An Unexpected Holiday
One of the things you notice about “Old Scrooge” (as opposed to the changed one, post-hauntings) is that he just can’t enjoy a holiday: “But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge!...
Addicted to Screens? There’s a Deeper Issue.
We tend to have some misconceptions about idols. It’s a strange word, to begin with – apart from the “American Idol” world, perhaps – conjuring images of carved or metal statues from pagan religions. ...
Your website Blog – 5 Resources for Deepening Discipleship
By Stephen Trout Your website blog can be a portal for traveling to some wonderful places in God’s world (including your own church, of course!), and a great way to help deepen discipleship in...
Hope for the Despairing
“There was an epidemic before the pandemic,” says Akshay Rajkumar. A native of India, he writes eloquently about his country’s changing approach to emotions, especially despair. I can’t help but think he describes our...
Is Technology Good or Evil?
The other day I heard a frustrated ministry leader say (in a message online) that the internet was just inhabited by “a bunch of vipers.” The implication being made, it seemed to me, was...
How’s your Front Door?
Prior to the pandemic, one pastor suggested that “not having a church website is like not having a front door to your church building. And it’s hard to welcome people to worship if you...
A Well-Considered Plan for Technology Innovation
Leveraging technology innovations for online engagement can be enticing. Exciting new apps and social media platforms can feel like you’ve hit on the “next big thing” – “must-haves” to reach an increasingly connected audience...
Ten Things an Evangelist Should Believe
by Stephen Trout Do you long to reach people with the evangel (good news) of Jesus, and see them come to new life in Him? If so (and we hope you do!), you must...
5 STEPS to Engaging People Online
“Crisis,” Clint Rogers notes, “tends to create community engagement with little effort.” Consider just two examples from recent memory: In the days following 9/11, thousands streamed into churches to process life’s fragility and ultimate...
Do ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ Work?
I know an ardent skeptic of Christianity who likes to wear a t-shirt with the following slogan: Thoughts and Prayers Don’t Work. Maybe you’ve seen different versions with a similar sentiment: Thoughts and Prayers...