Religion, Spiritual Growth, Theology
John Beeson
The Danger of Religion

Many today take pot shots at religion. Everyone seems happy to claim spirituality, with few willing to claim religion. “I’m spiritual but not religious,” is the only “denomination” that appears to be in favor. Even Christians often insist that Jesus is about a relationship, not a religion.

Religion isn’t all bad. Our declaration that we are “spiritual but not religious” means that we pave our own experience with God. Can that be done? Do we, the creature, get to dictate to the Creator the structure of our relationship? We are foolish if we think that we can make our own way to God.

The Danger of Religion
Biblical Studies, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Worship
John Beeson
What If Jesus Could Coach You on Your Prayer ...

I hate to admit it, but I’ve been around people whose prayers annoy me. Have you ever had that experience? Perhaps their prayers seem flippant, or they have verbal tics, or they don’t leave space for anyone else, or their language turns stilted when they start to pray. Have you ever wondered if your prayers annoy God?  Believe it or not, Jesus seems to indicate that is the case. Twice in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warns us how not to pray

What If Jesus Could Coach You on Your Prayer Life?
Recommendations, Abortion, Culture, History, Biblical Studies
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Who are the sons of God in Genesis 6? William Cook navigates one of the most difficult passages in scripture, “The crucial question concerns whether the phrase refers to human beings or to spiritual beings (demons).”

  2. iPhones, idolatry, and evil spirits: Casey McCall sees echoes of the golden calf in our cell phones today, “It’s just metal and wires and plastic, the fruit of human ingenuity. The products of Silicon Valley seem to be at the opposite end of the supernatural spectrum compared to golden calves and pagan temples created specifically for worship. And yet, nearly half of American teenagers say they’re online “almost constantly.”

This Week's Recommendations
Christian Living, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom
John Beeson
What if Paul Could Coach You on Your Prayer ...

Most people pray. Many of those don’t even consider themselves Christians. In a recent survey, 61% of Americans said they pray.

If your prayers were recorded and played back to you, what would they sound like? How do you refer to God when you pray? Do you have ruts in your prayer life? What do you pray for most? 76% of Americans said their prayers focus on loved ones in crisis. What don’t you pray for?

What if I were to tell you that you could be coached in prayer by the Apostle Paul. If you’re like me, you’d pay a pretty penny to go to that seminar!

What if Paul Could Coach You on Your Prayer Life?
Family, Finance, Marriage, Parenting
John Beeson
Choosing Eight

I am blessed to have many special people in my life. My sister (Sarah) and her husband (Anders) are such people. At age 22, they might have been two of the least likely people you could have imagined to be where they are today: homeschool parents of eight kids. Neither their background nor their career trajectory would have given you a hint they would choose to have eight kids. Both came from families of four and Sarah was enrolled in medical school on the way to becoming a doctor. I had the opportunity to sit down with Sarah and Anders and listen to how God led them to choose to have eight kids.

Choosing Eight

prayer

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What if Paul Could Coach You on Your Prayer Life?

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What if Paul Could Coach You on Your Prayer Life?

Most people pray. Many of those don’t even consider themselves Christians. In a recent survey, 61% of Americans said they pray.

If your prayers were recorded and played back to you, what would they sound like? How do you refer to God when you pray? Do you have ruts in your prayer life? What do you pray for most? 76% of Americans said their prayers focus on loved ones in crisis. What don’t you pray for?

What if I were to tell you that you could be coached in prayer by the Apostle Paul. If you’re like me, you’d pay a pretty penny to go to that seminar!

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You and the Universal Church

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You and the Universal Church

Healthy Christians know that the Church is bigger than their church. We call this the universal church, the collective body of all followers of Jesus worldwide and across history. This spiritual entity is invisible, transcending denominations.

Unhealthy churches and denominations communicate directly and indirectly that they are the only true church. Unsound churches make the opposite error: not drawing any boundaries for who is outside of the orthodox church.

But what does this mean for the ordinary Christian? For many Christians, it doesn’t mean much at all. Their only meaningful connection to the church is with their church.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. What ‘gentle parenting’ misunderstands about human nature: Michael Reneau and Megan Dent explain, “A core feature of Jesus’ gentleness to sinners was his understanding that they were trapped in a world in which the sinful parts of their nature were likely to be tempted and exploited, again and again. In this sense, sinners were indeed victims. But Jesus suggests that their problem was not that other human beings weren’t catering to their every emotional need (and in the process, eliding their own), but rather that they had become lost in a longing that Augustine called concupiscence: an immense desire, or ardent longing for fulfilment that often leads one astray, toward hubris, power, violence, lust, or material greed.”

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Go To a Funeral

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Go To a Funeral

We Westerners avoid death.

 

When was the last time you walked through a cemetery? When was the last funeral you went to? Our churches no longer have cemeteries, those who are older head to retirement communities and then to head to long-term care or assisted care facilities. The number of funerals held in churches has diminished. Death has become professionalized, antisepticised, and remote.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Why the world’s greatest athletes don’t get paid like it: Most Olympic athletes truly do it for the love of the game. Mark Dent reports, “26.5% of the surveyed athletes had a total income of less than $15k per year, and another study from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee found 59% of Olympic hopefuls make less than $25k during Olympic years.”

  2. How to counter the forces that malform your soul: John Mark Comer explains how spiritual formation happens in this brief video.

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Do You Want to Be Inspired to Pray?

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Do You Want to Be Inspired to Pray?

I don’t know a Christian who hasn’t struggled at one time or another in their life with prayer. We long to experience God as others seem to in prayer. But prayer itself can feel like a massive challenge. In this hare-world of notification and hustle, prayer represents a tortoise reality. We know it’s the better way, but how do we live like that?

I still feel like a toddler in my prayer life, but I long to grow into someone with a rich prayer life. Below are five books that have encouraged me in my prayer life. They are very different. Pick up one that you think will help you the most and dive in.

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The Top Ten Ways to Lead in Your Home (and Organization, Too!)

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The Top Ten Ways to Lead in Your Home (and Organization, Too!)

In the past post we considered the biblical priority of leading in our homes before stepping into leadership callings outside of our home.

When I was asked to speak to our Mom’s Matter group on leading well in the home I was a bit intimidated. I felt far from equipped to speak as a man to women on the topic of leadership. And so, I did the only thing I could think of: I asked wise, godly women who were also great leaders. Starting with my wife, I began to listen to the advice my female friends offered on leadership in the home and beyond.

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Believer, beware

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Believer, beware

I grew up in the age of Neil Anderson and Frank Peretti, two Christian authors who used their pens to try to enlighten their audiences about the power and pervasiveness of the spiritual world. I can still picture the claws descending from heaven on the cover of Peretti’s This Present Darkness that spooked me as a child.

 As I developed theologically, especially through the influence of Reformed thinkers, I began to set aside these influences, which now felt naïve. To focus on the demonic forces of the world seemed to leave people with magical worldviews, where they held very little power over their own actions, and diminished the importance of mortifying the flesh as disciples of Jesus.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Lifetimes in landscapes: Brianna Lambert with a wonderfully evocative piece of writing, “He grew up in the foothills of the forest. Where the horizon disappeared behind the blue ridges. He’d spend his days with his eyes lifted towards the clouds that kissed the forehead of the mountaintops.”

  2. How to get the most out of your counseling sessions: Jason Hsieh says, “Just as you would take a doctor’s medical prescriptions seriously. You can do this by regularly reviewing those particular biblical perspectives and following through on any new habits to form that you discuss.”

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Strange Questions to Ask Your (future) Pastor

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Strange Questions to Ask Your (future) Pastor

I hope you’ve considered why you’ve left your former church (I’ve written on the ten reasons to leave a church here).

 

You’ve already watched a service online, read the church’s doctrinal statement, and visited the church. What comes next?

 

“What does a church believe?” When Angel and I were first married and looking for a home church, I was laser-focused on the prospective churches’ theology and denomination. Those things matter. You will likely also ask, “How solid is the worship ministry?” And, if you have kids, you will definitely ask, “Is the children’s ministry biblically grounded, safe, and engaging?”

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