Was Jesus political?

What primarily guides them; shapes their goals; defines their behavior is not found in any constitution or government document or political platform.
It is the politics of Jesus—subverting the callous; loveless; power grasping; brutal; unforgiving; unmerciful; deceptive; self-seeking; intolerant; murderous; dehumanizing culture through quiet but purposeful kingdom living and teaching.
It was once said of his ragtag group of followers—who without power or any political advantage—“turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
They accomplished this without any ballots or bullets. Rather it was by faith.
Faith—not in any form of government, political party, politician or country, but in the Most High God and his eternal plans for his unstoppable kingdom.

The Writing’s on the Wall for Christians

But it’s an open question as to whether the country can afford the scorched-earth policy of the Left’s culture warriors. Is it really the case that 33% of the American people are Jim Crow bigots because of their sincerely held principles — principles that were nearly universal only a generation ago? As a practical matter, is it really necessary for the new majority, which has decisively won the culture, to drive religious dissenters out of the public square as pariahs?

Mission creep is going to kill the church…

Mission creep is killing the church. Mission creep is when you think you are on point with the purpose. It is when you lose focus without even realizing it. It is when you talk about the mission without noticing that talk is all you do about the mission. Or you assume everyone is on point with what really matters, yet no one is talking about it or doing it.

The Missional Helix—An Overview

The diagram is called a helix because theology, history, culture, and the practice of ministry build on one another as the community of faith collectively develops understandings and a vision of God’s will within its cultural context. The spiral grows to new heights as ministry understandings and experiences develop. Ideally, the missionary is always learning, growing in the Lord, always spiraling to a new level of understanding and competence.

12 Reasons Churches Don’t Practice Church Discipline

1. They don’t know the Bible’s teaching on discipline
2. They have never seen it done before
3. They don’t want to appear judgmental
4. The church has a wide-open front door
5. They have had a bad experience with discipline in the past
6. The church is afraid to open “Pandora’s box”
7. They have no guidelines for discipline
8. They fear losing members (or dollars)
9. Their Christianity is individualistic and privatized
10. They fear being “legalistic”
11. They hope transfer growth will fix the problem
12. Leaders are sometimes dealing with their own sin

A New Look at Where Jesus Grew Up

Now, however, we may know the place where he lived with Mary and Joseph.
And if, ultimately, the answer to the headline in the journal Biblical Archaeology Review, “Has Jesus’ Nazareth House Been Found,” is no, at least we have learned a little more of the environment in which the Christ Child grew up.
For the first time, a first-century home buried underneath a convent in Nazareth has been studied by professional archaeologists, and while they cannot affirm with 100% certainty that this was the home of the Holy Family, what they found sheds light on first-century Jewish life in Galilee.

Why Preschool Shouldn’t Be Like School

As so often happens in science, two studies from different labs, using different techniques, have simultaneously produced strikingly similar results. They provide scientific support for the intuitions many teachers have had all along: Direct instruction really can limit young children’s learning. Teaching is a very effective way to get children to learn something specific—this tube squeaks, say, or a squish then a press then a pull causes the music to play. But it also makes children less likely to discover unexpected information and to draw unexpected conclusions.