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
Immaturity Does Not Just Go Away
It’s a travesty to watch an elderly Christian gripped with the same fear and worry that plagues the hearts of a young mom. It’s troubling to watch men who’ve walked with Jesus for 20 years flex their pride in their position or possessions the way teenagers flex their muscles. It’s painful to watch the same bitterness, infighting, hateful speech, and conflict plague the adult Sunday school class in the same way these sins infest the church’s youth group. You don’t just grow up—at least not in th..Continue reading→
Seasons of Waiting: Walking By Faith When Dreams Are Delayed
A godly spouse is worth the wait, but we don’t get a guarantee that will happen. Are you waiting for a husband? If you desire to marry, why hasn’t God provided that opportunity? Are you waiting for a child? What do you do when faced with infertility? Are you waiting for a place to call home? Isn’t that the American dream? Maybe it is more desperate than this. Maybe you are waiting for God to answer your prayers for physical healing. Is he listening? Maybe you are currently pleading with God to l..Continue reading→
Serving The Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:1–5)
Though they ought not to entertain accusations against a pastor of an elder lightly (1 Tim 5:19) officers must be ready to accept the possibility that abuse is occurring. Over the years I have received reports from laity and pastors of abuse and too often other officers have been reluctant to address the problem. Pastors get more than their share of criticism and sometimes a presbytery (or classis) can unintentionally turn into a sort of union in which the members (ministers and elders) reflexiv..Continue reading→
Too Perfect: When Being in Control Gets Out of Control
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been surprised at how many times “control” issues have emerged as a major issue in counseling Christians with anxiety and/or depression. (It’s been a major factor in marital counseling too.) As I couldn’t find any Christian books which dealt specifically with this subject, I bought Too Perfect: When Being in Control Gets Out of Control, put on my Calvin spectacles and started reading. The book emerged out of the challenges and frustrations the author, psychia..Continue reading→
Movies
Watch: Rihanna sings in the final trailer for Star Trek Beyond
Star Trek Beyond isn’t the first Star Trek film to feature a new song on its soundtrack, but it just might be the first to put its song front-and-centre in a movie trailer. The song in question is Rihanna’s ‘Sledgehammer’, and this is the trailer: You can listen to the complete single via Spotify: It is not clear to me whether this song was actually written for the film or whether the filmmakers are simply taking advantage of the fact that Rihanna has a new song to promote. Maybe Spock and Uhur..Continue reading→
Box office: Independence Day and Free State of Jones flop while Finding Dory and The Shallows thrive in the water
They had 20 years to prepare a sequel … and it more or less flopped in North America. Independence Day: Resurgence — which opened over a week before the holiday it’s named for and was not screened for critics in advance, both of which are sure signs that the studio wasn’t confident about the film’s prospects — is estimated to have grossed only $41.6 million between Thursday and Sunday nights. That’s less than the $50.2 million that the original film opened to in 1996. To repeat: the original fil..Continue reading→
Halftime: The best films of 2016 (so far)
We’re quickly approaching the midpoint of the year, and it’s been an interesting one. If you look at the box office reports, it’s been a blase year, unless you’re Disney. But in terms of quality, it’s not been bad. Usually, I reach the midpoint of the year and wonder if I’m going to be able to have enough to fill a top ten list in six months. This year, I already have at least five films that I know will kill me to leave off the year-end list. So I thought, in the interest of getting pageviews m..Continue reading→
Review: “Finding Dory”
Five years after its release, “Cars 2” still instills dread in Pixar lovers. Never mind that the studio’s other weakest films (“The Good Dinosaur” and “Brave”) are both original works, and that the “Toy Story” followups have been lauded as some of the best sequels ever. What most people think of when they hear about returning to a beloved Pixar world is Mater the Tow Truck zipping through Japan and making pee-pee jokes. It’s why the idea of a “Finding Nemo..Continue reading→
Interview with comic book artist Ted Woods
Here’s a new feature I’m hoping to implement more regularly on this blog. Constant readers know that I can be critical about Christian art, and that’s because I think there’s a lot of bad art out there that goes under the Christian name. But I really want to delve more into the artists and crafts people who are passionate about creating great Christian art and improving the conversation about faith. I met Ted Woods, an independent comic book writer, when we brie..Continue reading→
The strange love affair between Christians and guns
This isn’t the first time I’ve addressed this, and I hate that. This post, in fact, is adapted from a now-defunct blog I used to have; I just had to tweak it for the tragedy du jour. I hate that 50 people are dead because one man was filled with hate and had access to a firearm. I hate that this is not the first time I’ve had to deal with this news. Charleston. San Bernardino. Columbine. Aurora. Sandy Hook. All names that strike a chord because of one underlying ..Continue reading→
Orlando: Death in our safe spaces demands love across the lines
Earlier this evening, in response to the horrific shooting at a gay nightclub Orlando that left 50 people dead and just as many hospitalized — the deadliest shooting in U.S. history — blogger Micah J. Murray posted the following on his Facebook page: What makes mass shootings so intimately offensive is that they tend to happen at “safe” places where such tragedy should be off limits. A school. A movie theater. A day care center. A mall. These are wher..Continue reading→
“The Conjuring 2”: Ghostbusting with love
James Wan’s “Conjuring” movies are something rare in the horror genre: warm-hearted stories that scare the hell out of you. The first film, released in 2013, notably received an R rating for being “too scary” — movie marketing that was actually justified. The film was one of the most terrifying, knuckle-clenching haunted house movies in decades, elevated by Wan’s affection for his characters. Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) were real-life paranormal experts car..Continue reading→
Morgan Freeman Explores The Story of God
On the heels of Holy Week, National Geographic presents The Story of God, an ambitious, expansive six-part series hosted by Morgan Freeman. This is an impressive interfaith study, with Freeman traveling to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Guatemala, India and beyond in search of God, or at least humanity’s efforts to reach God. From the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to bathers on the Ganges, we follow Freeman and his guides to spiritual hot spot..Continue reading→
Music
Heartbeat (Single) by The Waiting Kind
Track Listing 01. Heartbeat Continue reading→
All Is Bright – EP by Cristabelle Braden
Track Listing 01. I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day 02. O Little Town of Bethlehem 03. Away in a Manger 04. Jingle Bells Continue reading→
The Thrill of Hope by Christy Nockels
Inspired to share her first Christmas album with the world, Christy Nockels will unveil The Thrill Of Hope on November 4. The Thrill Of Hope introduces Nockels' take on holiday classics mixed with original songs, including "Song In The Air," "Wrap This One Up," Amaryllis" and "Our Christmas Song," penned originally. The album is steeped in scriptural references from Isaiah, Genesis, Micah and more, along with family memories as Nockels invited other family members to take part in the project as well. Nockels worked with husband Nathan Nockels (Passion, Matt Redman, Laura Story) to create the LP. "'The thrill of[...]Continue reading→
Loose Canon Vol. 3 by Canon
Loose Canon Vol. 3 is the third installment of the Loose Canon series. With lead single Eagles, The Family, and Over Do It; Canon has a stacked line up for this EP. Track Listing 01. I'm Back Purchase 02. Eagles 03. Over Do It 04. EZ Purchase 05. My Little Baby 06. Renegade Purchase 07. Expect Us Purchase 08. Hold Up 09. I Ain't Got Time 10. The FamilyContinue reading→
Bethel Music Kids Release ‘Christmas Party’ EP Nov. 18
Dove Award-winning Bethel Music Kids (#BethelMusicKids) releases their Christmas Party EP internationally Nov. 18. The new recording follows their first full-length album and concert film, Come Alive, which launched to the top of the retail charts amidst acclaim when it released Dec. 2015 and went on to receive the GMA Dove Award for "Children's Music Album of the Year" last month after receiving a trio of nominations.Continue reading→
Gaither Music Group’s All-new Docu-musical Rides To The Top Of Three Music Sales Charts
Gaither Music Group's all-new Circuit Rider DVD rode straight to the top of this past week's Billboard Music Video chart in addition to the Christian Music Video chart, according to Nielsen Soundscan, garnering the #1 position on both. The audio version of the docu-musical also claimed the #1 position on the Southern Gospel Album Sales chart and a Top 20 spot on the Contemporary Christian Music chart.Continue reading→
OBB Releases New Single ‘Sweater’
OBB has been teasing something new for a few weeks now through social media images that only said "11-4-16." They finally made the announcement early this morning a new single, "Sweater," available now here. RELATED OBB Back In The Studio With David Thulin As the band preps to appear on Winterjam next year, they promise this is only the beginning of new things. "We're super excited about the new music we have coming out, lots of new imaging, lots of new stuff coming out. So make sure you..Continue reading→
Casting Crowns Celebrates 11th No. 1 Radio Single With ‘One Step Away’
Multi-platinum selling and GRAMMY® award winning group Casting Crowns released their eighth studio album, The Very Next Thing, in September and just celebrated their 11th No. 1 radio single with "One Step Away." RELATED Casting Crowns Releases New Album 'The Very Next Thing' Today The band is currently on their own "The Very Next Thing" 40-city tour, presented by Compassion International and Museum of the Bible. The show offers an encouraging message of hope about doing the next thi..Continue reading→
We Are Messengers Releases ‘God With Us’ Christmas EP Today
Dove Award-nominated band We Are Messengers has announced the release of its first Christmas project, God With Us. Available beginning today, this four-song EP can be found at iTunes, Amazon, Google and Spotify. RELATED We Are Messengers' Darren Mulligan Shares His Story "At Christmas, we see the love of God take on flesh and bone so that He can be with us, rescue us and heal our brokenness," explains Darren Mulligan, lead vocalist, We Are Messengers. "God is not removed and distant, but ..Continue reading→
American
Defending Ruth Tucker Again
From Arise, used with permission.By Maureen Farrell GarciaOn January 26, 2017Some Christians see logic as the only trustworthy and effective way to communicate and receive knowledge. Unfortunately, there is not enough space in one post to systematically present the origins of this idea. In general, though the topic is a complex one, we can trace this concept from Ancient Greece, which gained momentum during the Enlightenment, through present Western thought. Some critics of Ruth A. Tucker’s book..
Abortion Advocate Protesting March for Life Put Down Her Sign and Got a Pro-Life Sign. Here’s Why
Abortion activists show up every year at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. to counter the hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers who march for unborn babies’ right to life. This year, the pro-life message appears to have touched at least one of those protesters. A Michigan woman called in to Teresa Tomeo’s Catholic Connection radio show recently to share the change that her family witnessed in a young pro-abortion protester during the march last week. The caller, Maryanne, told Tomeo and he..
German Parliament Honors Nazi Euthanasia Victims
On January 27, 2017, the Germany’s Bundestag [Parliament] commemorated the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the inmates of Auschwitz concentration camp. This year the focus was placed on the 300,000 disabled victims of the notorious Aktion T-4 euthanasia program. Under Aktion T-4, beginning in 1939, people were gassed or given a lethal injection and cremated in six killing facilities in Germany and Austria. This helped the Nazi regime to refine its system for processing millions, rather th..
Abortion Activists Traveling Across Pro-Life Ireland to Hand Out Dangerous Abortion Drugs
In yet another stunt designed to trivialise the abortion debate in Ireland and endanger the lives of women facing unplanned pregnancy, pro-choice activists have announced their plans to travel round the country again, handing out abortion pills. Sadly, this is nothing new for ROSA, the group behind the stunt. In October 2015, they drove an “abortion pill bus” on another tour to promote the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, Ireland’s last remaining constitutional protection for unborn children. A..
Entertainment
GRAMMY® Acclaimed Crowder To Release “American Prodigal” Sept. 23
“Run Devil Run,” First Single, Hits Today Sept. 23 will mark American Prodigal, the anticipated sophomore solo project from Crowder. American Prodigal will build on Crowder’s double-GRAMMY® nominated Neon Steeple (2014), which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, sparking both a No. 1 hit and top 5 single at radio, a Grand Ole Opry debut, a Dove Award along with multiple nods, numerous K-LOVE Fan Award Nominations and tours throughout the U.S. and abroad. Premiering a fiery new music video for..
Modern Hymn Writers, Keith & Kristyn Getty, Debut Music Video For New Single
NASHVILLE, TN (June 17, 2016) – Keith and Kristyn Getty, the world-renowned modern hymn writers whose songs are sung by an estimated 100 million people each year in churches and concert halls on every major continent, debuted the music video for “Living Waters,” the first single off their new studio album “Facing a Task Unfinished,” released today. The project marks the 5th studio album from the couple and their first major release of new songs since their widely-embraced Hymns for the Christian..
The Conjuring 2 Finds Light in the Darkness
To understand the underlying message of The Conjuring 2, you just have to look at its calendar. The trials of the Hodgson family take place during London’s drippy, dark December. The days are growing shorter, the nights colder. And the things that go bump in the night at the Hodgson’s north London home are becoming ever more bold. Christmas spirit? More like Christmas spirits. Given the ghoulies that 11-year-old Janet Hodgson (Madison Wolfe) is dealing with, the girl would tell you ..
‘We Have a Calling:’ Conjuring 2 Writers Talk About Where Faith and Fright Meet
Some Christians believe that believers shouldn’t even watch horror films, much less write them. Too scary, they say. Too gross. The occult themes in many can even be dangerous. Screenwriters Chad and Carey Hayes, twin brothers who penned The Conjuring and, now, The Conjuring 2 (in theaters June 10) have heard it all—sometimes from their own family and friends. But they have a different take. They see a dark world out there—not the world they create through their work, but the world ..
US
Statistics on churchgoing at Christmas
Over half of Americans will go to church on Christmas day. Of those who don’t, 57% said they would be open to an invitation to go. [Note the opportunity.] A LifeWay Research study of churchgoing at Christmas also found that 89% of churches will hold services even though Christmas falls on a Sunday. [But over one in ten won’t. See our discussion.] Lutherans are the most likely to hold Christmas services on Sunday (94%), while Pentecostals are least likely (72%). [Why is that, do you think?] Also,..
“That’s Christmas”
Chicago Tribune columnist Rex Huppke writes about how when he was a kid Christmas was hugely exciting, but that it has gotten even better now that he is older. He writes about that, focusing on “a series of moments before, during and after Dec. 25 that make you stop and think: ‘That — that right there — is Christmas.'” Read what he is referring to after the jump. What are the moments that make YOU reflect, “that’s Christmas”? From Rex Huppke, Christmas gets better as you age – Chicago Tribu..
Blog news
Merry Christmas, everybody! I thought I’d pass on some news about the Cranach blog and tell you about what’s coming up next week. Patheos has been bought by the even bigger religious site BeliefNet. Patheos will have its own identity, the editors will be the same, and it will, as they say, remain its own brand. But BeliefNet has resources that will make possible some technical improvements, new features, and, eventually, a new look. I’m not sure what they have in mind, but be on the lookout for ..
The tragedies behind “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
Let me just let Jim Priest, writing in the Daily Oklahoman, tell it: As Christmas carols were sung and Christmas bells rung, Henry thought back on two tremendous tragedies. His loving wife, Frances, had been fatally burned in an accident in their own home. His son, Charles, had been severely wounded in the war. When Frances was caught up in a fire, Henry attempted to smother the flames by throwing his arms around her. He only succeeded in severely burning himself on his face, arms and hands. He ..
Church & Theology
Theology, Church History, and Guarding the Good Deposit
Follow @BrandonSmith85 Photo courtesy: Neuestock When I began working with the Christian Standard Bible, my first priority was to dig into the history of the translation. I wanted to know who was involved, how it was developed, how it was marketed over the years, and how many Bibles were out in the wild. In order to understand fully the good and the bad about the project ahead of me, I had to take a thorough inventory of where it came from. I could’ve done my job without this investigation—but n..
Salvation by “Faith” Alone or “Allegiance” Alone?
Follow @BrandonSmith85 If you spend any time talking to me about the Trinity, you’ll know that I’m quick to recommend Matthew Bates’s book, The Birth of the Trinity. This book received wide acclaim from various tribes, and it’s on many people’s lists of go-to works on the Trinity and the early church. His new book, however, is getting a little more heat. I was provided a review copy of the book, and it’s certainly worth dealing with—whether one ends up agreeing with Bates’s proposal or not. In S..