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→
Home
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
Military’s Highest Court Denies Marine’s Religious Liberty Claim
In the majority opinion, the judges noted that because Sterling did not indicate until during her trial that the signs had any religious significance to her, the words on the signs could have been interpreted as being “combative in tone.” They concluded the order to remove the signs was valid and did not place a “substantial burden” on her exercise of religion. But in a dissenting opinion, Judge Kevin A. Ohlson argued that, in its decision, the CAAF went far beyond what was necessary to decide S..Continue reading→
This Republican Mayor Has An Incredibly Simple Idea To Help The Homeless. And It Seems To Be Working
In partnership with a local nonprofit that serves the homeless population, a van is dispatched around the city to pick up panhandlers who are interested in working. The job pays $9 an hour, which is above minimum wage, and provides a lunch. At the end of the shift, the participants are offered overnight shelter as needed. Republican Mayor Richard Berry was driving around Albuquerque last year when he saw a man on a street corner holding a sign that read: “Want a Job. Anything Helps.” Throughou..Continue reading→
How Much Should a Christian Olympian Give Up for Gold?
Three-time gold medalist Josh Davis and Rio correspondent Tim Ellsworth on picking between evangelism and family, the athlete’s faith community, and what the Games have in common with missions trips. Did you see the Americans’ sweep the hurdles last night? Do you go to bed at night still thinking about Katie Ledecky breaking her own world records? Do you have dozens of hours of unwatched pool play handball games on your DVR? We have a podcast for you. Two-time Olympian Josh Davis—who swam wit..Continue reading→
Whose Hate? Which Victims?
“So what do victim impact statements and the concept of hate crime have in common? They both point to an evaluation of the moral significance of criminal acts, and of victimhood, that prioritizes the psychological and the subjective.” One of the great problems in today’s world is that hate is rather limited in scope. For society to flourish, we really need more hate—or at least a broader understanding of what hate is. Confused? Well, bear with me a moment while I explain. Last week The Spectat..Continue reading→
Life & Society
Do You Live Like Your Story Matters?
Because of our natural human fixation on “the seen,” we tend to think only of the impact of our story in this brief season of our existence: the here and now. Although that impact is not unimportant, as immortal beings we should be far more concerned with how our story will sound when it is told there and then, in that next season of existence that will extend through all eternity. Unfortunately, for many Christians, the goal is simply to get across the finish line after surviving this earthly ..Continue reading→
Preschooler Made to Care about LGBT Agenda in Colorado
According to The Denver Post, a 4-year-old Aurora, Colorado girl was “kicked out” of a preschool last month when her parents raised questions about books read in her class, including ones that told stories about same-sex couples and worms unsure about their gender. The girl returned home from school one day concerned that her daddy might not like girls anymore–and her mommy is a girl. Montview Community Preschool & Kindergarten in Denver — run as a private, parent cooperative — used the stories ..Continue reading→
Disney Demands Georgia Let Go of Religious Freedom
We should have seen this coming. After all it was a Disney / Pixar film that captured the mantra of the secular Progressives: “We scare because we care.” Just as we describe in You Will Be Made to Care, Disney has joined the NFL and other compassionate bullies to try to shut down even stripped-down religious freedom protection in Georgia under the auspices of opposing discrimination. They are threatening to take their Marvel movie-making magic somewhere else if Georgia passes HB 757 to protect r..Continue reading→
Republican Convention Rules: It Takes a Majority
It takes a majority. It takes a majority of delegates to win the Republican nomination for President. It is not complicated. It is not new. These rules have been basically the same since the founding of the Party. A majority of the delegates to the convention must vote for a candidate if he or she is to become the Party’s nominee. Yet Trump and his fans are demanding the rules be changed to accommodate him. They are demanding that the Establishment (whatever that is anymore) rip up the rules and..Continue reading→
Movies
Watch: Idris Elba on being the villain in Star Trek Beyond
The film comes out in ten days and I still don’t have a very clear sense as to what Star Trek Beyond will be about — but one thing we do know is that the big “villain” of this film will be an alien who questions the Federation’s assumptions about itself. This aspect of the movie is teased in a new featurette that went online today. Here is the featurette in question: Incidentally, the film premiered in Australia last week, but no reviews have surfaced yet (at least not in any of the trades), an..Continue reading→
The first four clips from Ben-Hur are now online, and a few other things we learned about the movie today
A lot of new footage from the upcoming remake of Ben-Hur went live today. First, the ShareBenHur.com website posted four clips from the film as part of a “faith-based” discussion guide. And then, a 20-minute montage of film clips was included in a simulcast hosted by Rick Warren and producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey that was streamed to churches and other venues across the country. These clips give us our best look at the film yet, and they reveal some of the ways that this new version of B..Continue reading→
Box office: Pets, Dory set new records for animated films
A couple of animated films set a few new records at the box office this week. First, The Secret Life of Pets made an estimated $103.2 million between Thursday and Sunday nights, which is the biggest opening ever for an original animated film (previous champ: last year’s Inside Out, which opened to $90.4 million). The film also had the sixth-biggest opening of any animated movie ever, behind four sequels (Finding Dory, Shrek 2 + 3, Toy Story 3) and one prequel (Minions). Second, Finding Dory gros..Continue reading→
Prophet Joseph — episodes twenty-one and twenty-two
Synopsis. Joseph continues to encourage his fellow inmates. One day, while they are all on a food break at the quarry, Joseph sees a Canaanite chasing a runaway camel, and Joseph, without revealing who he is, asks the man for news of his family and gives him a cryptic message to take back to Jacob. Apopis is woken by a bad dream and learns that Inarus, too, has had a dream. They ask Joseph to interpret the dreams, and Joseph, to prove his words are trustworthy, makes a prophecy that comes true w..Continue reading→
Review: The Secret Life of Pets
Dear parents: It’s inevitable — you’re going to see “The Secret Life of Pets.” Your kids, who have likely already flipped for “Zootopia” and “Finding Dory,” will eat up this comedy about what dogs and cats do when their masters are away.They are going to love the cartoon antics, slapstick shenanigans and anthropomorphic tomfoolery. Sure, they may have just seen a giant octopus drive a truck in “Finding Dory,” but that won’t stop them from cackling with delight when a homicidal bunny causes a tra..Continue reading→
Chariots of Fire returns to theatres and gets a “sequel”
The Olympics will be upon us soon, and to mark the occasion, Chariots of Fire — the Oscar-winning 1981 film about two athletes, one Jewish and one Christian, who represented Great Britain at the 1924 Olympics in Paris — is coming back to theatres for one night only. An unofficial “sequel” has also started playing in China. The “sequel” in question is The Last Race, a Hong Kong-Chinese film that focuses on the last years of Eric Liddell, the Christian athlete from the earlier film. Liddell was bo..Continue reading→
Paramount releases new character posters for Ben-Hur
Paramount released three sets of posters today featuring the five main characters from Ben-Hur. Curiously, the main set of posters — released via the film’s official social media accounts — did not include any images of Jesus, but the other two sets (at least one of which is aimed at foreign audiences) did. Check ’em out below the jump. First, the main set, which consists of four posters — all of which, incidentally, say the film has been rated PG-13 for “sequences of violence and disturbing ima..Continue reading→
Watch: Trailers for eight independent “faith-based” films, all coming out between August and October of this year
The first months of the year and the last weeks of summer are the slowest moviegoing times of the year. Not coincidentally, perhaps, those are also the two times of year when a lot of the smaller, independent “faith-based” films tend to come out, since they don’t have to worry about blockbusters crowding them out of the multiplex. This year is no exception. In the last few weeks, I have received a lot of press releases and watched several trailers for “faith-based” films that are coming out betw..Continue reading→
“The Fight Within” hits theaters in August in a faith-film cage match
A young fighter grapples with the choices he must make to overcome a troubled past and survive in the world of MMA as he builds a new life of faith and love. “THE FIGHT WITHIN”—a muscular faith film set in the rough-and-tumble world of MMA (mixed martial arts)—premieres in limited theatrical release, nationwide August 12, 2016, from GVN Releasing. With a mashup of faith, fighting and romance, the film’s pro..Continue reading→
Music
Switchfoot and Relient K Announce Second Leg of Looking for America Tour
Switchfoot and Relient K announced this week that they've been enjoying their co-headlining tour so much that they'll be extending it into a second leg in 2017. "Our nation needs hope and healing more than ever- playing these songs of healing every night with our friends Relient K has brought such beautiful moments to life," Switchfoot explained through a facebook post. "In fact, we want to extend the tour and bring these songs to a few of our favorite cities that we missed along the..Continue reading→
Natasha Owens Releases Video For ‘Wings’
Natasha Owens has released the encouraging song "Wings" to Christian radio, and the message of the inspirational tune is already impacting radio and hearts all across the country. The song is the third single release from her latest recording, No One But You, available on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon, among others. The reach of Natasha's ministry continues to expand. Including tour dates with Ryan Stevenson, ..Continue reading→
Ginny Owens Releases ‘Love Be The Loudest’ Friday, November 18
Award-winning singer-songwriter Ginny Owens releases her ninth studio album, Love Be The Loudest, this Friday, Nov. 18, on her indie label, Chick Power Music, with The Fuel Music distribution. The acclaimed new music shares a timely message for today's culture and will premiere on several different platforms this week, including two live events that will be available for audiences internationally. Two songs, the reimagined version of Owens' No. 1 hit song "If You Want Me To" and "The L..Continue reading→
Grayson|Reed To Release New Project ‘Walk’ January 13
Husband and wife duo, Grayson|Reed, will release their first project for Centricity Music, Walk, on January 13, 2017. The six-song EP will be available at all online music outlets, with a nine-song version of the record only being sold at Grayson|Reed concerts. Besides the amazing talents of Mike Grayson (Mikeschair) and Molly Reed (City Harbor), numerous producers took part in creating this project including Justin Ebach, Ben Glover, Jeff Pardo and Seth Mosley. Grayson|Reed co-wrote all the ori..Continue reading→
Unto Us by JJ Heller
Track Listing 01. Winter Wonderland 02. Christmas Is Here 03. White Christmas 04. Unto Us 05. I'll Be Home For Christmas 06. Oh, To See Christmas 07. Count Your Blessings 08. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 09. Let It Snow 10. O Little Town of Bethlehem 11. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 12. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring 13. Silent Night Continue reading→
These Things Take Time EP by S.O.
Just over a year since his highly-acclaimed So It Ends album which charted well in the US and UK S.O. thought an EP would be the perfect transition after completing the So It Ends, So It Continues, So it Ends series of albums. "I thought it would be good to give the fans something," S.O. said. "When you make a trilogy, it's fine-tuned. These Things Take Time was a way for me to give the fans new music as I begin to work on my next project." The EP's artwork a picture of S.O. covered in clay suggests[...]Continue reading→
Waiting For The Dawn by Salt Of The Sound
Salt Of The Sound is the award-winning musical collaboration of Stockholm-based husband and wife duo Anita and Ben Tatlow. Their aim is to create songs that encourage a spirit of reflection both in church environments and in times of personal quiet, while also exploring musical styles and expressions that bring a freshness to the Christian music scene. Salt Of The Sound's new EP Waiting For The Dawn centres around the theme of light, which is echoed in different ways across all of the songs, and features heavily in the Advent traditions of Nordic countries. Waiting For The Dawn combines these[...]Continue reading→
American
Planned Parenthood Abortion Doc is 7 Months Pregnant, But Kills Babies Up to 24 Weeks in Abortions
This article is a follow-up to “Planned Parenthood Kills 323,999 Babies in Abortions, Provides Only 17,419 Moms Prenatal Care.” Another video features Dr. Sierra Washington, identified as a “pregnant provider” in her seventh month, who says that “I love taking care of patients. I mean that’s why I’m a doctor.” At Planned Parenthood’s Pacific Southwest affiliate (PPPSW) “taking care of patients” includes abortion, contraceptives, and hysterectomies, but not birthing or prenatal care. With clini..
Oregon Assisted Suicide Deaths Hit Record High in 2016 as Abuses Continue
The 2016 Oregon annual assisted suicide report is similar to prior years. The report implies that the deaths were voluntary (self-administered), but the information in the report does not address that subject. According to the 2016 Oregon assisted suicide report. There were 133 reported assisted suicide deaths in 2016. There were 204 lethal prescriptions obtained in 2016. There were 8 deaths from “other illnesses” which included illnesses such as diabetes, hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease..
Planned Parenthood Celebrates Jocelyn Elders, Who Claimed Pro-Lifers Have a “Love Affair With the Fetus”
Planned Parenthood celebrated former U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders last week to mark both Black History Month and “Condom Week.” Elders, a controversial figure under President Bill Clinton, was forced to resign after she made several comments about sex education and pro-lifers that sparked outrage. On Thursday, Planned Parenthood wrote on Twitter, “We salute Joycelyn Elders: 1st black US Surgeon General and all-around badass sex education advocate. #tbt #BlackHistoryMonth #CondomWeek” W..
Norway Will Spend $10 Million for Abortions After Trump Defunds International Planned Parenthood
Norwegian government leaders promised to give $10 million to a new global abortion fund this week after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting U.S. taxpayer funding to groups that promote or perform abortions overseas. Reuters reports Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg said her country will dedicate 85 million crowns ($10 million) to support abortions world-wide. “At a time when this agenda has come under pressure, a joint effort is particularly important,” she said ..
Australia
Now outback kids can learn about Jesus, too
Remote schools across western NSW are being approached about the possibility of introducing Special Religious Education (SRE) classes by distance education. Generate Ministries – an employer of SRE teachers in NSW – is teaming up with Bush Church Aid to offer scripture lessons in schools where they are currently not offered. Currently only 60-70 per cent of NSW school students have access to SRE lessons, which “leaves open a massive deficit of..
Have Aussie dollars ended up in terrorists’ hands?
A manager of the World Vision office in Gaza has been charged with using millions of dollars of charity funds to support Hamas fighters in the region. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade released a statement that says, “World Vision has received Australian funds for programs in the Palestinian Territories.” Mohammad El Halabi was arrested on 15 June, as he returned home from routine meetings. After being kept in Israeli state detenti..
Olympian Eloise Wellings received Christ, never looked back
At 33 years old, Eloise Wellings is about to compete in her second Olympics in Rio as a middle-distance runner. But she has had a long road to the Games, including three thwarted attempts to represent Australia at the Olympic Games. Wellings was just 16 years old when she first qualified for the Sydney Olympics, but her Olympic dream was cut short when she suffered a stress fracture to her hip just three weeks after qualifying. “I was dev..
A day in the life of a hospital chaplain
We spend a day on the wards with Rev Stuart Adamson, one of ten accredited chaplains of different faiths and denominations at Prince of Wales and Randwick Hospitals Campus in Sydney. He is one of three Anglican chaplains and has a twin role as a chaplain and a trainer of chaplains at Anglicare. I’m usually up before my alarm. But I am on after hours on-call at the moment and when the alarm goes off at 6.45am I feel pinned to the bed. The call-out la..
Law & Government
Judge Refuses to Halt California’s Assisted Suicide Law
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A Superior Court judge in California has refused to halt the state’s assisted suicide law amid a legal challenge from several local doctors and a Christian organization that represents physicians nationwide. As previously reported, last October, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the End of Life Option Act, which allowed terminally ill residents to seek help to end their lives. “I have carefully read the thoughtful opposition materials presented by a number of doct..
Arkansas Commission to Review Proposals to Place Ten Commandments, Homage to Satan at Capitol
Photo Credit: Stuart SeegerLITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A state commission in Arkansas has scheduled a date to review separate proposals to place a Ten Commandments monument and an homage to Satan on the grounds of the state capitol building. Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin has marked Sept. 13 as the beginning of discussions with the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission on whether or not to allow the placement of the monuments. As previously reported, last year, Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, had..
School District Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Declare Dept. of Education Lacks Right to Dictate Restroom Rules
WASHINGTON — A school district in Virginia filed an official petition for appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, requesting that it declare that the U.S. Department of Education lacks authority to dictate that public schools must allow those who identify as transgender to use the restroom with the opposite sex. “The term ‘gender identity’ is nowhere in Title IX,” the writ of certiorari reads. “If ‘sex’ signifies, not biology, but rather one’s ‘internal’ sense of maleness or femaleness, t..
France’s top court to rule on legality of burkini ban
A burkini is a swimsuit that only leaves the face, hands and feet exposed. The row over France's controversial ban on women wearing burkinis has escalated with the country's top court to rule on whether the law contravenes human rights. The Council of State, a body that acts as both legal adviser to the government and as the supreme administrative court, will examine the issue on Thursday after photos emerged of a Muslim woman removing a long-sleeved top while surrounded by ar..
Entertainment
‘Hacksaw Ridge,’ for all its heroism and love, remains a paradox
I had a dream about Mel Gibson recently. His face was very close to mine and his beard was gone. He looked very serious. I congratulated him on his new film “Hacksaw Ridge,” his first in 10 years. But he held up a print out of one of my reviews from his 2004 blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ.” “But you didn’t review this one very well,” he said. I started to explain my issue wi..
Did The Walking Dead Go Too Far? A Watching God Podcast
Comment countMore than 20 million people watched last Sunday’s Season Seven premiere of The Walking Dead. No surprise there, given that AMC’s zombie show has been a ratings winner ever since its inception. The episode was brutal, with new Big Bad Negan killing two popular characters with his barbed-wire-wrapped baseball bat Lucille. No surprise there either, according to longtime fans. The Walking Dead has always been incredibly bloody. But for me, the episode was incredibly hard to watch. It fe..
‘Years of Living Dangerously’ Season 2 premiere Oct 30 NatGeo
Season 2 opens with David Letterman and Cecily Strong raining the bell on climate change On Sunday night, October 30, “Years of Living Dangerously” begins its second season and it’s message is loaded with doom, frustration and tinged with hope if only Big Corporations + government will get out of the way. David Letterman (and his beard) are in India, a country with almost 400 million people, the population of the USA, who live without electricity. All efforts to upgrade the decrepit grid or are ..
Before the Flood – Di Caprio & NatGeo unite on climate change
The Pope and Leonardo DiCaprio (Photo: L’Osservatore Romano) You may recall when Oscar-winning actor Leonardo di Caprio, an ardent environmentalist, met with Pope Francis in January. The Pope gave Leonardo bound copies of his two encyclicals and Leonardo presented him with a book of the art of the 15th century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. It includes the triptych of “The Garden of Delights” with the Garden of Eden on one side, the end of the world, or Last Judgment on the other, and bodies in..
Health and Science
Scientists Who Set Out to Create Simple Genome Astonished by Sheer Complexity of Life
Describing their findings as “humbling,” researchers who set out to create a “minimal genome” have concluded that the basic elements of life are enormously complex and remain full of unsolved mysteries. In an article titled “Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome,” a team of more than 20 scientists share the results of years of research on cellular genomes. The scientists, in an attempt to better understand the basic requirement for life, took a bacterial genome and stripped it down..
US
Discovering a different way of doing youth ministry
Most youth ministries are shallow at best, and youth worship is even worse. An evangelical worship leader lamenting those conclusions happened upon some YouTube videos from the Lutheran youth ministry Higher Things. Read the whole post, linked after the jump, which includes videos of both the worship services he is decrying and the worship services from Higher Things conferences. Also read the comments, which record other amazed and appreciative reactions to Higher Things and their approach to y..
Nationalism joins Islam as reasons for Christian persecution
Open Door, an organization that monitors Christian persecution, has released its annual report for 2016, which it calls “the worst year yet” for violence against Christians. The biggest part of the persecution is still committed in the name of Islam. No longer just a matter of the Middle East, Islamic persecution has risen dramatically in Africa. As nationalism re-emerges worldwide, ethnic nationalism has become an excuse to persecute Christians. This is happening especially in Asia, including I..
Fear of the working class
The editor of a liberal website has written about a plumber he had called to fix his drain. The plumber acted professionally and did the job. But he spoke with a Southern accent! He didn’t seem upset about the election! He might even have voted for Trump! The editor described his fear at having a possible Trump voter in his home. All this fear talk about Trump has me confused. I can see a generalized fear about the future of the country, but this is far more visceral. Gay people say how afraid t..
Obama commutes Pvt. Manning’s sentence for leaking military secrets
In one of his last official acts, President Obama used his Constitutional power to grant pardons to commute the sentence of Pvt. Bradley Manning, who leaked thousands of military and diplomatic secrets during the Iraq War. Manning, who has served 7 years of a 35 year sentence at the military prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, now goes by the name of “Chelsea” and has been seeking government-funded gender-reassignment surgery. Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks who is holed up in the Ecuadoran emba..
Church & Theology
4 Ways Courageous Leaders Model Sustained Urgency
You can’t miss the urgency and passion with which Jesus carried out His ministry. Throughout His ministry, He spoke of musts, such as, “I must work the works of Him that sent me” (John 9:4). As spiritual leaders, we know there is urgency to our labor, but we don’t always maintain it. The truth is, urgency is not the default mode; complacency is. Strangely enough, it is our very successes in ministry that tend to feed complacency. It works like this: Success builds pride, and pride kills urgenc..
10 Diagnostic Questions to Assess Balance and Sustainability, part 1
We often speak of balance as if it is something you write out on paper and then have attained for life. The truth is, maintaining life balance takes constant adjustment. Like a sailor who is constantly analyzing the wind and adjusting his sails to reach an intended destination, balance for a spiritual leader requires sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and a willingness to make changes. Over the years, I’ve learned that, at times, the pace at which I do the work of God can hinder His work in me. But..
10 Diagnostic Questions to Assess Balance and Sustainability, part 2
In the previous post, we discussed the need to intentionally evaluate our balance and to make adjustments for sustainability along the way. (If you have not yet read that post, I’d encourage you to read it before reading this post.) Who do I fear? How is my tempo? How is my courage? How is my spiritual discipline? In this post, we continue with six more assessment questions. 5. Am I coming apart? We need to adjust the rhythm of our lives. We can’t constantly march to “Onward Christian Soldiers..
Answering Tough Texts of the Bible
As I’ve mentioned a few times (here and here), Trevin Wax and I host a podcast called Word Matters, which seeks to help Christians understand some of the most confusing passages of the Bible. We often discuss questions amongst ourselves, but we also like to ask guests to join us. If you’d like to check out, here’s a list of guests and topics so far: Michael Bird on Romans 7 and “the wretched man”Scot McKnight on Matthew 5 (oath-taking) and Matthew 7 (“I never knew you”)Rus..