An abandoned church reminds Ryan Vanderland that God still loves his bride, despite her many imperfections.

Being “relevant” focuses all of our attention on the whims of the now and the uncertainty of the future. It causes us to only see the past and those who led in the past as hindrances rather than examples and people with gifts our body needs now.

Both the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will be holding their annual meetings this week. For all of the theological foci that divide the two groups, one topic will inevitably be broached at both meetings: what it means for Christians to talk about justice.

Even though a primary issue of the SBC conservative resurgence’s commitment to biblical inerrancy was women’s leadership and submission, perhaps the recent revelations about abuses of power and the objectification and silencing of women can be an impetus for reexamining what some think to be a very clear teaching of the Bible.

What does it really mean when Pew Research Center classifies a group as “non-practicing Christians”?

Pastoring with the next pastor in mind is done within the context of the biblical belief that the head of the church is Christ. The church does not belong to a pastor (or the membership).

We feed the hopelessness the world feels when we respond with words but without actions.

I didn’t know what to pray for, and, if I am honest, in that moment I wasn’t sure God heard my cries anyway. I had come to the end of my strength, but God had not left me alone.

Being made to care for things that we did not voluntarily give to invites us to see the value of a need independent of whether we care about that need.

The fruit of progressive holiness shows the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and, without this fruit, we should examine our hearts.

Why does God get in our way and frustrate our best-laid plans with all this confusing and inconvenient morality?

I am concerned that interpretations of the Bible have been used to promote an ideology which says women are expected to return to their abusive husbands, submit and pray.