Saturday Lagniappe: "5 Signs You’ve Bought Into the Prosperity Gospel" and Much More

5 Signs You’ve Bought Into the Prosperity Gospel

... no one wants to admit that they have embraced the prosperity gospel, (even if it’s more of a side-hug than an embrace). There’s always a more extreme example to point to while we let ourselves off the hook.

But prosperity-teaching is sneaky. So, here for your reading pleasure are five sure-fire signs that the prosperity gospel has crept into your bed and snuggled up on the pillow beside you. Read More

Theology Learned in the Flames of Adversity

In 1527, Martin Luther experienced a trial so severe that church historian Philip Schaff described that year simply as “the disastrous year.” It was the time of Luther’s “severest spiritual and physical trials.” As the leading figure of the Reformation, Luther paid a high price in the struggle for truth, and his physical condition deteriorated under the movement’s mounting demands. Read More

The One Trait Every Leader MUST Possess

... while I believe there are many traits and qualities a great leader must possess, there’s one that stands out among all others. In fact, the longer I think about it, I quickly realize that most every trait builds on this one trait!

A leader’s most important trait is DISCIPLINE. Read More

3 Reasons to Be Thankful for Bad Sermons

Although I am an advocate for powerful, God-glorifying, excellent sermons, the reality is that not all sermons will be the best we’ve ever preached.

So here are three reasons you can take joy in the occasional bad sermon.... Read More

Children’s Ministry is NOT a Game!

Since children’s ministry is a serious endeavor, we must carefully consider how to minister to and reach children. As one pastor says, “what we win them with is what we win them to.” Though there is much more that could be said, consider with me five ways to strengthen our children’s ministries to better reflect a biblical view of parenting and of children. Read More

Answering Questions with Jesus

“I left the church because no one would answer my questions.”

This refrain, or similar rhetoric, scatters the blogs or social media posts of those who have distanced themselves from Christ’s church. One question emerges when we observe the phenomenon of despairing and leaving question-askers: Does the church — ­can the church — ­answer the questions of those in the church asking questions amidst an increasingly skeptical world? Read More

Six Degrees of Separation: Why Our Witness Matters

Our lives reach farther than we can imagine.

It’s amazing to look back through history and trace the events that eventually led to Billy Graham’s conversion. It’s incredibly inspirational and deserves to be remembered, but the problem with stories like this is that they often feel too grand to be re-lived. Because of that, we often don’t realize that we’re already in the midst of these same stories. Now, the people we influence may not have as large of an impact as Billy Graham, but the truth remains that the impact of our lives is more far reaching than we can imagine.

Here are three ways in which the story of Billy Graham’s conversion and the principle of six degrees of separation can spur us on in our evangelism. Read More

The New/Old Way Our Culture Pressures Us To Conform

Every culture has certain standards that distinguish good and respectable people from the bad and disreputable people. Every culture has ways of compelling people to adhere to its standards. Some force adherence through guilt, some through fear, and some through shame. Read More

Risky drinking is rising rapidly in the US

Americans are drinking too much.

High-risk drinking among US adults increased about 30% between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013, according to a new study. The proportion Americans developing alcohol dependence, it said could be considered a "public health crisis." Read More

9 Things You Should Know About Alcohol Abuse in America

A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry this month finds that the rate of alcohol use disorder (i.e., alcoholism) rose by 49 percent in the first decade of the 2000s. One in eight American adults, or 12.7 percent of the U.S. population, now meets diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder, according to the study.

Here are nine things you should know about the problem of alcohol abuse in America.... Read More