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I drove past a rainbow on my way home yesterday. Stripes of color fluttered in the breeze, the flag displayed in my neighbor’s front yard more proclamation than decoration. It’s interesting how a simple piece of fabric woven with a certain pattern of color can make such a bold statement. It’s a symbol of solidarity and inclusion. Of embracing one’s “true self” without shame or reservation. It’s a...
We live in an anti-intellectual age. To grasp this, all we have to do is observe the surrounding culture. Seemingly everywhere we look, our feelings are valued over reality and our emotional experiences over reason. Anti-intellectual Christianity This spirit of anti-intellectualism has not only invaded the culture but the church as well. In worship, sermons, and even evangelism, one’s subjective...
Persecution. It’s a word that those of us in the Western world don’t know a lot about. Maybe we’ve heard it, read about it in the Bible, or heard stories of Christians in other countries experiencing it. But most of us have never been through it. That was my story. I’ve heard testimonies of Christians in Asia and the Middle East getting beaten, arrested, or killed for their faith, but it always...
The gospel is offensive. There’s no getting around it. It was in the early church, it is today, and it will continue to be. People don’t like to hear about sin; they don’t want to need a savior; they don’t like the idea of a God in control. People want truth that’s malleable. They’re looking for instant gratification and something they can bend to fit their desires. They want to be told, “It’s...
Day one at my first internship had a rocky start. I was so excited and nervous I wasn’t thinking straight, and I fumbled over the elevator buttons to get to the second floor! After struggling for a while, a facilities worker who was in the elevator graciously pushed the correct button and got me to the second floor. Thankfully, the rest of my first day got better from there, and that internship...
Recently, I spent an afternoon with my youth group distributing food to people in our community. Somehow, the topic of apologetics came up in a conversation between me and one of the adults. After they told me they have no interest in learning why they believe in Christianity, I asked them one of my favorite questions. “What are you going to do when a friend, who is not a Christian, asks you for...
When I graduated five years ago, I didn’t have a life plan. I remember wrestling with uncertainty, trying to figure out what was next as I attempted to answer the bombardment of What’s next? questions. I felt the suffocating pressure to have my life plan mapped out by graduation day. I’m sure many 2021 graduates can relate. In the five years since I received my diploma, I’ve experienced numerous...
My earliest memory of celebrating Memorial Day is attending a parade at seven years old, waving my flag and cheering wildly when my favorite fire truck honked at me. I understood that freedom was not free, I promise you that. The depth of that truth and the full meaning of the holiday, however, did not cross my mind. That’s how it’s supposed to be when you’re seven years old. Reverent and...
How do you live willing to die? What makes you decide that the lives of others are worth risking your own over and over again? These are questions I was forced to ask myself after watching a movie which depicted WWII. The film told the story of a man who disguised himself as a Nazi officer in order to save hundreds of Jewish lives in Hungary. And, when I came away from the movie, it left me with...
Stop feeding us pizza. Okay, I admit that was a strange way to start an article with such an intense title – but it got your attention, didn’t it? Now, let’s talk about Generation Z and the future of the Church within America. Culture Shift in the Church There is no denying the shift in the culture, but it seems not many understand what that looks like for this generation of teenagers. Otherwise...
rebelling against low expectations
