Last spring I had the privilege of speaking at a conference for NFL players put on by Pro Athletes Outreach (PAO), a group which exists to unite a community of pro athletes and couples to grow as disciples of Jesus and positively impact their spheres of influence. They have a fantastic outreach to professional football and baseball athletes and their wives. I’ve seen firsthand the amazing difference they’re making. In the off-season I exchanged emails and texts with dozens of NFL players and cha..Continue reading→
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Thoughts
Motherhood Is a Marathon
I wanted to do great things for God. In the spring of my senior year of college, on the brink of embarking upon my own journey into adulthood, my future was undecided and that was simultaneously terrifying and thrilling. As a philosophy major, my path was narrower than I had realized, but I was sure it would take me on some grand and glorious adventure. I knew the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. “Glorify” sounds like such a grand term. It evokes images of battlefie..Continue reading→
1 Peter 5:7–8: How Not to Battle Anxiety
Anxieties attack our faith and torment our peace. The question with anxiety is not whether it will come, but rather, how can I fight it when it does? Watch NowContinue reading→
Is Love of Money Really the Root of All Evils?
Is the love of money the “root of all evils” or only the “root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10)? “All evils” is the formal English equivalent of the original Greek (pantōn tōn kakōn). It is remarkable that all older versions of the Bible translate 1 Timothy 6:10 in the more literal way: “The love of money is the root of all evils” (or all evil). This includes the Wycliffe Bible, Luther Bibel, Geneva Bible, King James Version, Douay-Rheims, Darby Bible, and Revised Standard Version. Bu..Continue reading→
Church & Ministries
Obama writes to Abedini, praising him for his ‘unyielding faith and courage in the face of great adversity’
Pastor Saeed Abedini shares this copy of President Barack Obama's letter to him. U.S. President Barack Obama has written a letter to Pastor Saeed Abedini in response to the latter's letter thanking the President for helping him regain his freedom after spending more than three years in an Iranian prison. "Thank you for taking the time to write to me to express your gratitude. As President, I made a vow that our country would do everything in its power to win y..Continue reading→
Anne Graham Lotz explains what ‘evangelical feminism’ is all about
Anne Graham Lotz defines 'evangelical feminists' as women 'who know what they believe [and] who are strong in their convictions.' Billy Graham's daughter Anne Graham Lotz is proud to be an "evangelical feminist." For those curious, Lotz explains that an "evangelical feminist" is a woman "who is a strong, bold, free-spirited leader inside and outside of her home, unashamed of her faith in God, His Word, His Son, and His gospel." In an article for Ch..Continue reading→
What must women do when their husbands confess to porn addiction? XXX Church shows the way
It feels like a huge betrayal for a wife when her husband confesses to looking at porn. However, XXX Church—an online ministry dedicated to helping people with porn and sex addiction—believes that marriage can still be saved after this painful revelation. "Good, Christ-filled men are trying to do what is right when it comes to lust," Jeanette Gross writes in the group's website, adding that there is a huge difference between men who confess about their porn addictions to those who simply ..Continue reading→
Billy Graham tells Christians to be grateful for the jobs they have: ‘Work has dignity in the eyes of God’
Billy Graham says, 'Like a deadly virus, sin now corrupts everything we do, including our work.' Does God care about what livelihood and careers Christians get into? If you ask world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham, then the answer would be yes. "God cares about every part of our lives—including our jobs," he writes in an advice column for The Bradenton Herald. "After all, every workday our jobs probably consume at least a third of our time—so why wouldn'..Continue reading→
Hot Topics
Before You Sought Him (Bernard)
“‘I have sought,’ she says, ‘him whom my soul loves’ (Sg 3:1). This is what the kindness of Him who goes before you urges you to do, He who both sought you first and loved you first (1 Jn 4:10). You would not be seeking Him or loving Him unless you had first been sought and loved. You have been forestalled not only in one blessing (Gn 27:28) but in two, in love and in seeking. The love is the cause of the seeking, and the seeking is the fruit of the love; and it is its guarantee. You are loved, ..Continue reading→
Because I Can
There has been quite a bit of outrage over “Christian leaders” who have endorsed a man who boasted about sexually assaulting a woman, and we should be appalled. Our witness as Christians is a travesty when we enable those who demean God’s image-bearers, mock His standard of righteousness, and commit civil crimes. But our criticism for these “leaders” will rise up and condemn us if we do nothing when domestic and child sexual abuse occurs in our backyard… I first shared this story in the light o..Continue reading→
Cultural Apologetics Pt.3: A Holy People
In this time of cultural collapse and social unrest, this is an exciting time to be a Christian. Though the world rejects our message, there has doubtless never been a time when it needed it more. So for genuine human flourishing and for the glory of God our Creator and Redeemer, the world needs to hear the message of authentic, life-giving holiness. In modern times there has been a long-standing debate. The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach (1804 – 1872) deeply criticized Christianity as a m..Continue reading→
Seeking Clarity in this Confusing Election Season: Ten Thoughts
There is a tendency, on both sides, to treat “our side” differently than we treat “their side.” Would the same Christian leaders excusing Trump’s statements ever think to excuse the same from Clinton (Bill or Hillary)? Of course not. Would liberals be overlooking Bill Clinton’s treatment of women (and Hillary’s role in downplaying or silencing accusations) if a Republican candidate (or spouse) had the same trail of serious allegations? No way. So much of politics is “defend our guy at all costs”..Continue reading→
Life & Society
Oklahoma Woman, Adult Daughter Charged With Incest After Authorities Learn of ‘Marriage’
DUNCAN, Okla. — An Oklahoma woman and her adult daughter are behind bars after authorities discovered that they were involved in an incestuous relationship in “marrying” each other earlier this year. According to reports, the Department of Human Services (DHS) contacted the Duncan Police Department after visiting the home of Patricia Spann, 43, for a child welfare investigation. It found that Spann was living with three of her children, who had been previously taken from her custody and adopted..Continue reading→
Obama Nominates Nation’s First Muslim Federal Judge
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama has nominated a Muslim attorney to the federal court circuit, who if approved, would be the first Islamic judge in American history. Abid Qureshi serves in Washington, D.C. at the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, where he specializes in cases involving the False Claims Act, health care fraud and securities violations. A graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School, Qureshi has been a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association’s Legal Ethics Committee for..Continue reading→
New Hampshire City Votes to Reinstall Ten Commandments Monument Toppled by Vandal
SOMERSWORTH, N.H. — The city council of one New Hampshire municipality has voted to reinstall a Ten Commandments monument next to city hall after it was toppled last month by an unknown vandal. The Somersworth City Council voted 7-2 on Tuesday to restore the display to its previous position, and add flagpoles and historic markers to help “neutralize” its presence. “The city manager and I have worked out a plan which would further neutralize the monument thus ensuring that it would meet all fut..Continue reading→
Son of radical imam reveals ISIS plot to murder Christians using chainsaws
A Belgian soldier patrols along a market in central Brussels, Belgium. ISIS reportedly has a dastardly plot to murder Christians. The radical terrorist group often kills Christians through bombings and public beheadings, but this time, they plan to eliminate the followers of Christ using chainsaws. The plan was bared by the teenage son of a radical imam, according to The Mirror. The teenager, who cannot be named, informed the police of the plot after he was arrested for walking down a s..Continue reading→
Movies
Box office: Fantastic Beasts underperforms Harry Potter in North America but outperforms it elsewhere
J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world came roaring back to the big screen this week. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first in a series of prequels that take place several decades before Harry Potter is born, earned an estimated $75 million in the U.S. and Canada between Thursday and Sunday nights. That’s the least that any Harry Potter film has made in its first weekend in North America.1 However, the film earned another $143.3 million overseas and reportedly beat the first weekends of all..Continue reading→
The Broken Hands of Doctor Strange
What Marvel’s latest hero movie teaches us about engaging suffering. I felt uncomfortable as my friend Danny and I sat down to watch the latest Marvel comic book movie. He and I have been watching big-screen heroes together for more than 20 years. From The Hobbit to Harry Potter, from Star Wars to The Matrix, from Batman to Ant-Man, we love these stories of lonely characters who are catapulted out of their comfort zones, reluctantly recruited into rebellions against evil, and transformed into s..Continue reading→
To everyone telling me to be quiet and trust God after this election
Photo via Flicker. From New Life Church Colingwood. CC Licensing. Again, apologies. I know: I’m the movie guy. And trust me, next week, you’re going to get movie stuff. Thoughts on “Moana,” “Arrival” and possibly the return to the Harry Potter universe. Plus, my thoughts on some pop culture I’m thankful for and a fun new series just for the holidays that I’m extremely excited about. But this election rocked the church. So, indulge me, please. Ever since the election, I’ve seen attempts by mysel..Continue reading→
A Quiet Love Story Speaks Volumes in ‘Loving’
The film portrays the interracial couple who made history. Rich and Mildred Loving love each other. It’s as simple as that. Living in a seemingly serene pocket of rural Virginia, the two travel to Washington, DC, after Mildred gets pregnant and marry in the simplest of ceremonies. The Lovings want what any couple in 1958 wants: to own a home close to their families, to raise a family of their own, and to live in peace. However, the outside world can’t see anything but what they’ve deemed unac..Continue reading→
“Facing Darkness” wins Best Feature Documentary Premiere Award at 2016 Heartland Film Festival
“Facing Darkness” wins Best Feature Documentary Premiere Award at 2016 Heartland Film Festival November 15th, 2016 True story of race against time to save American medical missionaries stricken with Ebola comes to theaters, one night only, March 30, 2017 “Facing Darkness—a documentary from Samaritan’s Purse and Executive Producer Franklin Graham—claimed the Best Feature Documentary Premiere Award at the 2016 Heartland Film Festival. FACING DARKNESS brings to life the true story of Brantly a..Continue reading→
Paul Verhoeven still wants to make that movie about Jesus
Paul Verhoeven — the man behind such sci-fi hits as RoboCop and Starship Troopers, plus such sexually charged films as Basic Instinct and Showgirls — has been talking about making a movie about Jesus for almost thirty years now, ever since he first attended a meeting of the Jesus Seminar in 1988. The subject came up again this week when Verhoeven — whose subversive critical hit Elle gets a limited release in U.S. theatres today — spoke to ComingSoon.net to promote his newest film. Here’s a key b..Continue reading→
MGM reports a $47.8 million write-down on Ben-Hur
Love it or hate it, Timur Bekmambetov’s remake of Ben-Hur was one of the year’s biggest flops. And now one of the studios behind the film has revealed just how badly it hurt their profits. Deadline reports that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which paid 80% of the film’s production costs (the remaining 20% was paid by Paramount, the studio that distributed the film), told its investors this week that the box-office failure of Ben-Hur led to a $47.8 million write-down for the fiscal quarter between July and..Continue reading→
New images from two upcoming “faith-based” films
It’s been a bit quiet at the blog here lately. Here are two new images from a couple of “faith-based” films that are coming out early next year. Octavia Spencer, who plays one manifestation of God the Father aka “Papa” in The Shack, posted the second image from the film to her Instagram account last night (the first image — posted a week ago — showed Aviv Alush as Jesus in the film): Meanwhile, Paramount released this poster for Same Kind of Different as Me: Same Kind of Different as Me opens F..Continue reading→
Losing my evangelical home
Photo by Art4theglryofGod Photography By Sharon, Flicker, CC Licensing. I promise we’ll get back to movies shortly. Given the events of this week, I wanted to post this, originally from my Facebook account. It has been edited for length. I am surprised how angry and depressed I felt seeing the election results. To think that Donald Trump is the next President of the United States still seems unreal. I have no clue how a man with such a short fuse and no political experience will govern. I’m terr..Continue reading→
Music
New Release Today Premieres Carmen Justice’s New Video For ‘Flaming Arrows’
Recently Carmen Justice announced her departure from pop girl group 1 Girl Nation (1GN) and that she was embarking on a new journey as a solo artist, and this morning she premiered her new sound, new look and new video for her debut single "Flaming Arrows" as seen exclusively on New Release Today. RELATED 1GN Disbands, Former Lead Singer Carmen Justice Steps Out As Solo Artist The video, directed by Matt Hadley of Wander Creative Productions, was shot in Franklin, TN at the Imago Dei boutique ..Continue reading→
Beleaf Releases New Single, Video
Rapper Beleaf just energized fans with a new, previously unreleased single "No Chill," and an accompanying music video. This kicked off a campaign for fans to pre-order his forthcoming album--which currently is untitled and doesn't have an official release date. You may pre-order here (http//www.kingsdreament.com/no-chill-preorder). Check out the audio and music video for "No Chill" here. Baltimore native Beleaf Melanin is a man of many talents. His last release, 2014's Red Pills Blac..Continue reading→
Entertainment One Garners 30 Nominations For The 2017 Stellar Awards
Entertainment One garners a diverse breadth of nominations for the upcoming 32nd Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, with 30 nominations across 16 categories, and multiple nominations in major categories including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Albertina Walker Female Vocalist of the Year, and Choir of the Year. A total of 9 artists are nominated for their chart-topping mix of powerful albums and live projects released over the past year, led by Hezekiah Walke..Continue reading→
Tedashii Kicks Off 2017 With The Release Of New Single ‘Free’
Hip-hop recording artist, TEDASHII, kicks off 2017 with the release of his brand new single "FREE," available for purchase (here) and streaming across all DSPs via Reach Records today (January 20). A carefree installment to his decade-long body of work, the record sets the tone for what's to come from the fearless rapper this year. "This is a song all about freedom," Tedashii explains, "Freedom of expression artistically and musically and truly, freedom to be myself." RELATED Tedashii Rele..Continue reading→
Matt Hammitt Surprises Audiences With ‘United Again’ Single Release On Inauguration Day
Addressing the current state of division among the nation, GRAMMY® nominated Matt Hammitt debuts the lyric video for single "United Again" (FCM Records, Seth Mosley), encouraging communities to find strength and unity among God. Amid protests and demonstrations on Inauguration Day, the song serves as an anthem for the Church, unifying those who feel disheartened by the present political climate. RELATED Former Sanctus Real Frontman Matt Hammitt Debuts Single 'Tears' "Today, it seems ..Continue reading→
‘American Idol’ Finalist Chris Sligh Releases New Single
"American Idol" Top 10 finalist, Chris Sligh, is releasing a new song to Christian radio today. "Worthy", the debut single from Sligh's recently-released CD, goes for adds to Christian AC and Christian CHR/Hot AC-formatted radio stations. "Worthy", featuring acclaimed singer/songwriter Kayla Bailey, is one of 11 songs on the electropop/worship project titled "Mighty Roar/Healing Flood." RELATED 'American Idol' Finalist Chris Sligh Releases New Album Sligh's new music, his f..Continue reading→
David Dunn Premieres New Live Studio Music Video For ‘I Wanna Go Back’
David Dunn premieres a new live studio music video for "I Wanna Go Back" exclusively with CCM Magazine today. The single is from his forthcoming album Yellow Balloons, which is set to release on February 17. "I Wanna Go Back" is continuing to climb the charts and has landed in the Top 5 on the Hot AC/CHR chart and debuted in the Top 30 at AC Monitored and Christian Airplay chart this week. Click below to view the video. RELATED David Dunn Debuts Music Video For New Single 'I Wanna Go Back&..Continue reading→
Former Sanctus Real Frontman Matt Hammitt Debuts Single ‘Tears’
GRAMMY® nominated Matt Hammitt debuts latest single "Tears," as a part of the second solo project of his career. Going for adds on Feb. 3, the song will impact AC and Hot AC/CHR radio and has already hit No. 1 on Play MPE's Top 20 Christian downloads and streams. Hammitt is the first signed writer to Songs for FCM, the Full Circle Music publishing company helmed by GRAMMY® winning producer Seth Mosley. In the Spring of 2017, Hammitt will release his full-length studio album featuring the si..Continue reading→
Ellie Holcomb Premieres New Music Video For ‘Find You Here’ Exclusively With Billboard Online
Singer songwriter Ellie Holcomb will release her sophomore album, Red Sea Road, next week on January 27. In anticipation of her forthcoming release, today Billboard.com premiered her music video for the single "Find You Here," which is also the new album's current radio single. Click below to view Holcomb's video taped in the Appalachian Mountains over a 48 hour girls' road trip. The video can also be viewed here courtesy of Billboard online. RELATED Ellie Holcomb To Release Sop..Continue reading→