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Religious pluralism has provided space for the Gospel to be heard. Things aren’t always as they appear. The rose-colored glasses with which we look at our religious past often artificially and inappropriately distorts our perspective on our future. As the great philosopher Billy Joel once quipped, “The good ol’ days weren’t always good, and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.” Our fears of tomorrow often stem from a longing to retreat back to the familiar... Read More

A conversation about Christian mindfulness. Ed: What led you to discover mindfulness? Charles: My youngest daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 1. Through the first 25 years of her life she had a dozen brain surgeries, two devices implanted into and taken out of her body, and had part of her brain removed. I saw the effects of something wrong with the human brain. Although I had been a Christian for decades, I still greatly struggled with anxiety and worry. Even though I... Read More

An astronomer ponders one of Jesus’ most memorable sayings. When Jesus defined himself as “the light of the world,” listeners probably associated those words with common objects well known to them: the hot sun of Judea, the stars twinkling in the sky, the moon shining during the night, torches they carried on the roads, small oil lamps used in their houses, or bonfires lit when camping on a long trip. In our current age, we associate the light with many other things: the... Read More

How I found a power greater than the white powder that enslaved me. Don’t put the powder in your nose,” I said as I looked in the mirror. “Don’t do it.” I was sure I could talk myself out of snorting cocaine one more time. My words sounded so real, so genuine. But just like that, I saw my image disappear from the mirror as I bent down and took another hit off the table. It was an awful high. The chemicals of the cocaine laced through my body at the same time... Read More

How Lois McMaster Bujold’s Hugo Award–winning stories depict reverence in the face of divine mystery. The fear of the Lord,” says Proverbs 1:7, “is the beginning of knowledge.” Indeed, God’s scriptural appearances are often terrifying. Moses sees only God’s cloaked back and is nearly undone by the sight (Ex. 34:4–8). Isaiah sees God’s throne room, complete with disturbingly inhuman angelic creatures, and is devastated by the gap between his... Read More

“Young Latino transnational believers in Christ have the relational life skills necessary to be transcultural missionaries and intercultural leaders.” Ed: How would you describe the state of Christianity and the church among emerging adults—18 to 29-year-olds—today? What are their biggest questions, concerns, or motivations? Juan: There are several good studies about the religious perspectives of millennials in the U.S. I would point to them as good places to answer these... Read More

Dowling Park was a retirement community built around widows and orphans. A century later, it’s a model for intergenerational ministry. Charles Moore says he must have heard about Florida’s first retirement community when he was in the cradle in the late 1930s. His father loved reading the Present Truth Messenger, a newspaper of the Advent Christian Church—especially the back-page “Old Folks at Home” section that offered updates about the denomination’s... Read More

On the first day of Lent, I’m reminded of a love that “alters not” and “bears it out even to the edge of doom.” Many years ago this winter, I published my first novel. That was a proud day for me. I had a sense of maybe having achieved something of lasting significance. The novel sold reasonably well, made it into a second and third reprinting, and was even brought out again in mass-market paperback. But three or four years after it first came out, my publisher told me the novel... Read More

The US congregations most likely to grow are the 10 percent that already have more than 250 worshipers. In many congregations in the United States, new faces in the pews have become rare. A new study from Exponential by LifeWay Research found 6 in 10 Protestant churches are plateaued or declining in attendance and more than half saw fewer than 10 people become new Christians in the past 12 months. “Growth is not absent from American churches,” said Scott McConnell, executive... Read More

When chosen wisely, a gap year can meet a student exactly where they are and provide what they need to thrive in college. Each year, between 80 and 110 future Harvard students choose to take a gap year. They’re encouraged to pursue this option straight from the Admissions office. Why would one of the most prestigious schools in the country encourage high school grads to wait to go to college? Harvard isn’t the only school encouraging its applicants to consider this option.... Read More