Engage
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Ten Principles From Scripture to Guide Engagement
“I can’t believe you just said that!” I look aghast at my screen. “Does she really believe that?” “This can’t be happening again!” My heart starts beating faster. I feel a mixture of anger, astonishment, disgust, disappointment, confusion, fear, exasperation, and superiority. I waffle between wanting to fight or to flee. I can’t go on this way. How do I respond when social media, news, and typical conversation is fraught with fear-driven division? When I read a disturbing post, when a friend purports a conspiracy theory, when my least favorite politician wins, should I turn off all devices, quit reading the news, and only talk about the weather? I need…
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Bottling Civility: Engaging Politely about Controversial Topics
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James 1:19 I wrote a series of blogs in 2017 on civility. As we enter the season of a new presidential race, civility is more needed than ever. So I will be re-posting them again over the next three months. May you and I be reminded how to engage with others in a God-glorifying way. How can we talk about controversial topics in a meaningful way? I’ve witnessed or been in on some contentious political discussions in the last several months. Some on Facebook have included profanity and name calling—and…
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How Then Shall We Live? (Contextualization, Part III)
“Will you burn incense for your dad?” My mom looked at me expectantly as she asked. Within a month, we fly back to Taiwan to take my dad’s ashes home. My grandparents have already purchased a family lot, where we will lay his remains. Because they practice Buddhism, they will expect us to burn incense in honor of their deceased son. According to traditional Chinese belief, the smoke from burning incense carries one’s prayers to the heavens. A person can burn incense both to honor a deceased family member and to ask them for blessings. For example, one relative would ask her deceased husband to bless their grandchildren’s studies. Because…
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The Cure for Existential Anxiety
Ken Swan explains existential anxiety as “a sense of worry, dread or panic that may arise from the contemplation of life’s biggest questions, such as ‘Who am I?’ or ‘Why am I here?’” People throughout the ages have wrestled with these big questions which can be boiled down to “What is my purpose in life?” People are born with a desire to have meaning and purpose in life. They may sense strong meaning in one season of life over another. Age, health, work, or relationships can seem to define one’s purpose. The inevitable changes in life can bring existential anxiety. However, the Westminster Catechism, written in the mid 1600’s, declared…
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Motherhood is a Ministry
Recently, while visiting with a college student, listening to her explore her thoughts, hopes, and questions regarding career, ministry, and motherhood; I could tell that her aim was to get it right. When I pitched the idea that motherhood is a ministry she responded by saying that she had never thought of it that way. So here we are. Perhaps you too can be encouraged to know motherhood is in fact, a ministry. You can call it a job if you’d like, it certainly isn’t an idle pastime. In my own journey as Mom, I have organized my time in various ways. I have homeschooled, never left the house, worked…
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Contextualization, Part 2: Making Known the Unknown God
Part two in a series on contextualization from my former intern, Crystal. “You need more rice.” I watched my mentor scoop more of the starchy grain onto another student’s plate. We were dining at a Chinese restaurant, courtesy of the head of the research lab where I was interning. “Chinese people eat a lot of rice. It’s a staple in our culture. Like how Americans eat bread or potatoes.” Now, I can think of some American cuisines where the meat seems more indispensable. (Have you feasted at a Texas barbeque?) But my mentor’s analogy had served its purpose. My peer’s face lit up with understanding. Biblical Precedence for Contextualization My…
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The Path to Sticky Faith
Do you want the children you influence to have real faith that sticks throughout their teenage years and beyond? Can you recognize what is pulling them away from that? We live in a pull-apart world. Many teens who were raised in churched homes walk away from their faith when they leave home to go to college or beyond. I know you do not want that. To stay on the path to sticky faith, you have to make choices for yourself and for them. Desiring Sticky Faith for Your Children I loved being a mentor mom for a “Moms Together” group at a local church. I learned so much from these…
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The Quiet Power of Kindness
Proverbs 31:26, “The law of kindness is on her tongue…” The Proverbs 31 woman (who was not an actual person, which is good to know) was praised for her multiple virtues. One of those qualities was kindness, which is defined as gentleness or benevolence. As our American culture grows increasingly cynical, crude, divisive and confusing, simple kindness shown to others is more vital to our gospel witness than ever before. I have observed over my years of ministry and life in general that the effect of kindness on others and myself can be profound. Three observations: Kindness should be the “law” on our tongues, just as Mrs. Proverbs 31. It…
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3 Reasons Why Believers Need the Guidance of Bible Scholars
In an authentic German pub a few years ago, I met John. We were fellow passengers traveling across Germany on a riverboat cruise. Over schnitzel and sauerkraut, I learned that John, a retired businessman, was on a quest to find the source of his prosperous life. He told me that, unlike others he knew, he had enjoyed incredible financial success, good health, and had a family he loved and who loved him. Listening to his story, I realized that John and I were having a divine appointment. I could almost hear his heart crying out to know the Truth. In our ensuing conversation, I shared a bit about the Way…
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The Eclipse Declares the Glory of God, v. 2024
“The heavens declare the glory of God,” Psalm 19 tells us. On April 8, 2024, millions of Americans will have an incredible opportunity to see His heavenly glory in a way most of us never have: through a total solar eclipse. On a path running from Texas to Maine, observers on the ground will see the moon slip in front of the sun, blocking out all its light and dropping the temperature drastically (about 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit) and suddenly. I am thrilled beyond words that by the grace of God, our home in Dallas, Texas is in the path of totality. All I have to do is go…