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I write this to you tired. Physically, because we’ve had a taxing week of back-to-back speaking engagements for me, followed by a bout of sickness so severe it took me out for several days and currently has Josh down for the count. I am still struggling with the...
In recent years there has been an increase in Instagram posts and resources encouraging Christians to revert from a Sunday celebration of worship to a Saturday Sabbath. Why is this? To answer this question we have to look at the history of Sabbath and how it transitioned to Sunday worship! The celebration of Christian community and the resurrection of Christ on Sunday has been a standard in the Christian church since the first century, but it’s important to know why the Christians diverged from the Jews on their day of meeting.
We attach a lot of emotion to the topic of creation theories. Sometimes this is because it’s a view we were always raised with and questioning or challenging it feels like breaking apart faith itself. Remember: challenging our worldview doesn’t mean we necessarily walk away from our viewpoint. It forces us to be honest about what we believe and understand the questions skeptics are asking – even skeptics who are fellow Christians.
Two years ago I discussed on Instagram how Christian romance, but specifically the popular book Redeeming Love, have acted as a “gateway drug” to pornography and erotica in the lives of many young women. Testimonies flooded in from women who were recommend this book by older mentors, aunts, friends, and pastor’s wives. Now that the movie is coming out January 21st, I have moved the content of that Instagram talk to a podcast episode and blog post.
If you’ve ever perused the Facebook comments on a popular Christian page, you know exactly why I’m writing this article. Facebook comment threads are a window into raw humanity, are they not? And this is true of all social media, not just Christian pages! So why do Christian commenters seem no different from their unbelieving associates? The attitude, tone, and name-calling is exactly the same – maybe with a few less swears. It doesn’t take a biblical scholar to say: Something isn’t right.
We know God is holy. We know is kind, good, just, gracious, and all the spiritual qualities we observe in Scripture. But if we are image-bearers of Christ… created to echo His creative and loving power… is our playfulness an echo of His heart?
In my interdenominational work I frequently see a “theological pendulum swing”: negative experiences in one corner of Christendom driving believers into the opposite persuasion. Changing opinions are not a problem; they’re often a sign of maturity. The problem? When those believers turn and shout at the corner in which they used to stand, worried everyone who remains there is on the brink of deception.
I can feel the pain and sadness without even hearing their voices. I can read it every Monday when questions are sent in; every week when emails come to the inbox; even face to face in the lives of people I love.
“I’m growing, but he’s not,” they whisper. “What do I do?”
If you’ve been in my corner of the internet for any span of time, you know I use church history to discuss theology, culture, and discernment in this present day. Church history (and history in general!) tells us why we are where are; it offers an explanation for ideas and cultural shifts. It gives context, background, and meaning. Basically – it’s important!
A few months ago I shared on Instagram that we don’t teach our children a gospel message using language like, “Ask Jesus into your heart and…” Many questions arose from what I shared and I want a permanent place to store this information! I think more parents (and pastors) are moving toward clarity in the gospel message, and as we do, I hope this post serves as a jumping-off point for prayerful discussion.