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
Three Causes of Controlling Behavior
These are helpful observations for understanding how such traits can develop, and should increase our compassion and understanding for such sufferers. However, as Christians with Calvin’s spectacles, we have to go further in three ways. First, we have to say that even if the causes have parental or genetic components, we must believe that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit have a necessary and important role to play in conditioning how we react to our parental or genetic inheritance. Yesterday..Continue reading→
William Gurnall on Singing Imprecatory Psalms
1. Take heed thou dost not make thy private particular enemies the object of thy imprecation. We have no warrant, when any wrong us, presently to go and call for fire from heaven upon them. Ames mentioned this but not with as much detail as Gurnall does here. One of the misunderstandings people have about the imprecations is that we don’t like our teacher at school or a person who cut us off on the freeway and so we take up the curses of the Psalms against them. But Gurnall reminds us that it’s..Continue reading→
The Wonder of Work
Insomuch as we build on the foundation of Christ – following His ways, loving His truth, sharing His gospel – we build with heavenly materials. As the Spirit transforms our minds and awakens our hearts, we are being made into the image of Christ. We walk in His ways. We obey His commands. We speak His words of truth. Whatever our calling – lawyer, doctor, teacher, stay at home mother, pastor, banker –we build for eternity as we build in accordance with the foundation, Jesus Christ. My children ..Continue reading→
The Flood Of 2016: Southeast Louisiana And The Consequences Of Real Community
Rather than reward that with aid and bringing the full force of our collective national attention to examples of what resilient and strong American communities look like when challenged…these communities are ignored and left to fend for themselves…simply because they can. The consequence of being a strong community is that your tragedy is not mentioned in national news, your strength uncelebrated, and your needs unmet unless they can be met through your own resilience. Humility and selflessly he..Continue reading→
Music
Leeland Announces Pre-Order For New Album
Today Bethel Music announced the pre-order of Leeland's first album as part of their artist collective. "We're excited to announce that Leeland's first album with Bethel Music is now available for pre-order on iTunes. 'Invisible' offers a refreshing perspective on a gospel that is alive and moving in us and through us," Bethel shared. Invisible will mark Leeland's first release since 2014's Christ Be All Around Me EP and will be available July 22. Click here to pre-order the album now and get 3 instant song downloads "Invisible," "Carry It All Away" and "Son Was Lifted Up." Invisible Track Listing 1. My Treasure 2. War 3. Spirit 4. Ever Love You Lord 5. For Your Glory 6. Perfect Love 7. Lock & Key 8. Invisible 9. Breath of God [...]Continue reading→
Project 86 Announces PledgeMusic Campaign for 10th Album
Project 86 has launched a special PledgeMusic campaign in support of their upcoming tenth studio album and their 20 year anniversary as a band. The project will be comprised of ten original songs and five covers. All of the songs will be available to backers on a one song per month basis, beginning with a cover of Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" as an immediate download for all backers. The PledgeMusic campaign is designed as both a preorder for music to come and a celebration of music past, with offers including vintage merch. Accompanying tour dates are coming soon, with Project 86 promising to play fan favorites from their early days alongside current tracks. Above all, the band sees the campaign as a way to celebrate the past two decades alongside their fans. "You have stuck by us for twenty years. We want to meet you, spend[...]Continue reading→
Word Entertainment Scores Two Trophies For Christian Retailing’s Best Awards
It was announced earlier this week that Word Entertainment was honored two times at the annual Christian Retailing's Best Awards. Big Daddy Weave's acclaimed album Beautiful Offerings (Fervent Records) won in the music category and When Calls the Heart Complete Season 2 (Word Films) won for the DVD Movie division. The awards, honoring the best new products of the year, were given on Monday, June 27 in Cincinnati during the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS). "At Word Entertainment, we are passionate and intentional about delivering the best in Christian entertainment to people everywhere," shares Rod Riley, President & CEO, Word Entertainment. "Big Daddy Weave's Beautiful Offerings and When Calls the Heart Complete Season 2 are two projects that we have seen impact thousands and thousands of lives with the good news of the Gospel. To be recognized with awards for each of these projects from Christian Retailing's[...]Continue reading→
Metalcore Group Toarn Signs With Luxor Records
Christian metalcore band Toarn has announced their signing with Luxor Records, making their upcoming EP Giant Killer their debut with the label. Toarn released a new song titled "In Flander's Fields" alongside the label news, giving fans an initial taste of Giant Killer prior to its July 15 release. Preorders for the EP are available through major retailers like Amazon, BestBuy and Barnes & Noble as well as through VictoryMerch.com. The Washington-based band has developed a grassroots following through the release of past independent projects Protoevangelium and Brood of Vipers. Toarn will be hitting the road with Hemarosa in support of the release, with tour dates listed here. You can listen to "Flander's Field" below.Continue reading→
Britney Spears Endorses Pastor/Author Max Lucado
Britney Spears has a new album coming out and is about to kick off a two-year residency in Las Vegas, so she’s out there working the publicity machine. During a recent Twitter chat, a fan asked Britney what her favorite book was, and the singer replied, “Anything by Max Lucado.” Lucado is a Texas-based preacher and author of a hundred (yes, a hundred) Christian-themed adults and kids’ books. Their titles include Grace for the Moment, Outlive Your Life: You Were Born to Make a Difference, and God..Continue reading→
Katy Perry’s Song “By the Grace of God” Is a Flashback to Her Christian Singer Days
Before Katy Perry was an animal-print-and-candy-loving pop star, she was Katy Hudson, aspiring Christian singer. Though her switch to the secular side of music helped make her a star, Katy (whose parents are pastors) hasn’t given up on her Christian background. Her new album Prism features the ballad “By the Grace of God,” which probably won’t ever be released as a single but does a bang-up job appealing to one of her core constituencies. But what does John Mayer think?Continue reading→
American
Ministry from the Second Chair (by Ben Pickett)
Ben Pickett is the Discipleship Minister at the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene Texas. I entered full-time ministry later in life after a career in business and discovered quickly the importance of training and education. Fact is, I’m still learning. I’m finding that with each new ministry context I learn more about myself, my calling, and my relationship with God. My role in ministry is called “Discipleship Ministry,” but it could just as easily be called a “2nd Chair” role. Because I’m in..
Pepsi Funds Planned Parenthood, Now Its CEO is Trashing Trump’s Election: “Our Employees Were Crying”
A week after Donald Trump’s election, the comments by Pepsi’s CEO have been tough for a lot of voters to swallow. Like Grubhub founder Matt Maloney, who’s on the hot seat after an employee email showing Trump supporters the door, Indri Noovi must not have been thinking about her bottom line when the soft drink mogul bashed the new president-elect. Well, she’s certainly thinking about it now that #BoycottPepsi is picking up steam. At a New York Times event last Tuesday, Noovi’s emotions were obv..
Catholic Bishop on Trump: “I’m Grateful We Will Have a President Who Has Promised Pro-Life Judges”
An Arkansas Catholic bishop penned an encouraging letter to his diocese on Friday in response to the presidential election. In the letter, Bishop Anthony Basil Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock expressed hope that President-elect Donald Trump will work to protect unborn babies through his high office, KARK 4 News reports. Taylor wrote: I am grateful that we will soon have a president who has promised to name Supreme Court justices who are opposed to abortion. Let us support President-elect..
House Republican Leader: We Will “Move Forward” With Legislation to Defund Planned Parenthood
When Congress gets back to work today, their schedule is more stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey. After six weeks on the campaign trail, the House and Senate left plenty to do in the holiday frenzy — including keeping the government funded past December 9, when the latest spending resolution runs out. For a jubilant GOP, the strategy for passing a new spending bill has almost certainly changed since last Tuesday. With President-elect Donald Trump set to usher in the first GOP Congress under a n..