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I was reading through the first chapter of James: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” 

What?!

Pure joy?!

I was right in the middle of a trial, and I wouldn’t have immediately thought to consider it pure joy.

But as I thought about it, I realized something. James is not saying, “Look at the trial and feel happy.” No! He knows the visceral emotion partnered with trials is sorrow, not joy. But he says, “Consider it pure joy.” He’s referencing the intensity, not the exclusivity, of the joy. He is not saying, “Have only joy.” He’s saying, “Have the fullness of joy too.” Intensity, not exclusivity. This is important.

This devotion is based on the book Fighting Shadows by Jefferson Bethke and Jon Tyson

Beyond the verifiable emotional and physical benefits of friendship and community, you need to know that were created for community. You were designed for friendship.

Though men are over sexualized in our culture, a man’s sexuality is often the most neglected part of his development. It’s the place we’ve had the least meaningful conversations in our lives. Few men got an adequate sex talk, maybe a simplistic anatomy lesson or a purity lecture, if they got anything at all. When nothing else is talked about, it often leads men to assume sexuality is meant to just work and run itself. And when that doesn’t work, men bury their sexual struggles in silence and shame. Or worse, act them out in a spiral of sin and self-hatred. It’s left men so underdeveloped and stuck.

If you're just diving into the world of Christian apologetics, you're in for an enlightening journey. Apologetics is all about explaining and defending the Christian faith, and having the right resources can make a world of difference. Below, we've compiled a list of the top 5 books that offer a fantastic starting point for beginners.

God instructs us to confess our sins to Him and our Christian community. You need to find people you can be real with, that you trust, and that genuinely care ...

We, as parents and grandparents, have the power - and the responsibility - to build the safe, sustainable culture that Silicon Valley has continually failed to create. For our families, for our communities, and for our world.

The American church is a very married place, with a very specific definition of “family.” My boys and I no longer fit the Christian family mold, which assumes two parents because that’s the way God designed families. Church leaders may design excellent programs and provide for material needs, but they may not know how uncomfortable it can be for the single parent and their child to sit in the pews surrounded by intact families. The very place God ordained to help widows and orphans can be a very hard place for the single parent and their child to be belong.

Pastors and church leaders: We have a remarkable sacred access to both soaring celebration and the deepest of sorrows in our congregation. I was happy to serve as a youth pastor for over six years. We love our church body through summits and valleys. And through it, I know I got some things wrong about grief. What I learned and unlearned in nearly a decade as a hospital chaplain is, I believe, valuable for both patients and pastors, for families and staff, for the pulpit and our prayers.

“Can I make it through November?” Maybe you’ve asked yourself that question recently. The last two elections were hard on your church, and you’re not sure you can white-knuckle your ...

I became a single mother thirteen and a half years ago, when my husband died, leaving me to raise 3 sons who were 9, 12, and 13 years old. Since that time, I have heard countless stories like this one, of women in churches that wanted to care for their families but did not know how. God’s care for single mom Hagar shows us the way.

When I have attended church on these days and been met with the inevitable “Happy Mother’s Day!” I’ve smiled and said, “Thank you” but felt the hurt inside. The well-intentioned greeter doesn’t realize the depth of pain just below the surface. At the height of our fertility treatments, a counselor suggested we skip attending church on these dates, which was good advice.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:10–16 Do we ...

Dear family member, friend, or church leader, Your relationship is important to me. I thank God for bringing you into my life and for the ways you’ve helped me grow. ...

If there’s one thing pastors can be certain of these days it is that their congregations are being discipled by well-funded and aggressive cultural forces to follow their own hearts. ...

One of the many images that Scripture uses to describe those who confess a common faith in Jesus Christ is that of a family (Rom. 8:29; Gal. 6:10; 1 Peter 2:17). By God’s grace, we are adopted into the family of faith (Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1:5). But do we actually know this family? Do we know those who have walked before us as followers of Christ?

Here are Five reasons why pastors should introduce their congregations to theologians of the past:

We sat down with author John Inazu to discuss his new book Learning to Disagree and how he thinks pastors can use his book as a tool to help their congregations ...