Books

Preaching at our moment in history is perilous. People find offense and can easily find some other voice that will say what they want to hear. How do we move forward?

Recognizing the Bible as literature opens us up to a fuller appreciation of the holy book than if we treat it like an instruction manual or to-do list. The Bible is a bibliography of genres, including poetry, song, lament, prophecy, history, narrative, parables, letters, dreams, and so forth.

Deep down, I think we live with the fear of being on our own, without someone to love and care for us, exposed to everything life throws at us. But every Christian has a heavenly Father who will never leave them. The Spirit makes us aware of that truth, reminds us of it, and helps us feel it.

About 20% of those who lose a loved one experience an unrelenting mental health condition known as “complicated grief.” Of course, these numbers do not even touch the grief resulting from job loss, the pandemic and other bereavements. Grief abounds. That’s why Tim Challies’ Seasons of Sorrow is particularly relevant for anyone in ministry and counseling.

For believers in Jesus—and for everyone on the planet, actually—the answers we search for reside in one place. It’s not in our own minds, in the opinions of others, or in a search engine, but in the timeless truth of God’s Word.

As God begins to speak with you about your future, understand that it will take time to achieve clarity. Understand that you did not get into your current season of in-between overnight, and no silver prayer bullet or program will lead you out.

As time-bound creatures, we struggle all the more with the notion of eternity. We cannot imagine any kind of experience or reality that is not defined by time. The very concept almost overwhelms our rational capacity.

Recreating is not ending the church. It is redesigning your current space with the original mission in mind, to win people to Jesus. Do not allow fear to control the church's faith.