There comes a time when all things must be laid to rest no matter how important or vibrant they once were. Imagine if you saw your neighbors watering their tomato plants in the middle of December with six inches of snow on the ground. What if your crazy neighbor has a taxidermy pet that he still talks to and tries to play fetch with. We laugh at these images; however, often in the church we are not far off from this.

When the church was finally accepting that it was ministering to baby boomers and baby busters, it was already well into dealing with a clearly postmodern generation. And now that decent books about postmodernism in the church are finally being written, and we are finally accepting and getting a handle on it, I can’t help but wonder if once again we have missed the death of one paradigm and birth of another. Are we running in at the last moment with the much-needed transplant just as the patient is coding on the table? Are we watering the tomatoes in December?

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I have suspended my natural disbelief over the last few years. Anything is possible, but to be perfectly honest, I still have trouble with the idea of God speaking directly to me. God, however, doesn’t have that problem.

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Slavery was ended as a result of the Civil War, right? Not so much. Slavery still exists, and it's larger than ever. Slavery is a 32 billion dollar industry, the second most profitable illicit trade, and growing faster than it's "competition" narcotics. There are over 27 million people imprisoned in slavery today, far more than were ever enslaved during the 400 year reign of the transatlantic slave trade. Call+Response is a documentary examining the global slave trade of the 21st century. Relevant Magazine talked to the director/producer Justin Dillon. View the full post to watch the trailer and check out the full interview.

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Growing up in the Church I frequently heard lessons about the sin of fornication and the need for sexual purity. Yet, I never received any clarity as to why exactly purity was such a desired asset. I knew that God was entirely pure and holy and therefore that if I were not, we weren’t on the same page, but I did not know how to apply such a lesson in my life. View Full Entry >>

I believe everything happens for a reason. Anyone who has known me long enough, or has had one of those long conversations with me, has heard that at least once, coming out of my mouth.

My friend and I, one night, discussed our desire for an adventure in our lives. Neither of us could imagine sitting on a couch 40 years from now, and realizing that we lived a monotonous life. Not everyone can be an explorer or an astronaut, there has to be those flat, static characters in the world. But neither of us felt destined to be that. This friend of mine recently told me he wanted to join the Peace Corps. He didn’t see it, but my face pretty much melted right onto my lap. He had found his adventure, and he was seriously planning on pursuing it.

A few friends of mine had found their calling elsewhere, as well, in a program called Master’s Commission. They traveled a time zone over to the west, and now belong to a community that is not here, or us. One of my best friends is moving to Australia to attend Hillsong College, to pursue growth in her ministry. With this, I’m not saying they do not love the friends they’ve left here, but they have found themselves pliable enough to stretch across the country, across the world, and find bonds with others.