The Church’s Response to the Opioid Epidemic: An Interview with Daniel Edwards
From 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 people died from drug overdoses. In 2017, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids (including prescription opioids and illegal opioids like heroin and illicitly manufactured Fentanyl) was six times higher than it was in 1999. On average, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. To put these numbers in perspective, opioid-related deaths outnumber car crashes and gun-related deaths...
The Fourth Strand of the Reformation: A Review
Evangelicals exist along a spectrum concerning their interest in ecclesiology. Some are largely disinterested in what the Bible says about how to structure the local church. Yet others express a revived interest in ecclesiology, which ministries such as 9Marks have deeply influenced in the Baptist world. Where we fall on this spectrum isn’t driven entirely by our soteriology either. We might be tempted to think that the interest in...
Book Review: Reset by David Murray
by Zach Vickery We live in a culture that is constantly pushing us to more productivity. There’s never a shortage of self-help books and blogs full of hacks to make life easier and more productive. In some ways, this push is a good thing since it encourages us to be good stewards of the time God has given us. Since the Garden of Eden, God intended for humans to work. Scripture, especially the wisdom literature, gives us instruction on...
Hope, Love, and Transcendence: An Analysis of Interstellar
Some months ago I re-watched a film that was released five years ago: Interstellar. Director Christopher Nolan’s film is about hope, love, and transcendence. Amid a broader film culture that celebrates decadence and meaninglessness, this film’s vision is refreshing. Interstellar released in 2014, earning approximately $677.5 million worldwide and receiving five Academy Award nominations. Since I first viewed the film, I’ve continued...
Cultural Apologetics: An Interview with Paul M. Gould
For the past two millennia, Christians have sought to articulate their faith in thoughtful and compelling ways. Many of these “arguments” have been etched into church history, like Anselm’s ontological argument, Thomas Aquinas’s five ways, or William Paley’s illustration of the watchmaker. More recent times have witnessed a shift toward engaging the surrounding culture with the truth and the practice of Christianity. Men like Francis...
Relational Discipleship
by Aaron Pierce Unsurprisingly, discipleship is a buzzword that has increasingly arisen in church conversations over the last decade. This trend is positive since many pastors of the twentieth century unfortunately relegated discipleship to the backburner. But with this new re-emphasis has appeared a vast array of materials, curriculums, and opinions on the nature and practice of discipleship in the local church. One particular...
Recent Comments