Culture & Perspectives

I sat quietly at a row of long rectangular tables. My wife, Heather, and my two-year-old son Lucas sat to my left, with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew adjacent to us. Country renditions of familiar hymns flowed from an inconspicuous speaker in the corner of the fellowship hall of a small…

New Trail Reaches Ranching Culture It was Saturday afternoon of the rodeo. Stan Norman climbed into the bull pen, baptizing two bull riders in the stock tank surrounded by the largest bulls and broncs. “All I asked the bull riders was they cover my backside…

Reposted from Shalom! journal, this article was based on a sermon from David Flowers, senior pastor of Grantham Church, given on November 12, 2017. Listen to sermon audio. Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:15-22; John 17:20-23; Ephesians 4:2-3 There really is nothing more divisive in this country and in the church today than politics…

Theologian Scot McKnight challenged us "To Follow Jesus," the culmination of our General Assembly theme: “To Know, Love, and Follow Jesus.” The internationally acclaimed Christian scholar exhorted us to heed Christ’s disruptive call: Philippians 2:1-11 says that Jesus rejected his rightful power in order to give himself in redemptive relationship with us…

Alan Robinson, BIC U.S. national director, called us to focus our attention on the second portion of the weekend's theme: "To Love Jesus." "Love at first sight is not our story," opened Alan in reference to his relationship with his wife…

We are incredibly privileged Danisa Ndlovu ushered in General Assembly 2018. Danisa, global director of FaithWalk Ministries International, formerly was bishop of BIC Zimbabwe. Danisa’s message “To Know Jesus” challenges the American Church. Today our culture likes to be in control. Yet Danisa said to know Jesus is to surrender our control to encounter the Living God…

I remember a particularly disastrous piano recital from my teenage years. Since my toddler brother was sick, my parents had sent me off to the recital early with the promise that one of them would try to attend. I noticed with a start that my father was standing in the back doorway of the sanctuary…

Many Christians think that the Trinity is confusing, contradictory, and impractical. Isn’t that a shame? The Trinity is not only who God is, but also what makes Christianity compelling among the world’s religions. However, making the Trinity more relevant in evangelism and discipleship requires an embrace of paradox rather than the customary retreat from it…

“I think it is one of the tragedies of our nation, one of the shameful tragedies, that eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours, if not the most segregated hour, in Christian America…

The other day I asked my six-year-old daughter what I assumed was a simple question — “Where do you want to go get ice cream?” There are two great options in town, and I wanted to let her make the final decision…