The church clearly has an image problem. For a variety of reasons, many in the culture view the church with a great deal of skepticism—if not outright disdain. In her book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key, Rosaria Butterfield captures it per- fectly when she writes, “Let’s face it; we have become unwelcome guests in this post-Christian world. Our … [Read more...]
Confession and Healing
The Lenten season is a time to contemplate our sin in light of the cross. Unfortunately, confession of sin is an increasingly rare occurrence in the church. It seems that we are more concerned about the sins of society than we are the sins of the church. We rightly lament political corruption, the redefining of marriage, the wanton violence of … [Read more...]
Don’t Confuse the Church with a Political Party
We are living in one of the most politically-divisive times in our nation’s history. But I want to assert that those types of political battle lines have no place in the church. We must not allow ourselves to be hijacked by a political agenda. We should certainly speak to the issues of our day (i.e. immigration, civil rights, etc.). And we ought to … [Read more...]
It Matters How You Live
I recently officiated a funeral for a man I didn’t know. I met with his children to make preparations for the funeral service. They indicated that their father had made a profession of faith in Jesus as a young child but had little do with the church or spiritual things for the next 60 years. The fact that they had to look online for a pastor … [Read more...]
Stop Settling
Billy Graham, the well-known American evangelist, died this week at the age of 99. He preached to live audiences of nearly 215 million people in 185 different countries. Graham’s very first crusade in 1947 was at the Civic Auditorium here in Grand Rapids. One of FHBC’s earliest members, Fred Johnson, was 1 of 6,000 in attendance at that Crusade. … [Read more...]