A few weeks ago Ariana Grande hosted One Love Manchester, a benefit concert for those affected by the terror attack at the Manchester show on her Dangerous Woman Tour. The concert was a beautiful display of love, resilience and hope in the face of fear as artists and Manchester residents came together for the event. (Watch the concert here) Justin…
*This blog has been revised from its original 2017 version, Does Legislating Morality Work? I submitted the same blog to RELEVANT magazine, which they graciously published online under a different title chosen by their editors–a title I don't agree with and doesn't fully reflect the heart of why I wrote the article. I no longer stand by that article and…
"You need a stronger prayer life." Those were the words I heard God impress on my heart in January 2007 when I asked Him if there was a particular area He wanted me to grow in that year. Little did I know that through responding to that simple phrase God would lead me down a path that would make prayer…
Sometimes I watch videos of people doing street surveys (because who doesn't love those, right?) Occasionally I come across a few asking about religion or spirituality. I’ve noticed that lots of people identify as Christian even though they reveal after further questioning that they don’t fully understand what Christianity is about or practice it. It’s more like a label to…
What does it mean to celebrate Easter? For some it might include a meal with family, candy, egg hunts, or attending church (or all of the above) depending on what you understand the season to mean. While I miss the days of waking up to an Easter basket filled with candy from my family…I mean from the Easter…
So I went to see The Shack. If you’re unfamiliar, The Shack is a movie starring Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer, adapted from the novel by William P. Young. The Shack tells the compelling story of Mack, a husband and father whose young daughter is abducted and killed in a shack during a family camping trip. Mack receives a…
“Our culture teaches us to never let them see you sweat and always put your best foot forward." Pastor Daniel Fusco of Crossroads Community Church made that statement in one of his recent two-minute message videos. It’s so true, isn’t it? It's ingrained in us to always put on a good face and appear as if we have it all…
Christian conversation online after the Super Bowl Halftime Show is interesting–and not in a good way. The same is true after the GRAMMYs or any other significant event in music and entertainment. It seems that celebrities, artists, and entertainers are the Christian community’s favorite group of people to criticize. Here’s how I got clued into this phenomenon. There's A Better…
A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. Kind words are like honey-sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. (Proverbs 15:1 // Proverbs 16:24) Words are powerful and the way we use them matters. Too often we treat our world-especially our online world-as a place where we can carelessly throw out criticizing words…
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Those are the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:6 as He gave what is known as the Sermon On The Mount. In this central teaching moment in the ministry of Jesus, He laid out the foundations for life according to His Kingdom. Righteousness in lifestyle is…