This is my annual New Year’s post about reading through the Bible in a year. I hope you will choose to discipline yourself and discover the riches of God’s Word in this way again this year! As the new year rolls in, we would be wise to plan for the coming year. We accomplish few things of lasting value without having planned for them in advance. This is true for our spiritual journey. Now, at…
A few of us were gathered recently to discuss the state of the church in the United States. One posed the question, “Would you rather be a missionary in a society that had freedom of religion or not?” It was an interesting query and caused a few moments of reflection. A surprising consensus developed gradually, however. We all agreed that we would rather be missionaries in a society that had freedom of religion, but…
I have noticed a curious phenomenon among Christians today: when it comes to sin in the church, we speak when we should remain silent, and remain silent when we should speak. If someone sins against me, causing personal offense—by which we usually mean a wounded ego—I am likely to confront the person, sharing my hurt and frustrations with him. It is almost unforgivable that someone who claims Christ as Lord could treat me in…
Idealism and realism are often set in tension. One can cling to ideals, living by a set of principles that others admire outwardly even as they reject them as naĂŻve, simplistic, unrealistic; or one can embrace the harsh reality of the “way the world works” and compromise on those ostensibly noble principles in order to effect real change. But, conventional wisdom has it, you cannot do both. By the grace of God, we as…
Note from Brandon: This is an exciting moment for Follow After Ministries, as today we welcome our very first guest blogger. Justin Burkholder, on the pastoral staff at Grace Pointe Ministries and soon-to-be missionary to Guatemala City, shares his thoughts on how to engage the elusive postmodernist lovingly and sensitively. In reading this, I am reminded of the old witticism, “How will they hear unless we listen?” Before I say anything. I am neither…
The last in a three-part series on measurable growth in the church—and whether it matters.  God does care about numbers. That much is clear from the book of the Acts—and makes sense considering that each number represents a person receiving grace, being regenerated in Christ. At the same time, some of the numbers that bring us elation (and even pride) receive more attention than they merit. Attendance, while necessary as we strive to bring…
The second in a three-part series on measurable growth in the church—and whether it matters. Yesterday we saw that God does care about numbers. He inspires the historian Luke to devote too much time to the unstoppable numerical growth of the primitive church to think otherwise. However, we do not want to be simplistic in our affirmative answer. We would do well to ask not only if God cares about numbers, but also what…
The first in a three-part series on measurable growth in the church—and whether it matters. The simplest answer to the question “Does God care about numbers?” would be to point to the God-breathed book Numbers within his holy Word. Now, this might seem a reductionist, disingenuous attempt to answer a complicated question—especially since God did not entitle the book. Still, the book was given its title for a reason: there are a lot of…
Abolishing the distinction between secular and sacred activities should revitalize our approach to evangelism especially. If we cling to the idea that some activities are “spiritual” while others are mundane, we will only proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus when we feel we are in the “spiritual” realm.  When we have our “church hat” on, we might participate in an outreach event; but when we have our “work hat” on, or our “home hat”…
One of the practical ramifications of “the greatest commandment”—loving God with all of who we are—is the breakdown between the sacred and the secular. There are no longer some activities that are worshipful and spiritual, and others that are mundane and secular. As Paul says with as wide a sweep as any statement in Scripture, “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). However, acknowledging the breakdown is easy;…