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Megachurch Myths
Denominations. Leadership structures. Worship styles. All are descriptors of local churches meant to help us categorize and identify what that particular church body believes and prioritizes. But size? Does knowing the size of a church really tell you what to expect from that church body? We all know the myths. In small churches everyone is on a first-name basis, the Sunday School teacher is also the janitor and choir director, and the fellowship around the casseroles and Crock-pots is where true community is formed. In megachurches you can expect the skinny jean-wearing worship leader to be a former guitarist for Chris Tomlin, enjoy watching the sermon on your iPad…
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A Theology of Work and Rest
Work. Whether paid or unpaid, it is how most of us spend the majority of our waking hours. We produce consumer goods, provide services, make meals, shepherd people and dreams, rear children, organize chaos, plan for the future, and then wake the next morning to do it all again. For some, work is a necessary evil, the antithesis of leisure. But for the Christian, work is part of the God-given mandate to cultivate and create. And by engaging in the acts of cultivation and creation—by working—you are imaging the Creator.
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The Dare to Hope
“Tiffany, why are you afraid to hope?” The remainders of strawberry spinach salad on square white plates spanned the expanse across the café table. I sat there convicted, and embarrassed to make audible thoughts that should be kept silent.
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In Defense of Women’s Ministry
Bunko gatherings, sewing circles, tea parties and crop nights. What do these activities all have in common? They are all stereotypes of women’s ministries in churches. And as a woman, I’m hurt by these common misconceptions.
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The Fear of the Lord
Fear. It’s a foul four-letter word. It causes tyranny of the soul, and sickness of the body. And I stand immobile. Teeth chattering like cattle stampeding. Sweet sweat beading on my upper lip and leaking onto my parched tongue. A wheezing breath with each rise and fall of my chest. And I stand immobile. Trembling.
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The Power of the Gospel
For far too long I have lived in fear. I’ve hesitated saying “no” to another responsibility out of fear that it would burden someone else. I’ve refused to join friends learning a new hobby out of fear that I would embarrass myself. I’ve allowed misunderstandings to fester out of my fear of confronting another. And yes, I’ve avoided sharing the gospel with others out of fear that I would fail to articulate the truth accurately and be held responsible for propagating heresy.
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The Art of Ending
“Dear Tiffany, Your car is a total loss.” A terse list followed which detailed every door ding, paint scuff, and hail dent that my 2001 Mercury Cougar had proudly acquired in our nine-year relationship. It was all there. The scratched fog lamp from sliding into a bush in a Colorado snowstorm, the hole in the floor board carpet from tapping my black heels one too many times, and the six-disc CD player which no longer functioned but still contained the music of a dreamer.
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All the Single Ladies
“Do you have any wisdom or advice as to how best to approach my season of singleness and the struggle I’m facing?” Gulp. The email from a college friend detailed how rent she felt between the desire to be content in her singleness and her fervent prayers for a husband. I punched “reply,” but the cursor just kept blinking. One week later I finally typed, “I honestly don’t feel like I have any magical answers, but I’d love to share with you some of the things that God taught me along the way.
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Women of Influence
It is quiet, dark, and the anticipation of the audience is like that of a live wire ready to spark. When her willowy frame finally glides through the curtains she beams a confident smile and energy pulsates through the stadium. 55,000 pairs of eyes fixate on her, fans scream in adoration, and glitter rains down from overhead. A star in every sense of the word, she works her Southern charm and exhibits adept mastery of both the audience and the stage. And while I realize that very few of us will ever reach her level of international recognition, I can’t help but wonder, what are the platforms that you and…
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In Pursuit of the Simple Life
It’s August 17 and I’m putting a stake in the ground. I resolve to live a simple life. I’m tired of bearing the scars of this frenetic pace of life—the dull eyes, the lethargic shuffle, the nervous twitch whenever someone causally concedes, “I know you’re busy but would you…?” I never intended to become this person. Somewhere in the pursuit of learning to love God more deeply and my neighbor as myself I became a people-pleaser obsessed with excellence and terrified of using the word “No.”