By Karen Swank This week I am renewing a promise I had made to myself, and then broken: I am done with church services focused on celebrating roles instead of worshiping God. Mother’s Day is, for some, one of the most brutal church services of the year. Oh, it’s sweet for some, and I don’t … Continue reading Holidays in Church: What Are We Doing Here?
By Jon and Mindy Hirst This article is a conversation between four people. Throughout the article, you will see initials in parentheses. These identify the contributor who shared that particular thought. The streets are quiet except for the distant sound of sirens echoing through the rows of high-rises (CW), across the rice fields, through the … Continue reading The Church’s Response to Global Pandemic: AIDS, Influenza, and Missions
By Josh Harrod Casper I had read bits and pieces of her life through other works – who she was and who she is helping others become through her story. Dorothy Day was the founder of the Catholic Workers Movement, along with “co-founder/conspirator” Peter Maurin. Peter had led an interesting life himself, traveling from his … Continue reading What I’m Learning from Dorothy Day
By Serena Woods I spend a lot of time thinking about the countless numbers of people who want to know more about God and desire a relationship with Jesus, but won’t go to church because of the people in it. The life of a believer is a process by which an individual of flesh and … Continue reading Churches and the Freedom to Discover
By Karen Swank It was Saturday, hours before the sun would rise, and I was wide awake. Saturday is my sleeping-in morning – the time that absorbs the impact of the other six days, which generally require me to wake up at 5 a.m. and run until what feels like Past My Bedtime. But that … Continue reading Rediscovering Rest
By Lee Adams “Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” Every great movement? That’s a pretty bold statement from D.L. Moody. Can the prayer of one individual truly bear such power? I mean, Jesus gave us authority over all things, the ability to move mountains and what-not, but most of … Continue reading The Power Of Prayer: From Prosperity to Movement
By Jonathan Foster In the Colorado Rockies a couple of years ago while hiking with my then seven year-old son, we found ourselves in the middle of a stream trying to navigate our way back to our family. At one point our trail divided with one way being noticeably more difficult to hike than the … Continue reading The Failure of Church Marketing
By Harold Vance “The Kingdom of God is within you,” Tolstoy wrote, After Jesus spoke. In a greater statement, Truth never made its home. For the Kingdom of God, The Kingdom of Heaven, Is in your smile; In the way your warmth enters into my soul; In the way the sun cannot hope to burn … Continue reading The Kingdom of God Is Within You
By Brooke Luby Broken beds hold rotting mattresses Where broken hearts entertain rotting lust Deep pain mistaken as fleeting pleasure Stringy dull hair hangs over battered eye-liner heavy eyes It wasn’t always like this He swept his fathers shop but was beaten when he missed a spot She picked flowers and fetched water for her … Continue reading The Brothel – A Poem
By Tom Batterson Where have I witnessed God working lately? I have been sick (influenza). Now, you may be expecting a message about how God healed me, saving me from the anguish of this terrible virus. But that is not what He had in mind. I say, “He had in mind,” because that is exactly … Continue reading Sabbath Rests and Influenza