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
Doxological Calvinism
Doxologies punctuate the Bible because they punctuate the life of faith. This at least was Paul’s understanding of the life of Abraham: “he was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20). Let me invite you to take a simple word-association test. The usual procedure for such a test is that the administrator says a word and the subject responds with the first word that comes to mind. Thus, the word horse might immediately prompt the word cart from some people, but race (as in horse race) f..Continue reading→
The Kingdom Comes Not Through Maneuvers But By Repentance
Today’s Essenes are the gnosis-exalting hip churches and the law-exalting fundy churches, each preaching legalism of a different sort and rendering different sorts of people untouchable. They advocate withdrawal from either “church people” or “the world,” as if true kingdom enlightenment exists in an ecclesiological utopia hermetically sealed off and protected by either their cultural savvy or their cultural avoidance. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered..Continue reading→
NT Commentaries Withdrawn Over Plagiarism Allegations
The author, Peter T. O’Brien, was presented with the findings and provided the following response: “In the New Testament commentaries that I have written, although I have never deliberately misused the work of others, nevertheless I now see that my work processes at times have been faulty and have generated clear-cut, but unintentional, plagiarism. For this I apologize without reservation.” At the beginning of July 2016, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. received allegations against one of its New..Continue reading→
5 Lessons My Parents Taught Me About Sexuality
“These days, as I get older and consider marriage and my future, it’s the God-designed preciousness of sex that I think about more often. Sex, I’ve learned from my parents, is something to be esteemed without being glorified. While portrayed as a cheap commodity in culture today, God created it as a valuable gift.” “Sexuality”is an electric buzzword in our culture, igniting opinions like wildfire. With clashing commentary from secular society, Christians in recent years have increasingly recogn..Continue reading→
Life & Society
[Audio] How Pastors Can Preach about Religious Freedom
My friend Dr. McKay Caston (who happens to also be my pastor) preached a sermon recently that demonstrates how pastors can and should preach about religious freedom. It is fine example of speaking the truth in love and preparing a congregation for the rising tide of persecution in America. McKay has agreed to let me post the audio here and share his sermon notes below. You can follow his blog here. I encourage you to share them with pastors and church leaders and prayerfully encourage them to en..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→
American
Feel the Bern? Here’s the Next Step
Daniel Strauss: The revolution is back in business. Supporters of Bernie Sanders’ failed presidential bid are seizing on Democratic disarray at the national level to launch a wave of challenges to Democratic Party leaders in the states. The goal is to replace party officials in states where Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton during the acrimonious Democratic primary with more progressive leadership. But the challenges also represent a reckoning for state party leaders who, in many cases, tacitly s..
Trump rebukes alleged racism among supporters
Copyright (c) 2016 Baptist Press. Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. The original story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/47889/trump-rebukes-alleged-racism-among-supporters Trump rebukes alleged racism among supporters Screen capture from CBS NewsScreen capture from CBS NewsWASHINGTON (BP) -- In his first major interview since Election Day, President-elect Donald Trump said he is "saddened" by reported incidents of r..
Bill Hunke, former Alaska exec & historian, dies
Copyright (c) 2016 Baptist Press. Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. The original story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/47888/bill-hunke-former-alaska-exec-and-historian-dies Bill Hunke, former Alaska exec & historian, dies E.W. "Bill" Hunke Jr. E.W. "Bill" Hunke Jr. SUN LAKES, Ariz. (BP) -- E.W. "Bill" Hunke Jr., executive director of the Alaska Baptist Convention from 1966-71 and prolific chronicler of Southern Ba..
Cloyd Sullins, Alaska exec from 1995-2000, dies
Copyright (c) 2016 Baptist Press. Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. The original story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/47887/cloyd-sullins-alaska-exec-from-19952000-dies Cloyd Sullins, Alaska exec from 1995-2000, dies Cloyd Sullins Cloyd Sullins MOORE, Okla. (BP) -- Cloyd Sullins, who led the Alaska Baptist Convention from its 50th anniversary year in 1995 until his retirement in 2000, died Nov. 7 in Moore, Okla. ..