Tim Purcell |
December 13, 2018 |
Blog
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:1-3, 14a)....
Anita Eastlack |
December 10, 2018 |
Anita Eastlack Blog CMAD
Four hundred years ago. That’s how long it’s been since the first slaves were brought to America. In August 1619, “20 and odd” enslaved Africans were brought to the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia. “Four hundred years” turns my thoughts to Scripture. My...
Phil Stevenson |
November 29, 2018 |
Blog
Nehemiah is a favorite historical leader. He mobilized a discouraged and disappointed people to achieve a perceived impossible goal. The perceived impossibility was the rebuilding of the wall that surrounded the city of Jerusalem. The wall lay in ruins. And there was...
Andrea Summers |
October 31, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
I have a friend who, somewhat unexpectedly, found herself as the senior pastor of a large, growing church. During her first year, having never been a lead pastor before, she knew she needed help navigating the exciting (and sometimes not so exciting) challenges of...
Ed Rotz |
October 31, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
I’m beginning to wonder if I have adult onset of ADD — attention deficit disorder. My vulnerability to distraction seems to increase substantially. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been working on the laptop and need to find a document or double check an...
Reid Hettich |
September 27, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
When God called me to lead a church plant in a poverty stricken, urban part of our community, I was eager to be a part of an intentionally multiethnic church. But I didn’t realize the extent of the ethnic diversity in our city: about 180 different languages spoken in...
Dan Todd |
September 27, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
One of my oldest friends, Mike, recently lost his 25-year-old son. Mike was my very first best friend. We went to swimming lessons together, played superheroes together, went to “Herbie the Love Bug” movies together and for much of our young lives went to church...
Shalom Liddick |
September 13, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog Teaching
It is so frustrating to speak and have no one move! Typically, my children respond by yelling “we hear you mom” while comfortably sitting carrying on with whatever they were doing. Hearing without action is incomplete. My response to God is usually incomplete when his...
Tim Purcell |
September 13, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
“He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). As I was pondering the above statement from John the Baptist, it brought back a memory of a day when God used one of my sons to humble me just a bit and remind me of who is important and who isn’t. I was...
G. Shane Morris |
August 16, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog Teaching
Last week biblical illiteracy in the news media was put on display like never before. First, the Wall Street Journal misquoted Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that “Moses brought water from Iraq.” What the prime minister actually said was that...
Dr. Ed Love |
August 2, 2018 |
Multiplication
Then He said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38). Every day FedEx sends over four million packages to valued customers. FedEx’s delivery...
Ron McClung |
August 2, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog Teaching
Don’t you love candlelight services? I especially enjoy those in which the leader lights the candles of a few, who then light other candles until the room is filled with light. It’s beautifully symbolic. Jesus is the light who enlightens us to share with others. In a...
Jenny Rae Armstrong |
August 2, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
Church attendance has been declining for years, even among those who identify as churchgoers. There are valid reasons to skip church, but “I learn more listening to sermons on Stitcher” isn’t one of them. And lest we blame it all on the Millennials, I’ve heard more...
Matthew Tietje |
July 16, 2018 |
Blog
There are people you encounter in life whose presence you just want to be in. They’re people who are excited, passionate and informed and they want you to jump in and be excited too. Keith Drury and Robert Black are these kinds of people. I recently had the...
Tim Purcell |
July 12, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
I’ve been thinking lately about the connection between opportunity and obstacles. Years ago I read that the Chinese word for “crisis” is composed of two characters, one meaning “danger” and the other meaning “opportunity.” Sounds about right. It seems like anytime you...
Ron McClung |
July 11, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
I read recently about a study that showed 71 percent of Americans go to bed with their smartphone and 25 percent admitted to falling asleep at least once with the phone still in their hands. Researchers asked more than 90,000 participants to wear a wrist-work...
Jeffrey D. Miller |
June 28, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog Voices
Many Christians, certainly most egalitarians, are familiar with Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (NIV). But as well-known as this passage is, it’s still common to wonder what mutual submission actually looks like in practice. Here’s...
Mike Colaw |
June 27, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog Voices
“Pastor Mike … ” He paused for a moment with tears welling up. “I grew up in the church and lately I am having a hard time believing that all this could be true. Don’t hear me wrong, I want to believe! I just can’t. It all seems too good to be true. I feel like I am...
Brandon Hempel |
June 27, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog Voices
I’ve learned in my journey with God that every single time I say no to something that would interfere with what I believe God’s call in my life is, he honors that “no” with taking care of my needs. I want to share about my most recent ministry transition from...
Joshua McNall |
June 15, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
Several years ago, there was a mediocre movie made by M. Night Shyamalan, called The Happening. It was a horror-thriller sort of film, involving hundreds of senseless murders. Yet the twist in The Happening was that the linked-together killings were committed not by a...
Donna Whitten |
June 14, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
I opened the door to a familiar place. Although it’s dark, I know it so well I make my way to the windows instinctively. Pulling back the curtains, the sun streams into the room highlighting a million dancing dust particles taking flight. I grab the sheets covering...
Beth Churchill |
May 31, 2018 |
Featured Blog Voices
Have you ever felt paralyzed by the injustice of this world? I have. There are days when I just want to stand up and scream with the inequality all around me. As I listen to people sharing their struggles, I often feel powerless to make a difference. It sometimes...
Shalom Liddick |
May 16, 2018 |
Blog Featured Blog
Often, when I hear God, I look at my life and allow his Holy Spirit to search me, then bring confession and repentance to him. I have to say lately, God has been speaking to me on the issue of worship. And I know why. My people, he says, have made me different from I...
Jo Anne Lyon |
May 16, 2018 |
Blog Voices
I am frequently asked the question, “How were you called to ministry?” Most people ask that and expect the St. Paul experience—a light from heaven, thrown off my horse, blind and now I see. They also want a short, sweet and definitive response. Frankly, I dread that...
