Articles
Bible Mystery and the Wonder of Scripture
Bible Mystery Invites Us Beyond Easy Answers When my wife and I are enjoying a television series together, I’m simply trying to let myself be hypnotized by the story; it’s one of the few times in my life when I like experiencing in the concrete instead of analyzing in...
Resilient Church Leadership Through Biblical Administration
Building Resilient Church Leadership Through Nested Communities Nestedness is a structure in which similar versions of the same spe-cies occur iteratively as a means of protecting biodiversity. One way to visualize nestedness is to imagine a series of islands...
Release Rest Remain: A Rhythm of Abiding
First, Breathe… Why Release Rest Remain Matters I don’t know what it took for you to carve out this moment. Maybe sitting with this book open on your lap meant leaving the full inbox that demands your attention, taking a much-needed break from your children, or...
Listening Skills That Transform Relationships
Why Listening Skills Matter More Than We Think FIFTY PERCENT IS FAILING If you think about it, listening skills account for at least 50 percent of your conversation, because they require you to be in tune to the information and communication that’s being transmitted...
Pursuing Holiness and Intimacy With Jesus
Pursuing Holiness Means Living in His Presence In my sixty- six years of being a citizen of the USA, I’ve been under the leadership of eleven presidents. I’ve been under their authority; their decisions have affected my life and shaped my community’s way of living....
A Journey Through Doubt Often Begins With Questions
If you were to use one word to sum up your entire faith story thus far, what would it be? Believing, hopeful, trusting, or persevering? What about questioning, waiting, or searching? A Journey Through Doubt Is Not the End of Faith When you think of the apostle...
Practice Solitude for Spiritual Renewal
Why Leaders Must Practice Solitude When we look at the life of Jesus, we see a busy man. He’s healing the sick, he’s feeding the poor, he’s preaching the good news to the world, he’s developing the leaders around him, and he’s fulfilling his mission on earth. However,...
The Power of a Seed and Lasting Legacy
The Power of a Seed Begins With Faith Orthodox Seed In 1963, Israeli archaeologists were excavating Herod the Great’s palace at Masada. As they dug, they found the usual suspects—ancient artifacts, artistic fragments, even some skeletal remains. But the most curious...
Growing Up Saved and Finding the True Love of Jesus
Growing Up Saved and Learning About Faith I’m three years old, sitting on the stairs at my aunt’s house during a family gathering. I’ve just said something funny, and my aunt takes out her camcorder to have me say it again. “Tell me what you said again, Kristen. Where...
World Cup Outreach Opportunities for Churches
Why World Cup Outreach Matters in 2026 This summer, the world will gather to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It’s estimated that more than 5 billion people (a staggering 70% of the global population) will engage with the tournament in some way. For the first time in...
Does God Like Me? Understanding God’s Love
Does God Like Me? Questions Many Christians Ask Psalm 139 helps us see how God’s intimate knowledge of us should bring us comfort. That, in essence, is the goal of this book: to understand the blessing of being known and loved by God so that we can live confidently in...
Love Languages Strengthen Relationships
Love Languages Go Beyond a Single Expression of Love The 5 Love Languages explains how everyone has a primary love language, one that resonates most deeply. But it’s rarely the only way that person feels loved. A secondary love language can be incredibly important,...
God’s Impartial Love Reveals Our True Identity
Impartial Love Shapes How We See Humanity From the start, God welcomed humanity . . . This is life in the ancient Near East: Families rise in their stone homes, greeted by the melodic chanting of voices as the light of dawn breaks over the horizon. Grand temples and...
Unshakable Faith in a Culture of Compromise
When Truth Gets Twisted: How Secular Culture Is Rewriting Christianity from Within “My dear Wormwood, I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian . . . There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a...
Deep Conversations Build Meaningful Relationships
Deep Conversations Create Authentic Connection “Friends, do I have permission to go deep with you?” This is how I start many of my keynote talks, because I’ve learned over time that if you give people a choice to go somewhere meaningful with you, most will. Most...
Why Every Christian Needs a Rule of Life
A Rule of Life Helps Christians Grow Intentionally Last spring, my kids and I planted a garden. We’re novice gardeners, but we like getting our hands dirty and we aspire to eat more vegetables. So, in great hope, we planted lettuce, kale, squash, and a variety of...
Let Go of Control and Trust God’s Timing
Why Christians Must Let Go of Control The stars are always brighter when you drive up into the Rocky Mountains. But one night during the first week of my final year in college, I didn’t make the drive joyfully. I was frustrated. I was an intern at a ministry called...
Songs of Exodus and the Christian Pilgrimage
Songs of Exodus Remind Us We Are Pilgrims Seventh grade is rough. If you know someone who absolutely loved seventh grade, you also know a lot of people who don’t like that person. You are fully aware of yourself and your place in the social order. You know exactly...
Mature Leaders Are Disciples First
Leadership Requires Maturity in Christian Leadership We are in desperate need of leaders who are maturing. We are in desperate need of leaders who are even more fruitful. But what does being fruitful as a leader mean? Leadership Requires Maturity Beyond Church Growth...
Christian Hospitality Matters in Everyday Life
Christian Hospitality Means Welcoming People Into Real Life There’s a scene at the beginning of The Hobbit where a group of dwarves overruns the home of the protagonist hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo had sort of reluctantly—and mistakenly—invited the wizard, Gandalf, to...
