump reportedly told Republican lawmakers they’d need to “be a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendme...

Credit:

Remembering Ella Cook: ‘The Kind of Young Christian We Are Trying to Form’

Ella Cook, a native of Mountain Brook, Alabama, died tragically as a result of the senseless violence at Brown University on December 13, 2025. I was privileged to know Ella. She grew up in a youth...

Credit:

Remembering Death Teaches Us to Live

Courtney Doctor talks with Colleen Chao about how her faith has grown and flourished through living with a terminal cancer diagnosis. They discuss the difficulty of knowing she may not live to see ...

Credit:

Save the Humanities from the Slop

The rise of AI, the ubiquity of cheap and accessible entertainment, the power of social media, and the progressive, secular biases of many educators have caused some Christians to question whether ...

Credit:

Leading Worship Is Worship

C; is the next note F? Which verse am I in? A minor; make sure to look up at everyone. G; don’t lose your place. Keep the tempo so everyone stays together. C; build the energy here, and look up! Is...

Credit:

Why the Gospel Is Better News than Wokeness

In 2020, the Smithsonian Institution declared that an “emphasis on [the] scientific method” and “objective, rational linear thinking” are “aspects and assumptions of whiteness and white culture.” ...

Credit:

I Might Owe My Students an Apology About Josephus

Flavius Josephus was a Jewish aristocrat (AD 37–100) who witnessed firsthand the great Jewish war with Rome. After surrendering to the Roman general Vespasian (soon Emperor Vespasian) in Galilee, J...

Credit:

Come to Jesus, All Those Who Feel Overwhelmed by Work

Many scenarios could make the seasonal burdens of work feel overwhelming—think of an accountant in April, a teacher in August, or a pastor in December. But our work can also feel overwhelming on a ...

Credit:

The FAQs: What Should Churches Do When Protest Enters the Sanctuary?

What just happened? Protesters disrupted a Minnesota church service on Sunday after activists determined one of the pastors works as the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

Credit:

Older Believers Still Have Important Work to Do

My husband and I are members of a young church located in Baltimore. We didn’t intend to become part of a church in the city, but the first Sunday we visited changed and challenged us. We were surr...

Credit:

‘He Will Be Called a Nazarene’: Matthew’s Messianic Clue

Matthew’s infancy narrative ends with a passage that has baffled biblical scholars: “And [Joseph] went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfille...

Credit:

When ‘Stranger Things’ Stopped Being Strange

After 10 years, five seasons, and 42 episodes, the hit Netflix show Stranger Things has now concluded. Directed by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things follows a group of kids (and a few adults) i...

Credit:

College Minister, Consider Why Students Come to You for Counsel

A weary college freshman flops down across from me in the student center. He looks bedraggled and sleep-deprived. I wonder when he last showered. When I ask how his week is going, he talks about fa...

Credit:

7 Novels to Help You Think About Technology

Most of my reading is nonfiction. That habit is driven, in part, by necessity. As an elder who teaches Sunday school in the local church, I’m often deep into commentaries and monographs that help m...

Credit:

Growing in Spiritual Disciplines

Paul commanded Timothy, “Train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7). The spiritual disciplines are essential to our growth into Christlike maturity, so we must learn to invest ourselves in these pa...

Credit:

Let the Bible’s Sexual Ethic Point You to Christ

We know that our culture’s sexual ethics are anything but biblical. Secular sources like Fox News, Human Rights Campaign, and USA Today report that 20–30 percent of Gen-Z Americans identify as LGBT...

Credit:

How Law and Culture Shape America’s Abortion Conscience

In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that closely held private companies like Hobby Lobby don’t have to provide abortifacient contraceptive drugs in their health coverage. The basis of the majorit...

Credit:

The Trouble with Watching Religious Trends

Here are two headlines you might have seen recently. In September, Barna Group announced, “Young Adults Lead a Resurgence in Church Attendance,” with Gen Z and millennials attending more frequently...

Credit: