Cutting edge for pastors and ministry leaders.
BY Richard Greene With cancer eating away at her, the Iraqi woman faced a devilish dilemma: convert to Islam and receive treatment or remain true to Christ and die. Ten days later she was dead. The 45-year-old woman and her husband had made the treacherous journey late last summer to the hospital in Mosul in […]
By Katelyn Beaty In all the battles waged by men, one of the most effective ways to destroy the enemy is to destroy its women. Rape and sexual abuse are wartime “strategies” as old as war itself. Yesterday The New York Times ran a devastating report that hundreds of girls as young as 11 have been raped and […]
Christianity in the United States may look very different in 10 years. By Ed Stetzer As someone who both cares about the mission of the church and leads a research organization, I watch the trends in the church and the culture. Occasionally, someone asks me to share some thoughts on the big picture, in the […]
Last week I worshiped in Hong Kong with hundreds of believers at the Wing Kwong Church, a Pentecostal Holiness congregation that has grown from 28 members in 1978 to more than 13,000 today. The modern megachurch, which meets in a sleek six-story building completed in the year 2000, gives thousands of dollars every year to […]
By Trevin Wax (RNS) Whenever people today say Christianity needs to update and adapt its moral standards for the 21st century, I hear echoes from 100 years ago. Back then, the calls for change had less to do with morality and more to do with miracles. But the motivation was similar, and the results are […]
Commentry by Gene Schaerr The briefs are in—over 150 in all—and today the Supreme Court will hear the arguments in the cases on states’ freedom to make marriage policy. Here are highlights of points made in the amicus briefs supporting man-woman marriage laws that the Court should consider: More than 50 million Americans voted to retain the man-woman definition […]
by Randell D. Turner, Ph.D. From our earliest days on the playground, we’ve heard this familiar quote: “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can never hurt you.” Although those may have been useful words for minimizing black eyes, as we grew from boys to men we learned that it isn’t true! Names—or […]
BY Rebekah Simon-Peter Why do good churches die? I’m not talking about churches that have an apparent fatal flaw like mean or nasty people, terrible location, clergy sexual misconduct, uninspiring worship or the like. Churches can and do recover from all of those things. No, I’m talking about good churches that care about […]
By Mark Gregston You want your kids to fulfill every bit of their unique purpose in life. When you first hold your newborn, the future and its possibilities flash through your mind. Will she be a doctor? Will he be a lawyer? I want her to do well. I hope he is like his dad. […]
BY Peter Mead Sage advice we all wish we had heard when we were just starting out. Do you know a young preacher who might benefit? I am way too young to be called a sage, but I don’t get called young any more either. So while there is better advice to be found, […]