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→
Hot Topics
Aging With Grace
Do I want to just age gracefully (aka looking younger than one’s stated age) or age with grace, taking joy in this time of life and not try to push back the clock, as if that were possible? Proverbs says Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised and Gray hair is a crown of glory. After all, isn’t my age part of God’s sovereign plan for my life? He decided the year of my birth. Not a decade before. Not a decade after. And if every hair is numbered, th..Continue reading→
X- Rated Counterfeit Grace and Impact of Spectacularly Boring Monogamy
I’m not sure what a happy mom is. Does it take multiple sex partners to be happy? Does it take drug addiction? No, these are enslavement. I am not always happy, but I have the eternal joy of being redeemed from my sin, no longer a slave, and living under the reign of true grace. Gracie “X” is a counterfeit—one that promises fulfillment and excitement but delivers poverty and pain. The counterfeit will never provide true joy and ultimate fulfillment. “Speechless.” That’s what Todd Pruitt titled..Continue reading→
Imago Dei—Male and Female
In western culture the onset of the industrial revolution in the early 18th century radically changed the role of women. When paid work moved increasingly outside the family and into the factories and office buildings, women were left in the home to care for children and other family members, and when they did enter the workforce were still left with brunt of the responsibility for home and childcare. This historical shift had significant implications on our modern economy and in our churches th..Continue reading→
I Overlooked the Rural Poor—Then Trump Came Along
This election has urban evangelicals paying more attention to the plight of small-town America. I never saw the Donald Trump phenomenon coming. Even as someone with many conservative friends and family members, I didn’t know anyone who supported him during his Republican run. But nearly everyone I know either has a college degree—which statistically narrowed one’s chance of voting for Trump in the primaries—or lives in a city, or both. Trump’s ascent ultimately revealed a large demographic of ..Continue reading→
Life & Society
Christian leaders warn against election violence in South Africa
Pre-election violence in South Africa: Locals walk past a shell of a burnt out truck used to barricade roads by protesters in Atteridgeville a township west of Pretoria, South Africa on June 21. Catholic bishops in South Africa have warned against rising violence as next month's municipal elections approach. Bishop Abel Gabuza, chair of the church's Justice and Peace Commission in South Africa, has called a day of "prayer for peace" next Wednesday across all political parties. In a statement sent to the Catholic Information Service for Africa, he says peace in South Africa can never be taken for granted. He calls for "responsibilitiy" and "political maturity" from all. In the statement he writes: "The peace that we currently enjoy in our country should not be taken for granted. To maintain it, it requires the responsibility of all citizens and political maturity of our leaders, especially during the election period. The current levels of political violence ..Continue reading→
‘Gimmicks over gospel’: Group draws flak for using tattoos, booze to raise funds for planting new church
A group that identifies itself under the banner of the so-called "Reformed Christianity" has drawn criticism from mainstream Christian leaders for its method of raising funds—offering tattoos to members and hosting a Bible conference featuring a beer flight, or a sampling of several beers for "taste presentation." The Temple, Arizona-based group called Apologia Studios, which is a part of Apologia Church, is behind the fundraising effort to plant a new church in Hawaii, according to Christian News Network. Marcus Pittman, the leader of Apologia Studios, posted a live video of the tattoo fundraiser to social media on Wednesday. In the footage, a supporter is shown getting a tattoo of the logo for Pirate Christian Radio on his arm. "This is actually a fundraiser for our Apologia Kauai church plant, so people of the church are donating to have another member of the church tattoo them so they can go to Kauai and we can plant a church there," Pittman explains. "So, it's pre..Continue reading→
Emoji Bible: It’s curious and fun, but it doesn’t make God’s Word come alive, says Biblica’s Carl Moeller
A sample from the Emoji Bible. It looks fun to read and could draw young people with its colours and images, but does the emoji Bible app a legitimate form of God's Word? A month after its release, the "Scripture for Millennials," as it is called by its marketer, has drawn not only the frowns of Bible scholars but also the puzzlement of ordinary readers. The app has received only 2.9 out of a 5-star rating in Apple's app store, with many of the people who tried reading the King James Version text, with emoji inserts, harder to read than the traditional all-word Bibles available today, according to Mission Network News. Dr. Carl A. Moeller, CEO of world renowned and 207-year-old Bible translation organisation Biblica, is among the Bible scholars who are giving the app the thumbs down. He says the main problem with the emoji translation is that it fails to translate God's word in all its glory. "Emojis, for all their curious and fun connotations, d..Continue reading→
Corbyn row overshadows Labour report into party antisemitism
The leader of Britain's opposition Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, speaks at the launch of a report into antisemitism within the Labour party. The launch of a Labour Party report into antisemitism in the party has been overshadowed by fresh controversy after an MP was abused by a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and the leader himself was taken to task for comparing Israel to ISIS. The inquiry was launched in April following the suspension of MP Naz Shah and former London mayor Ken Livingstone over claims of antisemitic remarks. However, Labour MP Ruth Smeeth joined the chorus of MPs urging Jeremy Corbyn to resign immediately after she was attacked at the launch of the report, alleging failed to intervene. "I was verbally attacked by a Momentum activist and Jeremy Corbyn supporter who used traditional antisemitic slurs to attack me for being part of a 'media conspiracy'," she said in a statement. "It is beyond belief that someone could come to the launch of a repor..Continue reading→
Movies
Watch: Ben-Hur goes “epic” in a new featurette
With six weeks to go until the film’s release date, Paramount has posted a new Ben-Hur featurette. This one focuses on the film’s “epic” nature, and while it consists mostly of footage that we have seen before, it does have a few new bits. Here is the video, which features soundbites from producer Sean Daniel and co-stars Jack Huston and Morgan Freeman in addition to some snippets from the film: Note the audio clip in which Ilderim (Freeman) tells Judah (Huston), “Defeat your brother, and you’l..Continue reading→
Why is Jesus crying in this image from the new Ben-Hur?
Damaris Media in the UK has posted a set of community resources in connection with the upcoming release of Ben-Hur, including a church discussion guide and a youth activity pack, and along the way they have also provided some new photos from the upcoming film — including an image of Jesus shedding tears while he prays. What is happening in this scene? Two possibilities come to mind — neither of which have been depicted in any previous movie version of Ben-Hur to my knowledge. My first thought wa..Continue reading→
Ben-Hur news round-up: How big a success will it be?
Another week, another quick round-up of Ben-Hur-related news stories. Christian Retailing reports that a 20-minute preview of the film was shown at the Christian Booksellers Association’s Unite 2016 retail show last week: Another movie highlight at the show was an exclusive, 20-minute Ben-Hur preview that followed the Sunday Worship Him! service. The preview included comments from Roma Downey, executive producer of the film and president of LightWorkers Media. [Kevin] McAfee, founder of the Gold..Continue reading→
Popcorn in the pews
When I was in my twenties, my friends referred to the movies as my second church. I could be found there probably as often as I could be found at my regular house of worship, and I probably extolled some films with the same fervor I used when talking about doctrine. When I was asked to participate in the Patheos symposium on nontraditional worship, I was surprised that churches that meet in movie theaters were considered “nontraditional.” It’s been ..Continue reading→
Box office: Tarzan leads a pack of also-rans behind Dory
A Pixar cartoon just kept swimming at the top of the box office this week, while three new releases had openings that ranged from decent to disappointing. The Legend of Tarzan earned an estimated $38.1 million between Thursday and Sunday, which is either good or not-so-good depending on how you spin it. On the one hand, it’s a record for a Tarzan movie (beating the $34.2 million that Disney’s animated Tarzan opened to in 1999), but it’s also not as good as the studio might have hoped for a film ..Continue reading→
Review: Joy
The text at the beginning of Joy, the latest film from director David O. Russell (American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook), says it is “inspired by the true stories of daring women . . . one in particular.” That “one” is Joy Mangano, play..Continue reading→
Review: The Revenant
One of the memorable (and most talked about) scenes in The Revenant is an epic fight between Leonardo DiCaprio and a grizzly bear. The bloody brawl occurs early in the film and is the plot’s inciting incident. Gravely injured by the bear, 1820s frontiersman Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is left for dead by his fellow hunters/fur-traders and must survive in the wilderness in the dead of winter. As if it wasn’t already hard enough to survive the Pawnee tomahawks and arrows, subzero temperatures, blizzards, dehydration, and treacherous men within his own group (most notably Tom Hardy’s villainous character Fitzgerald), Glass must do it all having been maimed, mauled, and flayed by a bear.Continue reading→
Review: Concussion
Concussion tries to achieve the depth and stakes of the Biblical story of Esther, without quite enough unchecked power or genocide to support the claim. The movie is based on real-life Dr. Bennet Omalu’s discovery of the danger of repeated brain trauma sustained by professional football players and his battle to publicize that danger. Oma..Continue reading→
Review: 45 Years
Much about 45 Years makes it clear that it’s adapted from a short story, but nothing more than the moment when Kate (Charlotte Rampling) is surveying the hall in which she intends to host her 45th wedding anniversary party at the end of the week. “So full of history, you see?” says the man showing her the room, wh..Continue reading→
Music
Jon Bauer Celebrates Eight Covenant Award Nominations
Singer/songwriter and recording artist Jon Bauer has received eight GMA Canada Covenant Award nominations, including nods for three of the highest honors Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year, it was recently announced. In addition, Bauer's latest critically-acclaimed recording, The Light In Us, is nominated for Praise & Worship Album of the Year, while the project's "Say Something" is nominat..Continue reading→
Jean Watson Named NewReleaseToday’s Artist Of The Month
Internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter and classically trained violinist Jean Watson has been selected as an Artist of the Month for November 2016 by the influential music discovery portal, NewReleaseToday.com. The site features Watson on its front page, profiling her career and highlighting music from her new CD, WONDER, which released to retail Friday, October 14, 2016 from Suite 28 Records and Shadowlands Music through Naxos of America, ..Continue reading→
The Letter Black Teases New Music
The Letter Black has been relatively quiet since their previous album Rebuild released almost exactly three years ago. However, much to the delight of their fans, the band finally "broke the silence" regarding new music, confirming today on Facebook that they are in the process of working on a new album. Fans won't have to wait long to get a taste as the band also confirmed a sneak peak teaser for Friday, November 18th. Although not many details were revealed beyond that, the band promise..Continue reading→
Trip Lee Drops New Single
For the first time in just over two years, Trip Lee has dropped new music appeasing personal and Reach Records fans alike. The track 'Too Cold' has been gaining hype on Twitter for the past week while snippets and related artwork have been released. Get the single on iTunes by clicking here. Produced by GAWVI, "Too Cold" will appear on Trip Lee's forthcoming mixtape, The Waiting Room, which is set for release on Decem..Continue reading→
Dave Barnes and Porter’s Call Founder Al Andrews Team Up To Create Christmas Book
When the hustle, bustle, and expectations of the holidays were about to overwhelm him, Al Andrews decided to take a late night stroll. Turning up his collar and pulling his jacket a little tighter, Andrews set out to clear his mind--and ended up rediscovering the true meaning behind the Christmas season. His newly updated book, A Walk One Winter Night, is inspired by these real-life events. As he walked, Andrews passed by a nativity display in a neighbor's yard, and something caused him to..Continue reading→
JJ Heller Releases Debut Full-Length Christmas Project ‘Unto Us’ Today
Indie music and radio favorite JJ Heller is releasing her debut full-length Christmas album, UNTO US, today, November 11. Funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign, UNTO US is a blend of traditional holiday songs and new originals that capture the memories and feelings of JJ's youth. "While researching other Christmas records, I was repeatedly drawn to the familiar old classics," she explains. "This music; these memories fill ..Continue reading→
Jason Crabb Partners With New Day To Distribute ‘Jase The Crabb’ Children’s Book Series
Grammy winner Jason Crabb has partnered with New Day Christian Distributers to make his "Jase® the Crabb" Children's book series available to the Christian retail market. Lifeway Christian Stores and independent retailers will carry the series along with the "Jase® the Crabb" plush figure. The ten-book series follows the Ten Commandments and is a perfect way to teach children the basics of the Bible.Continue reading→
Austin & Lindsey Adamec Release First Christmas Single
Radiate Music husband wife duo Austin & Lindsey Adamec premiere their first Christmas single, "Welcome To The World You Made," today (Nov. 11) from Radiate Music. Available now at iTunes, Apple Music and other major digital retailers, the song is also going for radio airplay and its lyric video can be seen on YouTube. While working on their full-length album, slated to release spring 2017, and following the release of their critical..Continue reading→
Yancy Releases New Christmas EP
Kid-friendly Christian singer-songwriter Yancy has released her first new Christmas music in 7 years. Little Drummer Boy, her new 3-song EP, is quickly becoming a holiday favorite for all ages and is available now via Syntax Distribution at iTunes. Along with the driving title track, Yancy has crafted unique new recordings of the seasonal standard "Silent Night" and the contemporary c..Continue reading→