Short-Term Missions: Their Value When Done Right
Short-term missions can be a holy gift — or a well-funded vacation with a paintbrush. What makes the difference is whether we actually love people enough to serve them wisely. Done right, we go invited, trained and humble, strengthening the local church instead of starring in our own story. Mercy matters. But so does meaning. We bring help — and we bring Jesus.
Ignatian Exercises: Keeping Company With Jesus
Five years ago, Jenn and I set out to pray an hour a day for 34 weeks — the Ignatian Exercises. We didn’t know what we were getting into, only that we longed for something real with Jesus. What we found wasn’t religion or ritual, but relationship — keeping company with him. Listening. Speaking. Healing. Becoming the people he always meant us to be.
Faith in the Storm: A Primer on Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer refused to let faith be a private sentiment or theological exercise. When Nazi ideology infiltrated the German church, he stood against it, insisting that discipleship meant action — even when it cost him his life. His writings, from “The Cost of Discipleship” to “Letters and Papers from Prison,” continue to challenge believers today: Will we live by conviction, or will we settle for cheap grace?