The rise of the nones, and the corresponding fall of Christian affiliation, is arguably the most important trend in 21st-century American religion. According to the General Social Survey, between 1972 and 2018, the religiously unaffiliated grew from 5.1% of the … Continue reading The Doubters’ Club | Book Review
Last year, as part of Amazon’s First Reads program, I read Isabella Maldonado’s crime novel, The Cipher. It introduced Nina Guerrera (aka, “Warrior Girl”). to readers. Guerrera was abandoned in a dumpster as a baby, raised (and abused) in foster homes, … Continue reading Nina Guerrera Series by Isabella Maldonado
The mission Jesus gave the Church extends to “all nations” (Matthew 28:19), meaning ethno-linguistic people groups, not countries. In the modern period, missions involved going from the West (Christendom) to the Rest (the Majority World). Today, however, the nations are … Continue reading Effective Intercultural Evangelism | Book Review
What is the relationship between evangelism and compassion in the Church’s mission? Historically, Pentecostals prioritized evangelism. Pentecostal missionaries believed the Spirit called and empowered them to proclaim the gospel and plant indigenous churches in cultures where Christ was not known. … Continue reading The Missionary Spirit | Book Review
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) includes three elements: authority, mission, and presence. The authority and presence are Christ’s, but the mission is Christians’. Christ commands us to “make disciples of all nations,” incorporating them into the Church through baptism and … Continue reading Change the Map
One of my goals this year is to read the Bible cover to cover twice. I read The NIV Sola Scriptura Bible (review) in the first half of the year, and the second half I’m reading Immerse: The Reading Bible (review). … Continue reading Kingdoms, Volume 3 of Immerse: The Reading Bible | Book Review
C-SPAN’s Presidential Historians Survey 2021 ranked Abraham Lincoln first among the 44 men who have served as America’s chief executive. The survey ranks presidential effectiveness across 10 metrics, including public persuasion, crisis leadership, moral authority, and pursuit of equal justice. … Continue reading Abraham Lincoln: Lessons in Spiritual Leadership
“If you think you are leading, but no one is following,” says John Maxwell, “then you are only taking a walk.” Leadership is not positional, in other words — at least not merely. Nor can it be reduced to professional … Continue reading Impact | Book Review
My son, Reese, begins seventh grade this fall. He turns 13 in late October, but at nearly 5’8” and 130 lbs., he looks older. Like other growing boys, he is especially proud of the moustache growing at the edges of … Continue reading 3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager | Book Review
The Bible is the word of God, but can’t speak to you through it unless you pick it up and read it. Unfortunately, picking up and reading the Bible isn’t easy. For one thing, most Bibles run more than a … Continue reading Beginnings, Volume 2 of Immerse: The Reading Bible | Book Review
