To whom should you confess?
In a world where plenty of people are gossips and plenty of others are terribly judgmental, to whom should you confess the whole truth of your sinfulness? Good question. The Bible’s answer? Start with your pastor. After encouraging struggling Christians to “call the elders of the church” (a.k.a. the pastors, James 5:14), James writes, “Therefore […]
Faith + mountains
I toured the Holy Land a few years ago with my friend Mike. One day he said, “Let’s start our day with a six-mile run up and down a mountain. It’ll be worth it; I promise.” He also promised one other thing about our trip. He said that I would return home and find that […]
What could go right?
When it comes to having hard conversations with people we love, our anxious minds immediately rush to worst-case scenarios. He’ll get defensive. She’ll shut down. He’ll blow up. She’ll never be my friend again. While those aren’t illogical thoughts, make sure you also think of what could go right. He could repent. She could thank […]
How do you do it?
If you see someone caught in a sin and know God is asking you to say something, please don’t forget the Golden Rule of Confrontation: Confront them like you’d want them to confront you. Jesus taught us, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). “Everything” includes […]
Who should confront?
Does God want you personally to confront, call out, and judge other sinners? Jesus’ answer is, “Depends.” He preached, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and […]
God is with you
I bet you would rather not confront the sinners in your life. Not only is the conversation itself often awkward, but most people are too proud and defensive to receive biblical correction. There’s a reason why the prophets were not the most popular kids in Old Testament times! But confrontation is essential because unconfronted sin […]
Your spiritual gift?
If you had to give yourself a letter grade for confrontation, which letter would you pick? That was one of the questions I emailed to our ministry staff, curious to see how many of them were honest with others in their lives. “C+” one woman wrote, explaining that her big, harmony-loving heart made it difficult […]
Church size matters
If you want to live your best church life, please don’t miss this essential truth—church size matters. The number of people who call your church their “church home” matters. Just ask Moses. When the megachurch we call the people of Israel escaped from Egypt, Moses was single-handedly trying to pastor a metropolis worth of people. […]