Blog Articles and Resources for Pastors and Church Leaders

In Boy Jesus, Joan Taylor provides us with that. Not ponderings, but expertly researched
historical and contextual details that help us make informed guesses about what Jesus’ childhood was like, how he interacted with his family, and how his community helped him prepare for his ministry.

Here are four things Boy Jesus helps us do to know Jesus better:

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Twelve Steps but don’t really know what they are. The coauthor of the Twelve Steps was a hopeless alcoholic named Bill Wilson who found recovery as the result of a Damascus Road–like spiritual experience in a hospital room where he was dying from alcoholism. From that day forward, Bill never drank again.

Every Christian today feels like an outsider in their own culture, and most don’t like it. To resolve that tension, they are tempted to conform to the culture, combat the culture, or cloister themselves from it. But what if we aren’t supposed to resolve the tension but live in it? What if Jesus wants us to be joyful outsiders and engage the culture?

How do we find peace in a world that feels overwhelming? For many, the struggle with anxiety is deeply personal, but the answer may be clearer than you think. J.I. ...

So as we stand in cold December, bodies and hearts leaning toward hope (because if there ever was a time to hope, something inside of us knows that now is it), and yet staring at a pile of bills or a pile of laundry or a pile of amazon boxes that all want to whisper to us: “your life would be better if you didn’t have _____” let us take a moment to receive (to absorb) that God is leading us to the same place He led David.

I’ve been fascinated by biblical prophecy all my life, and nothing encourages me more than God’s predictions about the future. But I don’t make many predictions myself. The Bible is infallible; I’m not. Yet I’m going to predict right now that reading this book will make you feel like the farmer I read about in Kentucky.

We don’t know his name—he hasn’t divulged it, nor the exact location of his farm. But we know what he found. 

Every time I enter a lecture hall at my university, I commence the class with the same two words: “Greetings, theologians!” In the chairs sit art, film, communications, psychology, business, ...

We all want to matter, we want to be valued, we want to make a difference. We want to have a purpose in life. I know that's true of me, and I'm sure it's true of you as well. But where do we find this?

Put yourself in the path of beauty. Make it a habit. This world is filled with plenty of sorrow, and one of the most healing ways we can respond to ...

“I’ve been through a lot, Nona. But this . . . this is a different kind of hurt.” I was catching up with a pastor friend of mine when he ...

While some say that children’s pastors should shy away from "difficult" passages, there are convincing reasons for welcoming the whole story. First, it allows for the possibility of building a solid spiritual foundation. When leaders teach our children the entirety of scripture, it equips them with a foundational understanding of the nature of God. His love. His compassion. His wrath. His mercy. His grace. All of it allows them to see the Bible as a unified message, not a collection of disconnected stories.

If the whole counsel of God is presented within our children’s ministerial programs, children will learn how the Bible helps them to navigate complex issues like suffering, forgiveness, and temptation. Exploring these topics prayerfully and thoughtfully gives kids a chance to navigate life’s challenges with a biblical worldview.

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.

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.

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.

“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 ...