Articles
Why Are Women Leaving the Church?
Women have always attended church at higher rates than men, but that may be changing. From 2003 to 2019, women’s attendance dropped from 48 percent to 31 percent. In that same period, men’s church attendance dropped from 37 percent to 31 percent, meaning that women...
Do Christians Really Need to Attend Church?
It’s one of the most common statements you’ll hear regarding church attendance: “I don’t need church to have a relationship with God.” What’s at the heart of this contentious remark? While one can certainly “have a relationship” of some kind with God without attending...
Discipline, Discipline, Discipline
A 2007 study showed that 88 percent of people who set New Year’s resolutions failed, although 52 percent of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning.1 If you are tired of trying to renew your mind and get closer to God only to fail in the...
Beginning with God
One of the ways I got around sabbath-keeping for so long is that I dismissed it as “a Jewish thing” that had very little to do with me. It was certainly a nice idea, but I wasn’t convinced it was something important from God for me. I am not alone in this; it seems...
Guided By My Shepherd
I will fear no evil, for you are with me. (Psalm 23:4) Psalm 23 is a good word for every stage of our lives. In it, David reminds us that “he guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). My Good Shepherd has it in his heart to guide me along the...
Self-Care and Mourning: How to Overcome Grief Without Losing Yourself in the Process
Even though all of us struggle with grief at one time or another, we all tend to feel as though we’re facing it alone – and along with the grief of missing a loved one, we often also experience chills, aches, sleeplessness, and fatigue. Some days, it may even feel...
Teaching Your Teenager to Ask Questions
Success in life is greatly impacted by how we relate to people. If teenagers do not learn positive social skills at home, where will they learn them? The reality is that many adults lose jobs, marriages, and mental health because they never learned how to relate to...
Abiding Dependence: The Central Work of Jesus
The central work of Jesus as He lived His daily life was to rest in and to stay with the Father. Jesus held to an attitude of reliance, of abiding, the Father in the Son and the Son in the Father; He breathed, lived, spoke, and moved as one with His Father. Jesus had...
Recapturing Your Calling
One obstacle that every leader confronts is discouragement. I’ve often heard something like this: “Jim, can I tell you something? I’m feeling defeated. I find myself in front of the church preaching, putting on a happy face, but inside I’m discouraged, worn down,...
Bad Motives for Productivity
I love motivational posters. You know the ones; there’s a photograph of a mountain or an eagle above a single word like “Teamwork” or “Discipline.” I find these posters humorous because they’re usually found in spaces that are completely incongruous with the scenes...
When God’s Plan Doesn’t Make Sense
It’s almost anniversary time again. I call it the death-i-versary. The date on the calendar prompts me to take notice of the reality of the fatal crash. A reminder of the motorcycle accident that ushered my husband of 28 years into heaven. Saying goodbye to a loved...
Making Room in Advent
Advent, which means “coming, or arrival,” is a gestation process. It is a season of allowing Christ to be formed in us as we also are formed in him. It is also a threshold time, a season of transition between what is and what will be. As participants in Advent then,...
Jesus-Approved Self-Care
Fausto comes into my office for his therapy appointment balancing his coffee and backpack in one hand and holding his phone in the other. He acknowledges me with an apologetic smile as he ends his conversation, takes a sip of his too-hot coffee, and sits heavily in...
Would You Like God to Give You a Word for the Year?
Holly and Glenn Packiam practice life-giving rhythms to experience freedom and abundance as they abide in Christ. In this excerpt from their book, The Intentional Year, Glenn gives guidance on living into a word for the year. I grew up in a church that believed in...
How Busy People Can Read More
Warren Buffett reads 4-5 hours per day—he considers it an important part of his work. Bill Gates reads an average of one book per week, which is equivalent to what the average CEO does. Rick Warren starting reading two books per week at age 14, and says that at one...
How the Pandemic Led to Greater Collaboration for the Gospel
It’s no secret that the pandemic drastically altered many church plans and ministry efforts, leading many to seek creative ways to continue doing ministry. At Jesus Film Project®, it was no different. Our translation and recording teams could no longer travel to other...
Building Community post-Covid
One of the lessons of the pandemic is how important relationships and social connections are. People don’t do well without them! And more than ever, people are aware of that and are looking for places to connect. “Connection” has gone from a good idea to a primary...
Why Women Matter in Ministry
Women have held some of the most important roles in the story of Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, there are countless examples of the impact of women in Biblical history. One of the best-known biblical stories about women features Mary and Martha, who were...
Leadership in a post-Covid world
Coming out of Covid, most church leaders are wrestling with how to do ministry in a new world. Covid changed everything, and it happened in a time that was already tumultuous—Black Lives Matter, the transgender debate, abortion rights, economic upheaval, etc. To say...
Subversive Mission
Didn’t Jesus call us to go out into all the world to make disciples and build his upside-down kingdom? Didn’t God call us to bring good news to the poor, freedom for those in captivity, and comfort to those who mourn? In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul describes five...
