Practices such as prayer, confession, worship, and mutual accountability help create the kind of spiritual resilience that keeps difficult personalities from dominating the life of the congregation.

Many churches promise belonging or participation. Fewer clearly promise transformation. Church renewal requires the courage to say: changed lives are not optional — they are the goal.

It’s not easy to maintain a strong belief in possibility in the face of frightening news. Even the disciples had a hard time with it.
But, Jesus believed that he would rise again. In other words, Jesus believed in possibility.

Adopting an ethical perspective means we consider how core values of the Gospels and Jesus’ teachings impact public policy. Viewing current events through an ethical lens also empowers us to address how the gifts and potentials of human life impact our responsibility to the common good.

You are one of the spiritual superheroes Jesus is calling on. This Epiphany, don’t just look for the light—be the light.

You are being invited to resist evil, injustice, and oppression not by complaining, but by rising above the waves with water walking faith.

A common myth is that spiritual practice looks only like sitting quietly in a pew or reading scripture. This is separation of the “holy” from the “physical.” You might think stretching is just for the gym and creativity is just for artists. But your body and soul are connected. Stiffness in the body often mirrors stiffness in the spirit.

To face a world in turmoil, you must move from believing in Jesus to believing like Jesus. And Jesus believed he was in a Divine Partnership with God.

The real problem is not in God’s willingness to answer, but in the ability to allow the answer to reach us.

In this blog post, I will discuss how Jesus and his disciples were most aligned with the Pharisees, the ancient movement for renewal and ethical practice, and how their Jewish identity not only helped establish the origins of Christianity but also helped preserve the Jewish roots of the faith.