When we discuss the Great Commission and the task of evangelism, we often speak of “sharing our faith.” But is this an accurate description of our mission? Elliot Clark believes that it is not. Clark works to train church leaders overseas with Training Leaders International. And he believes that our terminology has become one of the reasons that we … [Read more...]
Return to Ground Zero
Today is Pentecost Sunday—the birthday of the church. Forty-nine days after the resurrection of Jesus, God poured out his Spirit on those followers of Jesus (Acts 2). In an extraordinary and undeniable way, God affirmed that he was doing something new. He was calling out a people for his name (1 Peter 2:9). What does this event teach us about the … [Read more...]
The Attractional Quality of Beauty
This year marked the tenth anniversary of ArtPrize in Grand Rapids. ArtPrize is an international art competition that takes place over 19 days every other fall. More than $500,000 in prizes are awarded. In 2018, there were over 1,260 works created by artists from 41 states and 40 countries displayed in over 165 venues throughout the city. With over … [Read more...]
President Trump is Not That Important
Nero was the Roman Emperor during the time when the apostle Paul was writing his letters to the various churches in the 1st century. Nero was no saint. He had an affair with his slave girl Acte. He had his mother executed. And when Rome burned, he blamed it on the Christians to remove suspicion from himself and had many of them executed. Now Nero … [Read more...]
The Priority of the Cross
Warren Webster was the general director of the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society in 1967. As a former missionary to Pakistan he had been asked to speak at the Urbana Missions Conference that year. During a question-and-answer session, Webster was asked a provocative question, “What if your daughter falls in love with a Pakistani while … [Read more...]