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Bottling Civility: Talking Tough Topics with Your Church Family
As iron sharpens iron,so a person sharpens his friend. Prov. 27:17 (NET) When I first posted this blog in 2017, I had no idea how much more polarization could impact our culture. So, I am posting an updated version in hopes that you and your church family can communicate in a God-honoring way. I have frequently found myself in conversations where I disagreed with members of my church family. To my surprise and theirs, even when presented with the same issue or topic, we have come to different conclusions. I believe the ingredients to talking respectfully with your church family are similar to the ones that foster civility in your…
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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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Too Mature to Feel Anxious. Not.
My stomach ached. I tossed from side to side at night trying to find a position that relieved discomfort. After a week of misery and little food, I went to the doctor and got checked out. When I finally got the all clear, I wondered if I could possibly be feeling anxious and overwhelmed. By “coincidence,” I heard three sermons about anxiety in two days which forced me to sheepishly recognize that my “sickness” was not a physical one. After a season of caring for others and in the face of some upcoming decisions, I had been overtaken by anxiety. God got my attention and spoke to me through His…
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Views of the Role of Women in the Church: Grounded in Scripture or in Culture?
Some believe the role of women in the church is changing because of cultural pressures on the church. How much of what I believe about Scripture is based on cultural trends? I recently got into an online discussion regarding 1 Timothy 2:9-15. Paul states in this passage that he did not allow women to “teach or exercise authority over men.” To me, the broadest interpretation this passage can support is that women are not allowed to teach men in church. The narrowest is that Paul did not allow women to teach men in his particular local church. However, my friend felt that this prohibition extended beyond the local church. As…
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A New Resource for Global Workers, Their Pastors, and Their Sending Churches
Grit to Stay Grace to Go: Staying Well in Cross-Cultural Ministry, by Sue Eenigenburg and Eva Burkholder, Littleton, CO: William Carey Press, 2023. It has been nearly 3 decades since my husband and I left the Asian country where we worked cross-culturally to return to the United States to serve with the same agency. Before we left, I remember sitting at our dining room table wringing my hands as we shared our decision with our in-country colleagues. Churches and agencies invest a lot of time and money preparing cross-cultural workers, yet the workers themselves sometimes flounder on the field or leave before their senders expect. Authors Sue Eenigenburg and Eva…
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In Celebration of International Women’s Day: Women Excelling in Space and in Service
Today is International Women’s Day. Certainly the world benefits when women invest their talents. Similarly the church benefits when women serve fully in their area of gifting. NASA tested men to find the best candidates for the Mercury space program, but a privately funded program tested women to see how they measured up. Wally Funk was a member of this group of women later nicknamed the “Mercury 13.” The women excelled. Some of them lobbied to have women included in the space program in the sixties, but it wasn’t until 1983 that Sally Ride had the distinction of being the first U.S. female astronaut. Being a NASA astronaut wasn’t an…
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Advent as Reality Check: Learning to Wait
The thirty-minute sitcom has played havoc with my perseverance. Growing up as a child on a media diet of seeing wrongs righted and relationships healed in 30 minutes flat gave me a false sense of how the world works. Advent cures that mindset. At Advent I sit, waiting with Israel under Roman rule. I look for the Messiah. I don’t know the time of His coming. Will I recognize him? O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. At Advent I fix my eyes on the coming Christ. O come, Thou Bright and Morning Star, And bring…
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Living without a Guarantee
Some of our most important work and most difficult suffering does not come with a guarantee of success...
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Cultivating a Culture of Life
Abortion is widely available in many countries around the globe. When I lived in Turkey in the 80’s and 90’s, it was readily available there. Many of you may live in countries where women have access to abortions; others live where laws protect unborn children. In the U.S., if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the highest court in the land this month, abortion will be immediately illegal in some states in the United States and remain unrestricted in others. Many Christians in the United States see this as the fulfillment of a long-held desire to protect the unborn. While that is far from true, the care and safety of…
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Praying for the Muslim World During Ramadan
This week Muslims began their month of fasting during the daylight hours. Timed according to the lunar calendar, in 2022 the month of Ramadan ends at sundown on May 1 followed by a celebration, Eid al-Fitr, when friends and family will gather and celebrate the end of Ramadan. Ramadan, an ideal time to pray for Muslims around the world, also gives you an opportunity to tell Muslims you are praying for them. Many will be surprised and pleased that you know about their practices. These resources equip you to have an impact on Muslims through prayer and help you grow in your knowledge of them: Lift up Muslims around the…
