May 14 2012 Written by Kurt Willems

Over the past few years, I’ve become a social media guy. I’m on Facebook, Twitter and websites almost every day. At times, I spend hours interacting with others and producing web content about Jesus. This sort of engagement stimulates my mind and pushes me to explore the intricacies of Christianity within Western culture. The Internet is a gift to my faith.

Apr 19 2012 Written by Jordan Davis

We've all heard it said, "There's no such thing as a dumb question."

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Apr 9 2012 Written by Crystal Loveless

Sleepless nights are common. I lay my head down, and a thousand thoughts intrude. I count. I pray. I pursue redundant thoughts, desperate for enough peace in my mind to allow me to drift to sleep. But the peace doesn’t come, and the intrusive images keep me alert.

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Apr 6 2012 Written by Marcus Hathcock

Yesterday was Good Friday. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. In the liturgical tradition, this day in between is known as “Holy Saturday,” but I like to think of it more as “Question-mark Saturday” or “Doubt Saturday” or “Faith-building Saturday.”

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Apr 6 2012 Written by Casey Hobbs

A few years ago, some friends of mine and I were mulling over the death of Jesus. We talked for what seemed like hours about the agony He had experienced in His flesh: the beatings He took, the slaps and spits to the face He received and His thorny crown. We all remembered movies we had seen depicting the humble Teacher’s abuse and public murder, but we wanted to talk about more than a good man suffering—we wanted to talk about the mental and spiritual agony of the God-Man from the garden of Gethsemane to His garden-tomb resurrection. We were talking in circles, trying to get to the point.

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Apr 5 2012 Written by Esther Baird

Last year, after we celebrated Easter, our first-grade daughter, who was suddenly on a story-writing tear, decided to write down an Easter account she could read to our family. She wrote seven pages full of great detail: Jesus on the donkey, Jesus in the garden sweating blood, Peter cutting off the guard's ear, etc. She peppered her account with editorial comments such as, “Now, this is where it gets very sad,” or, “This is the last part,” and, “Now we can be happy because ..." But otherwise she stuck closely to the biblical version. 

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Mar 14 2012 Written by Aaron Justice Chung

The Bible says that young Christians are like infants who drink milk, while mature Christians are like grown-ups who dine on porterhouse steaks. Me? I put a glob of ketchup on my medium-rare kobe and drank it down with a wine glass full of Yoohoo.

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Mar 7 2012 Written by Melissa Wilcox

My mom has told me about those nights many times—when fear loomed large, and I would lie in bed, ticking through a list of questions. The same every night.

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Mar 6 2012 Written by Richard Stearns

Any leader, writer or designer knows that, before getting started, it is necessary to consider where the project ends. The same is true with the Lenten season; I'd like to ask you to consider the end of this season of the church calendar—not Easter, but the Ascension.

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Feb 27 2012 Written by Lisa Velthouse

In the family that is spiritual disciplines, fasting plays the role of quirky second cousin. Unlike its more consistent counterparts—prayer, worship, Scripture reading, church participation and so forth—fasting has a way of showing up sporadically, and then often it arrives obnoxiously, dressed like a fad diet. The other disciplines have their obvious functions and significance: they focus our attention on God, they help us commune with Him, they imprint His story in our hearts, they unite us with other believers. But what does fasting do, anyway?

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