Language changes, and that’s not always a good thing. As Christians, we should test the spirits (1 John 4:1), discerning whether such language changes are in fact good or bad. Take, for example, how people speak of death. People will say, “So and so passed away.” This seems to have become the most universal, polite way to speak of death. Less often will you hear, “So and so died.” The phrase “passing away” sounds so much more polite. Another popular one is “A Celebration of L

A popular yet unpersuasive argument against Christianity goes something like this: “If you were born in India, you would be a Hindu. If you were born in Thailand, you would be a Buddhist. If you were born in Saudi Arabia, you would be a Muslim. You are a Christian solely because you were born in South Dakota. Christianity isn’t true; it’s simply the product of where you were raised.” We might call this the geography-determines-belief objection to Christianity. This way of thi

Like many people, I remember exactly where I was when the twin towers of New York were attacked. Pam and I watched in horror as the first building collapsed, and then the other. I was a youth pastor in San Antonio, Texas at the time, and I rememb er having candlelight prayer services as the church and the community sought God during this troubling time in our nation’s history. It was the closest thing to a national turning to God that I have seen in my lifetime. For many week

"Church was great. Let’s go to church. Were you at church? Christ died for the church. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. The church isn’t the building.” In each of these sentences, “church” can have different meanings, so the term can be confusing to understand. We often use church as the building where Christians gather. This meaning does not occur in Scripture. I don’t think this is a bad use of the term, so long as we remember that’s not the only mea

There are many different types of missions. Some examples include the “Building a Water Well” type, the “Soup Kitchen” approach, the Christian school model, and the “Let’s Repair the Broken Church Building” mission. May the Lord richly bless these endeavors, but they’re missing something—namely, the local church. Here’s the question I want to ask and answer: what is the goal of missions? Here’s my view that I’ll explain and defend below: the goal of missions is to plant churc

One of my go-to statements is, “It is what it is.” I use this phrase to explain situations I can’t change. Certain aspects of life are what they are. You can’t change them. Don’t fight it; just accept it. Other statements like, “That’s just the way things are,” “Such is life,” and “You can’t change it, so you might as well accept it” strike a similar tone. These statements assist us in reflecting on how God has set things up—the created order. Jesus remarks in Mark 10:6, “F

The English term hell is not precise. Take, for instance, the Apostles Creed. In one portion of this ancient creed, the text reads, “Jesus Christ descended into hell.” Many Christians have rejected this statement, because they (rightly) disbelieve Christ went to the Lake of Fire after his death. The issue is that the Apostle’s Creed does not mean “Lake of Fire” with its use of the term “hell.” Based upon the Latin term, a less confusing way to render the statement “he descend

I read this shocker of a headline recently: “In 2025, Americans placed roughly $166 billion in bets on sporting events. That’s more than the entire U.S. movie, music, book, and museum industries generated in revenue combined.” The article goes on to suggest that the real figure may be closer to $300 billion. That would mean that “the average American adult placed roughly $1,000 in legal bets on sports last year.” The demographic that is most engaged in sports gambling is youn

We are an independent Bible church. That means we are not a part of a denomination and have no outside church governance. The members of the church are the ultimate authority at CBC, and our governance extends only to the four walls of our fellowship (Matt 18:17). We are neither controlled nor accountable to an outside authority. Praise God Big Brother can’t tell us what to do! I love the independence of our church, but I do recognize that certain shortcomings can come with a

During my sabbatical, I had the chance to read the Vice President’s new book Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith. I enjoyed it. Vance tells the story of how he went from a committed evangelical in high school, to a discontent atheist in college, to a Roman Catholic as a young professional. The death of his grandmother (“Mawmaw”) led him to have a crisis of faith, diverting him from his evangelical roots. The disillusionment of atheism led him to fellowship with the Cathol

I started my journey as a pastor focusing on youth and music. Every church that I have been a part of that experienced growth had one thing in common—a vibrant, active Junior High and High School ministry. In my experience, churches that do not have something for every age group struggle to bring in new families. The lack of young people in a church was a sign that it would soon die. It was not a matter of if but of when. Just when it seems for many churches that all is lost

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..,” On July 4, 1776, the founding Fathers declared independence from Great Britain, pointing out in the Declaration what constitutes a legit