Meaning, Ministry & the Word
Beyond the mic: Articles and blog posts from Wednesday in the Word. The podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.
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Beyond the Mic: Blog Posts from the Podcast
Resentment: a biblical lesson
How do you handle it when life isn’t fair? It’s easy to grow frustrated with our own lot in life and resent those who seem to have it better. Consider the story of Miriam.
Rethinking the 20s
My grandmother remarked that when she was 20 marriage was the adventure — for both men and women — and career was a icing on the cake. Now education and achievement are considered the adventure while marriage (indeed any long-term relationship) is an afterthought. But it’s not working.
Women’s Retreat Survival Kit
A conference I attended gave each participant this simple and heartwarming “Conference Survival kit” which contained the following items and Scripture.
Easter celebrations
In the midst of all these glorious Easter celebrations — however appropriate they are — it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Easter calls for humility and repentance.
Lance Armstrong and fallen heroes
Fallen heroes teach us that we need more than an earthly hero. Throughout biblical history, God gave us fallen heroes and failed solutions to prepare us for the only solution that works.
Solomon’s wisdom and last resorts
Solomon had real wisdom to offer a broken world. Yet, he failed to learn the most important lesson: Solomon valued the gift of wisdom more than the Giver of the gift.
The Vow of Jephthah
The story is tragic in part because he expected an animal, but also because his vow reveals his lack of faith in God.
Where was the manger and what was the inn?
You have seen, heard, and sung the Christmas story so often you can recite the details by heart. Most of what you know is likely “cultural mythology.”
Are congregations a means to an end or a flock to shepherd? 3 examples
What happens when pastors start looking at their congregation as a means to an end instead of a flock to shepherd? Consider these real-life examples of the ways 3 different churches went about seeking volunteers.
NT Wright and Eleanor Bramwell
Are we to believe NT Wright, like Dr. Bramwell, is the first to get it right? Should we so easily brush away “centuries of theological tradition”? Chronological snobbery cuts both ways.
Prayer and rain: Does God answer prayer?
Why should I have confidence that God answers my prayers? According to James, I have confidence that my prayers will be answered because of who is answering my prayer, not because my prayer is perfect, powerful or articulate.
Questioning desire
Desires play a key role in the life of faith. The question is how we handle our desires and whether we are willing to listen to what God says about them.
Should I marry a man with pornography struggles?
A recently engaged woman learned her fiancee has “ongoing struggles with pornography.” She isn’t sure what to do. Assuming sin usually runs deeper than we care to admit, my advice would be postpone the wedding until the she can answer “yes” to two questions.
All hardship is not harmful
When did we learn that all hardship is harmful, that every unknown is dangerous, and that even the tiniest failure must be avoided? It is a logical conclusion if we alone are responsible for everything, but James would say otherwise.
Finding the Will of God
If we accept the fact that God is our Father, our Provider and our Redeemer, does it make sense that He would hide His will from us? Yet many Christians talk about the “will of God” as if finding it is a version of the con man’s three-shell game.
Galatians, James and “social justice”
In his critique of Tim Keller’s Generous Justice, Giere refers to Galatians and points to a major theme of James. Do James and Paul offer a litmus test of saving faith?
Measuring up to your Facebook image
Fantasy, distortion and falsehood are the currency of our new technology. It is easy today to be someone you’re not. By contrast, the Epistle of James raises the question: are you living what you claim to believe?
The meaning of Christmas
What is there to celebrate about Christmas? I’d like to answer that question by looking at one of my favorite Christmas stories: Job. The hope that sustained Job sitting on that ash heap, scraping at his boils, is the knowledge that he had a Redeemer who was born on Christmas day.
Beauty is in the mouse click
Beauty is no longer in the eye of the beholder; it is in the mouse click of the photoshopper.
The “Dad-Mom” Debate
Does the Bible dictate who works inside and outside the home? Consider this debate over “who wears the pants” sparked by the “Dad Mom” Tide commercial.
As in a mirror
Obedience is not agreeing with truth and intending to do it. It’s doing what God asks us to do as soon as possible. Why, then, do I fail to act?
What’s Your Ministry-Burn-Out Profile?
Take this highly unscientific quiz to diagnose your discouragement style—then find out what to do about it. Do you match Elijah, Moses, John the Baptist, or Gideon?
Women’s Ministry: The view from 1852
“The female part of every congregation have an influence which cannot be defined nor resisted. For the most part, this influence is as just in its award, as it is sovereign in its sway.”
Marriage is the adventure
Neither churches nor families are teaching 20-somethings that marriage is the adventure – except in our Perfect Union class.
Breaking the Women’s Ministry stereotype?
Some of us may be choking on cutesy things, but many of us are working towards a model of serious bible study and discipleship.
Why have a women’s ministry?
Not only is it important to have an intentional, deliberate approach to female discipleship, it is necessary for a healthy church community.
Study finds: Girlfriends are key to women’s optimism
According to a recent USA Today article, “girlfriends are key to women’s optimism.”
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