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It is not the man who has not struggled who makes a great champion for Christ. It is the one who has overcome by the power of Christ. And there is no overcoming without the struggle arriving first.

Every definition and synonym cited for blessed relates to holiness. Virtually nothing relates to happiness, though a few dictionaries acknowledge that it once meant “happy.”

“Fewer people treat the Word of God as inerrant. They see it as viewpoint, which means we have to do a better job of teaching the Word of God as truth.”—Randy Bezet

Yet within the Christian community, where openness and grace should flow the richest and deepest, where the masks are meant to come off and safety offered to all, owning depression is virtually taboo. There is an unwritten rule that people of faith shouldn’t be depressed.

The world is changing rapidly. Globalization, the expansion of cities and the increase of the middle class have created new and different opportunities for...

Perhaps it’s because the strained connections and harsh words feed into my own insecurities.  Or maybe it’s because there are so many more of the blessed times.

“It’s been a time of such division. The church started getting angry at the world, and the world angry at the church, and then the church at the church.”—Rick Bezet

In a church, the faces the congregation sees on the stage matter. If all the faces are the same race, gender, or age, they often assume that’s who’s welcome in that church.