This week’s blog is by Greg Paul, author of Resurrecting Religion and was originally posted on The Disciple Maker. Given the travesties the church has committed in the past and the nonsense it still gets stuck in today, it’s tempting to just chuck the whole notion of religion into the waste bin of failed concepts. Mighty tempting, indeed. Especially when we ourselves are also […]
Seize the Day: How to Draw Closer to God
Today’s blog was written by Katherine J. Butler and was originally posted on Read the Arc. Have you ever felt like there was so much distance between you and someone else that nothing you could do would ever close the gap between you? I have. In the first few years of our marriage, my husband and I struggled to feel close. In addition […]
The Bible in 6 Sentences
This week’s blog was written by Leonard Sweet and was originally posted on The Discipleship Maker. Someone once challenged me: “I bet I can tell you the whole Old Testament and New Testament in six sentences—three for each.” “You’re on!” I said. He started with the Old Testament: “‘They tried to kill us. We survived. […]
Being the Person Your Friend Needs
This blog was written by Melanie Shankle and was originally posted on Read the Arc. There’s a certain security that comes when you see that your best friend is managing to do something you aren’t sure you can do, and seeing my best friend Gulley transition into motherhood gave me the courage to follow her. My husband […]
How to Be a Man of Integrity
This blog is written by Lt. Charles Causey and was originally posted on The Disciple Maker. As a young man, my army chaplain father told me a true story about 672 men who perished in the middle of the night during World War II. On January 23, 1943, the SS Dorchester departed New York City […]
“I’m Fine” Translation: No You’re Not.
This week’s blog is by Nicole Unice and was originally posted on Read the Arc. How are you? If you’re like me, when asked this at the grocery store or by a friend you haven’t seen in a while, your response is usually: “Fine!” After all, we can tick off our big blessings—a roof over […]
The Unexpected Rescue
I’d heard the phrase “God is love” plenty of times, but I never really took it to heart. After all, “God is love” seemed to contradict the way in which some Christians had treated me and others. I was never good enough for them, never acted holy enough, and didn’t look the way a supposedly […]
Keep the Fire Burning
This week’s blog is written by Jarrid Wilson. One of my all-time favorite childhood activities in the mountains was starting the nightly campfire. It’s no secret that all children are closet pyromaniacs. Something about kids and fire just goes hand in hand. Fire is mesmerizing, to say the least, and it begs to be played […]
Get To Know the Boring Christ
This week’s blog is written by Matt Mikalatos. I have a friend, a young woman we’ll call Chelsea. She’s an atheist, and one day she said to me, “You Christians seem to think Jesus is boring.” I was shocked. After all, she and I had discussed him at length. “What do you mean?” “I mean, you […]
Unfolding Stories Podcast, Episode Ten: From Street Gang to God’s Child.
This is it! The final episode of our Christian testimony podcast Unfolding Stories, season one, is here! It’s available to download from your favorite podcast platform today. See below for links to download. This week we meet Michelangelo, who recalls for us a life that started with little direction; and even fewer expectations. He finds […]
Cookie-Cutter Discipleship?
This week’s blog is written by Randy D. Raysbrook Blame it on Frederick W. Taylor. Though he lived a century ago, he may still be affecting your understanding of disciplemaking. Taylor’s influence was primarily in the industrial sector of America in the late 1890s. It was he who refined post-Industrial Revolution thought by advocating the […]
Unfolding Stories Podcast Episode Nine: Doubting God in Depression
We’ve hit the penultimate episode in our first season of our encouraging new Christian podcast, Unfolding Stories! Episode nine is available to download right NOW from your regular podcast platforms. Links to download are given below. In this episode, we hear from Leanne. In her struggles with depression and other mental health issues, Leanne began […]