Awakening The Sleeping Giant

  Is it Forced? A TikTok Thought and the Traditional Church I was scrolling through TikTok today, as one does, and a video from Mary Hulgraine stopped me in my tracks. Her simple premise was this: if something is true of God, we won't need to force it. We won't need to sin or resort to extreme measures to make it happen. (Watch the video below.) The truth in that statement resonated deeply. It felt like a gentle breeze of common sense in a world often characterized by striving and manipulation. But as I pondered her words, my mind couldn't help but wander to the traditional church and the way it often operates. How many times have you sat in a Sunday morning worship service and felt a subtle, almost imperceptible sense of force ? Maybe it wasn't overt, no one was being physically dragged down the aisle, but there was an undertone, a feeling that certain aspects were being worked a little too hard. The music felt a tad too performative, the announcements a little too des...

 Is Inviting People to Church Really Biblical? We've all been there. The flutter of excitement when an invitation arrives, the subtle sting of exclusion when it doesn't. From childhood birthday parties to adult gatherings, the desire for inclusion runs deep. We're taught that inviting others is a good thing, a way to build community and share experiences. But is this always true, especially within the context of the church? Today, I want to gently challenge the conventional wisdom of "invite everyone to church." It's a practice so ingrained that we rarely stop to question its effectiveness or its underlying motivations. Let's take a closer look at the different groups we typically extend these invitations to: Believers Not Part of a Church Body: Why aren't they involved in a church? Do we really know, or do we even care beyond the surface-level invitation? A casual "You should come to our church sometime!" often overlooks the complex and pers...

The Uncomfortable Truth:  My Struggle with Charging for Ministry and What The Holy Spirit Has Asked Me to Do About It. I have a confession to make, one that sits uncomfortably in my spirit, especially given my years of academic pursuit in the realm of ministry. I struggle. I mean really struggle, with the very act of charging people for any form of ministry I offer. This internal conflict presents a genuine challenge. I hold a Master's degree in Ministry and stand on the precipice of completing my Doctorate in Ministry (just that final 5%!). It's not that I subscribe to the misguided notion that those called to full-time ministry should live in poverty. Quite the opposite. I firmly believe that those who dedicate their lives to serving the Lord and His people deserve to have their needs met. However, my deep-seated conviction lies in the how of that provision. I cannot reconcile the idea of directly charging individuals for ministry with what I understand to be the biblical m...

Nailing Truth to the Door: A Call for Real Faith Over Feelings Where are those men and women so ablaze for the Lord that fear is a foreign concept and earthly consequences are mere whispers in the wind? Where are the modern-day Martin Luthers, those willing to stand against the tide, to challenge the comfortable status quo with a fiery passion for truth? Perhaps, though, the question itself is flawed. Maybe we shouldn't be lamenting the absence of another singular figure like Luther. Perhaps the more pertinent question is: where have the followers gone? Not followers in a theological sense, but those who possess that same unyielding spirit, that fierce determination to fight for what is right, even when it means standing alone against the established order, against religious leaders more concerned with maintaining the peace than proclaiming the piercing truth. There was a time, or so it seems, when zeal for the Lord and His Church was a tangible force. Now, it often feels as thoug...