 BY BRIAN MCNARRY I’m not on Twitter very often. If you go through my tweet history, you’ll notice a three year gap where I decided not to tweet or even log in to Twitter. Even though I am tweeting occasionally again there’s one thing about Twitter that has never really made sense to me: #hashtags. I understand their purpose to group topics together and to follow an event or conference, but I can’t for the life of me understand why some people use the hashtags that they do. The one that really makes me scratch my head is when people post something with the hashtag #Blessed. Go take a moment and search for #Blessed on Twitter and take a look at what you’ll find. People posting a picture of their iced coffee, their holiday destination, maybe a picture of a free lunch at an event or—my personal favourite—when someone finds out the item they were going to buy anyways is on sale. Is this really what our western world thinks being #Blessed is all about? If we wanted to learn what blessing means and only looked at Twitter, we would think that being blessed is when something gives us a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Getting a gift, buying something for ourselves, or achieving a goal and posting about it on Twitter is what it means to be #Blessed. Being #Blessed in the hashtag definition is a stunted and minimized form of what God’s blessing really could be in our lives. When we confuse the hashtag version and God’s version of blessing it prevents us from truly seeing God’s goodness in the world around us. When we look at someone else’s post about being #Blessed, we would often prefer the shallow emptiness of that #Blessing to the rich fullness of God’s blessing. The book of Genesis has a lot to say about God’s blessing, it starts when God blesses his creation, and this theme carries through right to the end when Joseph blesses the twelve tribes of Israel. Yet the focal point of God’s blessing comes earlier in the book, when God calls Abram to follow him. Here’s what God says: “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3 NLT. I’ve heard many good sermons about the need to be like Abram and leave our comfort zones to follow God, but I’ve rarely heard someone focus on the way God talks about blessing in this passage. When God speaks to Abram, he uses different forms of the word blessing to communicate different things to Abram. The first use of the word blessing talks about material gain for Abram, and God fulfills this when the four patriarchs of Israel (Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph,) each gain wealth in the form of livestock and being the head of large households. Even Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, ends up being second in command of Egypt through God’s involvement and Joseph trusting him. Yet in the rest of God’s call to Abram the next four uses of the word bless have nothing to do with material gain. The key to understanding what God means in this passage comes from the last sentence where God says All the families on earth will be blessed through you. God has big plans for Abram when he says this, and just a few chapters later God enacts the covenant with Abram and gives him the new name Abraham. God changed Abram from “exalted father” to “father of many nations.” He had a big plan for Abraham, and that plan was for Abraham’s descendants to be the people that would one day cause the whole world to be blessed in an incredible way by God. This was never intended to be realized during Abraham’s life, it was something for Abraham to hope for with patient and confident faith. To grasp how God intended his blessing to come upon all the families of earth we have to look at the bigger narrative of scripture. We have to step back and see the whole story God has been creating from Genesis through to Revelation. It’s only then that we start to see that the ultimate fulfillment of God’s blessing comes when his people recognize and strive to experience God’s presence. Throughout the Old Testament it’s easy to see that when the Israelites followed the covenant it focused them toward God’s presence. When they held to the covenant it transformed them into a witness that revealed God’s goodness, love, and mercy to the other nations of the world. Then God enacted the ultimate way of revealing his presence to us; sending Jesus Christ to live and walk on the earth, teaching us what it truly means to live in God’s presence. When Jesus started the sermon on the mount, he talked about the poor, the mourning, the humble, and those who strive for justice receiving God’s blessings. He talked about people working for peace becoming his children, and that those who are persecuted for doing right receiving the Kingdom of Heaven. None of these blessings talk about receiving material gain. Even Matthew 5:5 which talks about the humble inheriting the whole earth is about the humble getting to be with God as all of creation is reconciled back to God. Then something even bigger happened. When Jesus died on the cross, the ultimate symbol of God’s presence being poured out on the world was created. At the moment of his death, the temple curtain that separated the most holy place from the rest of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This barrier that had kept God’s holiness and his presence from overwhelming the people was ripped open to unleash God’s goodness onto the world. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection God’s presence is made available to everyone. God’s goodness becomes unhindered with nothing holding him back from his people. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram that all the families on earth would be blessed through him. When God uses the term blessing in scripture, he is overwhelmingly talking about pronouncing his goodness to the world through his presence with us. God wants to reveal himself to the world and it’s through our relationship with him and being partners in building his kingdom that he blesses the world and reconciles it back to himself. I am not saying that God does not give material blessings to us sometimes; scripture is abundantly clear that it is well within God’s ability to provide for us. What I am saying is that the shallowness of the hashtag #Blessed is preventing us from truly understanding and experiencing the depth of blessing that is experiencing God’s presence. When our desires are shallow, what we will experience will be shallow. When our desire for God becomes deep and rich, then we will experience the deep and rich reality of God’s presence being with us. Maybe we can have a bigger understanding of what it means to be blessed by God. Maybe we can start by beginning a daily practice of seeking God’s presence in our lives. Maybe we can let that grow into showing God’s presence to the world instead of showing off our latest purchase with a hashtag attached to it. The truth is we are all blessed, but we are not #Blessed.  Brian's whole understanding of faith and Christianity changed when he started to encounter what it means to live life with God instead of for God. One thing that Brian is passionate about is walking with people as they explore their faith in Christ and learning how to honestly seek God in the midst of our doubts and fears. Brian is the Pastor of Grand Valley Community Church in Brandon Manitoba. He is married to Nikki and they have one daughter named Olivia. When Brian isn't working on a sermon at a Starbucks or at home with his family, you can usually find him fly fishing or building model air planes.
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 By Kellie-Ann RussellI’m single. I’m a millennial, though I just discovered I fit into that category this year. I don’t have a solid attendance record at church. And I’m disturbed. I’m not disturbed with the church. I’m not even upset with people who don’t go to church. I’m disturbed with a problem that’s been brewing between both sides of the argument. On the one hand, many churches are distressed by the decline of millennials attending church. On the other, non-church goers (who may or may not be millennials) are indifferent or even seemingly fed up with the church. Their reasons are diverse, and fingers are being pointed in both directions, as well as a slew of articles seeking to “help” both sides. I say “help” loosely because I’ve read articles on both sides that, while having some productive points, use snippets of language border-lining on accusatory. And here we are drifting further and further apart—church goers and non-church goers. One such article from the church goers side was posted on the Boundless Show, a branch of Focus on the Family which hosts a podcast I listen to semi-religiously. On a certain blog post, I read this: “Too often people use their freedom to float from place to place, avoiding conflict and discomfort and obligation. There is an unsettling, rising number of rover, easily-shaken Christians who will move on from a church for any number of silly reasons; perhaps the sermons are too long, there are too few programs, or they received some perceived slight at the church picnic.” Then there’s the other side of the argument. Just last week, I came across this article written out of sheer frustration and clearly pain. (Go and read the whole thing. I don’t agree with everything that’s said, but it puts a perspective on the pain non-church goers are going through.) And so we go back and forth addressing this “issue” when really it isn’t even the main problem. Maybe the problem isn’t millennials leaving the church or the church having undesirable qualities that causes people to leave. Maybe our real problem is blame. We’re blaming each other and it isn’t getting us anywhere. Maybe it’s time both sides came together and talked it out. Maybe we need to address what’s working and what’s not. We’re spitting out blog posts that come from one side or the other when we should be working together towards a solution. How do you think roommates learn to live with each other? How do you suppose married couples stay together? Or how do adult children stuck living with their parents cope? Don’t they come together and confront issues? I sure did. Just last spring, I made a decision to begin mending the relationship between my mother and I. It was time to change my attitude first and stop blaming. Sure it hurt; it always hurts. In my experience with friendships, roommates, and living with my parents in my adult years, I have found that unresolved conflicts create thicker and taller walls between people. These walls get harder to tear down as time goes on. I recently moved to a new city. After drifting away from the church in my small hometown, I’ve decided to start church hopping and so far have checked out two churches. Both churches aren’t perfect, but they have very admirable qualities. One is a place that challenges me to serve, which is something that doesn’t come naturally or comfortable to me. The other is a place to call home. As I go to these churches more often, I’m beginning to realize that if I go looking for a church to satisfy my own reasons and my own needs, I’m probably going to come up empty-handed. What would happen if churches reached out to try and understand what non-church goers are going through? What if people who don’t attend church came to church and ask the hard questions that made them drift away in the first place? Let’s start a conversation. Let’s open up and try to understand each other. The more we point fingers at each others--writing articles at each other instead of inviting conversation to speak with each others--the further we’re going to push each other apart. And I don’t believe that’s what Christianity is about. I’m starting to make a change. I want to find out what makes church attendance so important because honestly, I don’t really know why it is. I’d appreciate it if regular church goers could share some of the thoughts they have towards church. Share what church means to them, and what is exciting about going every Sunday.  Kellie is a chronic daydreamer and aspiring fantasy writer who dwells in that uncomfortable realm of uncertainty. On a whim, she decided to move to start a new life in the “big city”. She seeks to inspire other people through her experiences in life, whether it be overcoming loneliness, battling culture shock and reverse culture shock, learning to live with parents, or breaking out of that crippling shy box and stepping out into the wide unknown.
 by brian mcnarryWhenever conversations about faith move toward talking about security, there's always one person in the group that will roll their eyes and say something like "Well come on.... We know that our security is found in Jesus." It's easy to see why people jump to this answer, especially when there are passages of scripture like 1 Peter 1:3-5, which reads: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see (NLT). If we're in a place where we already feel secure in our faith, this passage may give us hope and reassurance, but maybe you're in a place where your faith is rocky or unsteady right now, maybe you feel far from God or maybe you read this passage and just scratch your head not knowing what it means, then a passage like 1 Peter 1:3-5 might make you feel less hopeful if you're not already experiencing security in your faith. When we're not experiencing security in our faith, sometimes we look for something else that can give us a firm foundation. Typically this foundation means being 'right.' It could be a need for the assurance that the way you're already doing things is the right way, or maybe it manifests itself as a need to prove that anyone who sees things differently than we do is wrong, and we hold the only right understanding. So instead of starting with the security part of this question, I'd rather start by looking at why we feel the need to be 'right' so that we can find security. I have a daughter, Olivia, who is almost a year and a half. Whenever she does something good or learns a new skill and I respond by cheering "Yay Olivia!" and clapping, she gets the most incredible look of delight and excitement on her face. Just a few days ago I was feeding her yogurt for breakfast, and between each spoonful she would clap her hands and grin at me. It was like she was saying "Yay Daddy! You're so good at giving me yogurt!" Each day Olivia's brain is expanding its ability by making new connections and learning about the world around her, but what fascinates me is that even at a year and a half, she already craves positive reinforcement from me. If Olivia is playing with a toy and I'm in the room, she often does something and then right away looks to me, waiting to see how I will respond. When I show excitement, she gets even happier and more enthusiastic about what she is doing. She even looks for this feedback whenever she has a minor fall or something startles her, Olivia will look at us to see if she should be upset by what just happened. This is where I start to wonder if Olivia is actually learning how to make decisions for herself, or if she is only learning to seek the approval of her parents in everything she does. I hope that she is learning to make good decisions, but at a year and a half old I'm certain that most of her actions are based on seeking our approval. For this stage of her life, Olivia's developing brain craves approval, she constantly is looking for the building blocks that will become her own identity as a person. But it's my responsibility as her parent to teach her how to shift away from only craving approval, and instead make the good decisions that will create her sense of personal identity. The truth is, I've already made mistakes as a parent, and I'm going to make even more before she grows up. If Olivia only cared about my approval and never grew past this stage, then her foundation of craving my approval will be torn away when someday she learns that her Dad has flaws and makes mistakes. As her father, I have the important task of helping Olivia discover what will be the anchors of her personality and identity. Each of us have things we choose to base our identity upon, maybe it's our family, our friends, our occupation, our church, our relationship with God, our hobbies, or something else entirely. But underneath all of these things, we have an identity that was given to us by God. God created us in his image, which means that we have been created to be reflections of who God is in the world he created. In addition to that, God exists in a deep internal relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons of the trinity have such an incredible love and relationship for each other, that spills over into us when God created humanity in his image. That means that we all have a deep desire for the same relational intimacy that God already has within himself. God gave us this desire because he knows that the only true way to fulfill this desire is for us to be in a relationship with him. He desires this closeness with us, and he gave us the same desire by creating us in his image. Our desire for relational connection doesn't stop with God, we also crave real and meaningful relationships with other people, it's this desire that causes us to seek love in a romantic relationship, and to seek the deeper sense of community and togetherness that comes from friendships. Here's my theory in all of this; our innate desire for approval and relational connections that start as a child were planted in us when we were created in God's image. But if we don't nurture this desire for relationships this early desire for approval can morph into a need to be right in all things. Hear me out on this, when Olivia does something and looks to me for approval she isn't really looking for me to give a yes or a no answer, she is looking for me to be involved in what she is doing. She wants me to be part of her life. She is demonstrating a desire for relational connection even though she doesn't have the self awareness to articulate or verbally communicate it. If all I ever do as a parent is teach her what is good and what is bad, then Olivia would learn that my relational closeness with her only happens when she does what I approve as being right. When Olivia goes to school and does assignments and tests and I only show love to her when she does the 'right thing' and gets high marks, then she could learn that my love and approval is tied to her performance. If Olivia continued to grow up with this thought pattern, she would believe that relational approval from her father only comes when she does what is right. If she never reaches a point in her life where she realizes that a deep relationship with God and meaningful relationships with other people is where she will find fulfillment, then she will continue to crave approval for doing the right things. In my role as a Pastor, I've met men and women who have loving families, successful careers, and all the markers of a fulfilling life, yet at their core were paralyzed by this idea that God would only love them if they did or said what was right in God's eyes. For these people, holding on to being right in their knowledge of God, or being right in their understanding of scripture was the only way to know that they would be loved by God. Their need to be right meant that they could intellectually 'know' of God's love, but they could not experience God's love and the intimate closeness that God freely gives through being in a relationship with him. So maybe you're like me and you've recognized that we have a natural tendency to want to be right in all situations. I wish I could say there's an easy way to shift our perspective away from needing to be right and toward experiencing the relational connection with God that is truly at the core of who we are. I wish there was a simple step to take, but it's going to be a journey that takes a while. Taking a step forward means being conscious of when we act or say things that are directed toward being right in each situation and instead nurturing our relational connection with the people in our lives. It means looking at scripture with eyes that aren't looking for right and wrong, but with eyes that are looking for God's desire to be in a relationship with us. It's a journey of taking our own ability for reasoning and logic and making it take a back seat so that our hearts will be guided by the Spirit to see where God is already all around us. Most of all, it means finding our sense of self worth not by swaying people to see our way is right, but instead finding our sense of identity and self worth through a deep and sustaining relationship with Jesus. The sense of security that we crave will never be fulfilled by being right or through the approval of others. The security we desire can only be found through our identity being transformed and reshaped through a meaningful relationship with God. Remember the promise that Jesus gave to his disciples at the end of Matthew's Gospel. He told them: "And be sure of this, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). This promise that God is always with us, is where we can find our security.  Brian's whole understanding of faith and Christianity changed when he started to encounter what it means to live life with God instead of for God. One thing that Brian is passionate about is walking with people as they explore their faith in Christ and learning how to honestly seek God in the midst of our doubts and fears. Brian is the Pastor of Grand Valley Community Church in Brandon Manitoba. He is married to Nikki and they have one daughter named Olivia. When Brian isn't working on a sermon at a Starbucks or at home with his family, you can usually find him fly fishing or building model air planes.
 by drake de long-farmerWhen I read the news that Perry Noble was removed as senior pastor of Newspring Church, it saddened me deeply. Not just because I have been encouraged and equipped by his ministry and leadership podcast, but because it is always hard to see anyone be hit hard in life. Honestly, I never planned on writing an article about this. I always find the whole process of commenting on someone else's private life a bit intrusive and sideways (to think just because this person is a public figure gives us the right to dissect their life before the masses). Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying all those who have written on the topic are in the wrong or that we shouldn't have dialogue. But it would seem that the manner in which we deal with these kinds of topics can dehumanize the person or group we are speaking about. So, why am I adding to the clutter of your social media feed if it bothers me so much? I guess it is my hope to give a plea to slow down and not be so quick to react. After reading a lot of these articles, I feel it really boils down to two things that I keep seeing over and over again. The first is the criticism of the megachurch movement and why this is the cause of so many failings, and second being the direct criticism of how Newspring and its leadership handled the situation. It is human nature for us to ask the question 'why?'. We want an explanation and want to get down to the root of why something happened. And though asking the question 'why?' isn't inherently wrong, it can have its limits and bring about unintended consequences, especially if we go to an oversimplified conclusion. With the multiple failings we have seen in leadership of these megachurches of late, it can be easy to make the simple link that the issue is the megachurch model and the leader worship that supposedly comes with it. The problem with this approach is that it assumes that all megachurches are the same, deal with the same issues and have the same philosophies. This approach assumes that because a church is big in numbers and successful in numbers that it deals with these problems exclusively and these kind of issues don't happen in smaller churches. The reality is a lot of research shows that the correlations are not that clean cut or that simple. A great book on this is Beyond Megachurch Myths or if you don't want to read an entire book, try starting with this article. The pressures of ministry are hard on anyone and though I suspect that being the leader of a megachurch would have its own unique challenges, the reason why it is easy to point out the failings of a megachurch is because they are in the spotlight. I pastored in a small community that saw loads of hurt because of leadership failings in three different churches. The consequences of these failings were felt for years, the struggles of these leaders were real and the people who were effected had the same impact, but you will never hear about it because they were churches of 100 people or less. My challenge here is that we be careful not to jump to conclusions about these situations (especially quick and easy conclusions). Even though dialogue will inevitably happen, let's be careful to not add fuel to an already burning fire. The most notable example of an article I have seen doing this is from Relevant Magazine. Now is everything that is said in this article wrong? Absolutely not. There is actually a lot that is sobering and thought provoking and I can appreciate those parts. But, I struggle with the seemingly simple correlation being presented of the megachurch model being the cause of all this. As one person put it in the comment section of this article: "As someone who grew up in Rural Church...there is a fair bit of corruption on that end too. At the end of the day I think megachurch pastors at least have the public spotlight to be held accountable, as opposed to some backroom country club masquerading as a "church." Newspring is a permanent fixture on my podcast feed and while I think they should have put him on Sabbatical instead of firing him, they did it right and it could have been FAR worse." This brings me to my second observation about judging the leadership of Newspring as a whole, and how they dealt with the situation. Am I defending how they handled the situation? No. Because there is really no information to know for sure how they handled it behind closed doors and that is the point. I am not so much bothered that people wish to dialogue on how we should handle failure in leadership, but it is the readiness to make quick judgments and dissect when in reality we know nothing that bothers me. We don't know the conversations that were had, the attempts made for reconciliation, the difficult meetings of leadership in how to proceed the work made in weighing the consequences and prayerfully figuring out how they should proceed. As a leader who has been involved in many of these hard decisions in a church organization, I can tell you that the weight of such things are not easy. Truthfully—no matter how you handle the situation—you will be criticized. There is no ideal way to go about this because the situation isn't ideal. Does this mean they did it right? I don't know. The real question is: would anybody be perfect in the handling of this situation? The point I am trying to make is be careful to be too quick to lay judgment when we sit on the outside and secure behind our computer screens and not having to live with the consequences of our opinions. Should there be dialogue in how we should move forward as the church? Probably. Can we learn things from this and grow deeper as a movement? Absolutely. But let's also be careful that our actions and words don't compound the destruction of the situation. "Many words rush along like rivers in flood, but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs. ...Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you really want junk like that in your belly? ...Answering before listening is both stupid and rude. ...The first speech in a court case is always convincing--until the cross-examination starts! ...Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose." (Proverbs 18) If we are going to weigh in on the topic, let's use the same wisdom we hope the leadership of Newspring did and put ourselves in their shoes for one second, imagining what it would be like trying to walk through this. Let's bring our dialogue towards understanding, support, prayer and eventually towards healthy and helpful growth through this all. If we were to be honest, this article provides a much better way: 4 Ways to Respond When a Fellow Minister Has Failed. Let us never forget that this involves real people, real life, real failures, a real God, and most of all real reconciling grace!  Drake is passionate about seeing people thrive and come alive--to BELONG, wrestle with what they BELIEVE and BECOME people FULL OF LOVE, FUELED BY FAITH & ADDICTED TO HOPE. Drake is an engaging speaker, writer and an equipper of leaders. He is a life learner and loves being challenged to grow further. One of his favorite things to do is spend a good amount of time at a good café or coffee shop with a good book or engaging conversation. To be able to share in someone else's journey and experience their story is always a pleasure and an honor. He currently serves as the Editor-In-Chief of boldcupofcoffee.com & the Executive Pastor at Gateway Alliance Church.
 by Charlotte OWhat is God’s will for my life? Students ask me this all the time, and in a variety of ways. “Should I quit my job?” “Should I go overseas? Which country should I choose?” Sometimes, it seems as if they want me to just tell them what to do so they can be free from the pressure (and responsibility) of making a choice. But most often, the uncertainty is simply expressed as “how do I know?” Why are they asking me? Perhaps it’s my perceived wisdom as their teacher? Or maybe it’s because I’ve shared with a thrilling certainty that I knew it was God’s will for me to come to Taiwan. But somehow, I know that more now looking back than I did at the moment that I said yes. There are so many unanswerable questions when it comes to discussing God’s will. And many come down to what you believe about free will in general. But the more I think about it, the more I return to two scriptures where God has revealed the big picture. Perhaps living by these words will make it easier to accept both guidance and uncertainty in the details of our lives. The first is a very well known verse from Romans: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) So here it is: You can know what he wants you to do when you know HIM. When your mind has been transformed. If you are still looking for a God who acts like a good luck charm or heavenly slot machine, you’ll be very dissatisfied with his seeming lack of response to your requests. Everything God does in us is with the purpose of drawing us nearer to himself. And sometimes that includes being silent until we take a step of faith. The pattern of this world is to know, to control. The mantra: knowledge is power. God is not a crystal ball, but he is an artist creating an incredible picture of our lives as we live and move and have our being. When we know him, we truly will be able to test, or discern that his will for us is always good. The other verse that I always come back to reminds me of the old chorus we used to sing in church: He has shown you what he requires: "Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8) Are you doing all of these things? If so, the question of direction may begin to fade as you find that walking with God always takes you in the right direction. If you are facing a choice, whether it is between jobs, mates or locations, again, you can ask yourself which of these will best enable me to work for justice, practice mercy, and most importantly, stay closely in relationship to God. There is one more thing not to miss in this verse: We are told not just to walk with God, but the manner in which we should do so: with an attitude of humility, remembering that God is God and we are the creation. Master and slave. Potter and clay. You can choose your metaphor, as scripture is ripe with them. But what does it mean? And how does it connect to knowing his will? Humility is in large part acknowledging God's control and lordship. In terms of walking with God, humility means being willing to walk in his way instead of demanding what you want or getting angry when things don't go your way. Know him. Seek him. Be transformed to his character. And when you look back on the road you have been walking with him, you may just find you’ve been in his will all along.  I'm Charlotte O. I'm currently working with a non-profit organization in Taiwan where I teach, lead English Bible studies, write educational materials, train teachers, pose for pictures, and a bunch of other stuff too. I'm originally from Canada, spending significant amounts of time in all three westernmost provinces. I don't really know where to call home anymore, but that's ok, because I'm a citizen of heaven. I've learned that life overseas is not as exotic as people may think, but life with God is a daily adventure. I'm excited to join Bold Cup as a 'foreign correspondent.' I’ll try to keep my posts in English though.
 by Drake De Long-FarmerAs a blogger and writer, I am a part of a few writing guilds and blogger groups. This is a place to share ideas, encourage each other and challenge thoughts. In one of these groups, someone had challenged us to be writing on the topic of the shootings and violence happening in the states. His concern was with everything we had a voice on and were willing to write on, we all seemed to be silent on this topic. Though, it did make me think, should we be so quick to speak or should we simply be weeping? It made me think of the story of Job and his three friends when they come to visit Job: When three of Job’s friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. ...When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words. // Job 2:11-13 After they cry out for their friend and his situation, they sit with him for seven days. Seven days! I remember one of my counselling professors say that the story of Job is the perfect example of how we should react and support someone in grief, until they opened their mouths. More often than not, when someone is suffering or going through loss or hurt, the best thing we can do is stand in solace with them (or sit) and sometimes the worse thing we can do is react and jump to quick to words, advice and opinions. It makes me wonder, are we being too quick to want to speak up in the midst of the multiple tragedies in the past few weeks and even months? When an entire nation is hurting and confused, should we be swift with words, or should this be a time for solace? Standing, sitting and embracing our brothers and sisters and weep together, silently sitting and simply being? Let us heed the words of James as he encourages us to "be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." (James 1:19-20). There will need to be words spoken at some point, and we will need to be asking the hard questions of 'why?' and 'what now?', but that can wait for another day. Today, maybe we simply sit.  Drake is passionate about seeing people thrive and come alive--to BELONG, wrestle with what they BELIEVE and BECOME people FULL OF LOVE, FUELLED BY FAITH & ADDICTED TO HOPE. Drake is an engaging speaker, writer and an equipper of leaders. He is a life learner and loves being challenged to grow further. One of his favourite things to do is spend a good amount of time at a good café or coffee shop with a good book or engaging conversation. To be able to share in someone else's journey and experience their story is always a pleasure and an honour. He currently serves as the Editor-In-Chief of boldcupofcoffee.com & the Executive Pastor at Gateway Alliance Church.
 by kevin seguinMy wife and I were discussing this the other day: there are more non-Christians in our home than there are Christians. We weren’t talking about what happens when, heaven forbid, a child dies, but the fact remains: none of our kids (aged 5, 2, and 1) have accepted Christ, and our oldest is getting to the age where we are starting to introduce her to the concepts of sin, grace, forgiveness, and repentance. Until the day they all (Lord willing) fully grasp these things though, the uncomfortable truth remains: Our Kids Are Sinners Can we get that uncomfortable truth out of the way early? Our kids, yours and mine, are all little pagan sinners. Can we all just say that out loud? I’m not even talking about the sin nature that is passed along to all of us from Adam, I mean actual, real-world sins of commission. After all, did you teach your kids to be selfish or defiant? Did you teach them to talk back and sass you? Did you teach them to throw temper tantrums in the grocery store? Of course not, odds are you’re a great parent, and you’re raising your kids well, but they still behave like this, they still sin, and it’s our job to teach them how to behave in the world. Mike McGarry does a great job of expanding on this idea. Even if we are Christians, our kids are sinners, we need to recognize that. God Never Promises To Save Our Kids It’s true. There is nowhere in the Bible, no verse that God promises to ensure all the kids from Christian homes become Christians. Even the staunchest covenant theologian would say that the individual must make a profession of faith and repent for themselves. There’s no Biblical guarantee of that. Alternatively, there’s no guarantee that, for a Calvinist, that our kids are a part of the elect. The best we can do is our best human effort to teach, train and equip our kids by living a Christ-filled, grace-filled life, teaching them the Gospel, and praying that the Holy Spirit convicts them and God saves them. When I realized that, in those terms, I realized that many of us are doing evangelism backwards. The Evangelism Of Our Kids Children are the closest thing we have in our world to understanding unconditional love. But it’s not unconditional. I love my kids, but there’s a condition on that love; they are my kids. Now, there’s no changing the fact that they’re my kids, but my point is that I love my kids because they’re mine, I don’t (and shouldn’t) love your kids the same way and to the same degree that I love my own. Here’s my point about Evangelism though: my kids don’t have to behave a certain way to be allowed into my family, and they also don’t need to be “good kids” before I share the Gospel with them. In fact, there’s nothing they can do that would make me stop loving, caring, and teaching them about Jesus. There is nothing they can do to stop being my kids. When they sin, as their father, it is my role to correct them, but they don’t stop being my kids. Put another way: Their behaviour does not dictate or determine the love I have for them. The Evangelism Of The World So, why do we treat “traditional evangelism” any differently from evangelism inside the home? Why do we treat people outside of our immediate familial bubble any differently when it comes to proclaiming the Good News of Jesus to them? My kids belong to me whether they behave or believe; why, then, do so many believers think evangelism done outside the home is any different? You don’t need to believe OR behave to belong. If you’re not a believer, I’m not concerned about your behaviour at all. All the good that I do, all the righteous things I do come out of a heart of thankfulness for the thing that Christ has done for me. Dying on a cross and being raised again. Why in the world would I insist that ANYBODY who isn’t a Christian behave like a Christian when they don’t have that understanding of and heart of thankfulness for the Gospel? After all, the prophet Isaiah himself (Isaiah 64:6) calls righteousness without faith a “filthy rag” and useless. In essence, if we put behaviour before the Gospel, Isaiah tells us we are wasting our time. Evangelism isn’t hard, it isn’t intimidating, it’s easy. Love people, be kind, live thankfully for the grace you’ve received, and don’t talk about behaviour until after you’ve talked about the gospel. And for Pete’s sake, don’t judge others just because they sin differently than you do.  As a Biblical conservative, a cultural Liberal, a husband, a dad, and a pastor, Kevin wants to see the church act differently in the world. Kevin has a big passion in ministry for seeing how believers can bring the Gospel into the world around them while pursuing the lost art of winsomeness. It is what fuels him and drives him to write. Engaging culture with the truth of the Gospel in a way that is winsome, wise, and as Colossians 4:6 directs us: “seasoned with salt.” It’s my hope that what I say here helps you not only in your own faith, but helps you share it more effectively and fruitfully.
 by ken booneI started my day with this thought…. If a believing spouse can sanctify a household, then what can a church do for its city? 1 Cor 7:14 “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.” Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians was to encourage believers with the knowledge that their entire household would live under the covering of the blessing that was theirs due to being made holy through sanctification. That even though a spouse or child had not yet received salvation they would still be beneficiaries of the blessing that rested on the life of the believer and that the believing spouse would not be in danger of living under the curse of sin because his or her spouse had not yet been saved. Paul says : “otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy” the word “unclean” means to be “ceremonially unclean” In the Old Testament this simply meant you were not allowed to participate in the giving of offerings and therefore disqualified to be a recipient of the blessing that came as a result of offering a sacrifice in worship to God. Now under the new covenant when one spouse is saved and filled with the Kingdom of God the entire household becomes indirect recipients of the results that come through a life of sacrifice and worship. Although the entire house may not yet be saved they are made holy (sanctified) and positioned to live under the blessing and favor of God. When God revealed His plan to Abraham concerning the destruction of Sodom Abraham begins to convince God not to bring destruction upon the city for the sake of the righteous that may be living there. In Genesis 18:26 Abraham begins to ask God not to destroy Sodom for the sake of fifty righteous men, God answers this way: “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes” The word “spare” means “to lift up”. God eventually agrees to sparing Sodom for the sake of ten. The reality is that if there had been ten righteous within the walls of the city the entire city would have been “lifted up” and saved from destruction. The righteous lives of a few would have benefited everyone in the city. In the book of Acts Philip travels to the city of Samaria where revival breaks out. Multitudes were being healed and saved and a church was birthed. The result was that there was “great joy in the city”. The city became a recipient of joy because of the release of the Kingdom of God through one believer. If a believing spouse can sanctify a unbelieving household and validate them as clean and deserving of the blessing and favor of God then how much more can the household of God (the church) sanctify a city and position the city to become recipients of the grace of God? Jesus said that we are “the salt of the earth” salt was used more as a preservative in biblical days than a seasoning. Much of the church attempts to only be a seasoning to the culture around them attempting to only add flavor to their communities. The intention of Jesus for His church is rather that we would be a preserving agent for our city. That because of the presence of the church the society around it would profit from the wisdom, favor, and grace that rests upon the people of God in that city. Thus sanctifying a city and validating it as clean and deserving of the blessing and favor of God. Romans 2:4 says: “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” The word “goodness” here refers to the nature of God, but it literally means “fit for use”. The sanctification process makes one “fit for use”. Through the act of sanctification God deems one “fit for use” and thus begins to demonstrate His goodness to them by placing His grace upon them in the hopes that repentance will take place. Whether it be an individual or a city I believe God is looking for any excuse to render them “fit for use” and allow the blessing that rests upon believers to rest upon anyone around them so that whole communities are preserved by the church and given an opportunity to “taste and see that God is good”. The city of Samaria experienced sanctification and the result was a supernatural release of Joy that saturated the entire city. If a spouse can sanctify a household, and a church can sanctify a city then perhaps a believing city can sanctify a nation! Be blessed  Ken Boone and his wife Christa are the proud parents of four children. They have been married for more than 15 years. And have been in the ministry for more than 17 years, They have dedicated their lives to preaching the "Gospel of the Kingdom", and to living a life in partnership with Holy Spirit. Their desire is to see believers equipped to live a lifestyle that brings the realities of Heaven to the world that we live in, to see the culture of the Kingdom of God replace the cultures around us. And to fulfill the mandate from Jesus to: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, freely you have received freely give."
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