It’s easy to talk about “unity within the church” as long as we’re talking in the abstract. However, what do you do when a Christian brother or sister offends you or sins against you? Do you “write them off” and go your separate ways? I submit this is often the easier choice, but Jesus and the standards of his kingdom rule do not permit us to do so.

Anyone who has been a Christian for almost any length of time understands God as “our Father.” Having received salvation at the age of twenty-one, I, too, understood the concept of God as Father but it wasn’t until last year—at the age of fifty-two—that I truly began to understand the fatherhood of God beyond the abstract.

Every organization requires rules in support of order, discipline, and efficiency—and the church is no different. We, too, have rules that aid in the organization and operation of the church. (There is always some measure of institutionalization required in the church.) In addition, we have established other rules that aid in the understanding and practice of the faith such as creeds, confessions, statements of faith, doctrinal statements, and so on. These are helpful guides to what we believe. What they don’t say is what we don’t believe. These conclusions we may draw by implication.

By reducing our conceptions of the church to an institution or organization to be managed, there often follows a decreased expectation of the supernatural in the affairs and activities of the church and, by extension, the individual Christian. Rather than seeking results beyond our human schemes and expectations, we find ourselves managing the church as an enterprise in which results can be forecast and progress measured using metrics common to modern business. The watchword becomes “measurable results,” without which an activity is deemed unworthy of pursuit or, if implemented, unsuccessful. Lost is the concept of faithfulness to our Lord and the principles of his kingdom, which may not always yield success in terms visible to us.

Prior to Constantine, the church, although organized, was less institutional and more communal or organic. In other words, the outside world didn’t think of “the church” as that building on the corner. Instead they thought of a community of people who were distinct in both their conduct and character, the overarching characteristics being their love for others, compassion toward the needy, and joy-filled lives. The early Christians lived with hope and shared their hopeful vision of life and a world made better by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. These Christians saw the world through Jesus’s tearful eyes, seeing that things were not as they should be. This vision would shape their mission and purpose as they worked to bring the redemptive power of Christ and his kingdom to bear on every aspect of life and society. These Christians, through reliance upon God, would change the world!

The brutal and senseless murder of twenty-seven people—including twenty children—at Sandy Hook Elementary has left the nation once again stunned and looking for answers. Beyond the obvious element of evil, we are all wondering, “What can possibly motivate someone to commit these heinous acts of violence?” “Why are such scenes becoming more and more frequent?” And, “What is the cause?” I would like to offer one plausible explanation, which reveals a growing social, psychological, and spiritual condition, the product of a determined worldview and its resulting culture. I would add this same worldview will leave its adherents wanting as they struggle to understand the horror of last Friday’s massacre. However, if addressed, I believe this social reality could be changed and hopefully inspire “meaningful action,” to use President Obama’s words, capable of actually reversing the conditions that may be breeding this growing number of deranged killers.

The Christmas season is once again upon us and with it overwhelming encouragement from Madison Avenue to spend what we have not earned to buy what we cannot afford. The thrust of this consumerist message is that the holiday is best enjoyed or most fully realized through the acquisition of “things.” Advertisements bombard us with images of bountiful Christmas scenes in which beautiful packages surround the tree, and “happiness” is realized upon the receipt of this or that consumer product. Credit card issuers alone spend more than $150 million on holiday advertising and promotions. According to financial advisor Dave Ramsey, “over 50 percent of Christmas shoppers will spend well over what they planned to and will go further into debt.”

Of course this consumerist philosophy—rooted in the notion that making more money, which enables you to buy more things, will necessarily result in greater life satisfaction and happiness—is a pervasive message year-round in America. Recent studies show...

One of the ways we can determine whether or not we are listening to the voice of God versus that other voice is to examine the four foundational relationships in our lives that the gospel is redeeming: our relationship with God, ourselves, others, and creation.

Just recently I was teaching one of our Truth@Work groups on the topic of “Developing Your Personal Integrity Principles.” The goal was to lead our members in a process to determine and establish the principles by which they will respond to future challenges and opportunities. Of course, the principles being sought were those that best capture the biblical perspective.

In the course of this exercise it occurred to me that we are often planning and trying to choose a way that best aligns with biblical principles. On the surface this may seem easy but I submit that what we often perceive as the biblical way is often nothing more than the worldly way dressed up in piety and justified by familiarity and personal experience. What we often fail to do is listen for and hear the voice of God. Instead, we reason, evaluate, and decide based on what seems right but in fact may not be consistent with life lived under the rule and reign of God...

This is clearly the implication of the media reports following the latest Pew Research, “Nones on the Rise,” which shows a “steep decline” in the number of Americans who self-identify as Protestant, coupled with a “significant jump” in the number of those who now claim “no religion.” The secular devotees in the media seem hardly able to constrain their delight over the prospect that Christianity is disappearing in America.

Trying to spin this in such a way that the Christian faith appears culturally vital in the U.S. is a little like putting lipstick on a pig; but concluding that Christianity is losing and secularism is winning isn’t quite accurate either.

As most of you are no doubt aware, I haven’t published a commentary for some time. The reasons for this are several. First, my son, who is a US Marine, has been fighting in Afghanistan for the last six months. This has taken a far greater toll on my family and me than I ever imagined possible; I personally found myself struggling to focus on anything other than his day-to-day safety. Thankfully and by God’s good grace he has left the battle zone and is safe and doing well.

Additionally, as I discussed last November, the Lord has led me to focus more on the intentional task of whole-life discipleship. This emphasis on discipleship has had a dramatic impact on the ministry choices I now make. However—and more significantly—this past summer has been one of tremendous change within the ministry itself, as we have seen the need to better clarify our identity and mission in light of this new emphasis. To begin with, we are changing the name of the ministry from the Center for Christ & Culture to Battle for Truth. Allow me to explain...

Slacktivism, a term coined in the mid 1990s, refers to the increasingly popular phenomenon of casual activism that is so easily accommodated by the Internet. Critics argue that slacktivists will eagerly click “like” on an issue or cause on Facebook and passionately promote it but do little or nothing in terms of meaningful activity that actually makes a difference. I wonder if this same passivity is not present in large order within the church today.

Ever since Karl Marx penned his denunciatory statement on religion in 1843 (paraphrased above), secularists, social progressives, and other opponents of religion have worked to convince us that religious faith is an outdated relic of the past whose inexplicable (in their view) existence remains only by means of a stubborn, unenlightened, and uneducated lower class. However, recent studies seem to suggest that ignorance is the greatest factor in irreligiosity whereas the more educated tend to remain religious.

As we, once again, approach this national day of “thanksgiving” I thought it necessary to reflect upon our nation’s long history of acknowledging and giving thanks to Almighty God.

On October 3, 1789 George Washington issued the nation’s first presidential proclamation in which he called the nation to set aside a day for giving thanks to that “great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be….”

President Washington gave under his official hand the following words...

If Americans remain so staunchly religious (and research proves we are) then why do books such as Hitchens’s God is Not Great or Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion, as well as many others challenging faith, seem to be gaining popularity? Why are so many Americans who evidently claim to believe in God and describe themselves as having religious faith buying books attacking the existence of God? These are important questions for the church to grapple with and not ignore.

It seems necessary to address why and even if Christians should be involved in redeeming society and culture. There are many who deride such activity as being a diversion from the “real” work of the church, which in their minds is nothing more than articulating the personal plan of salvation (or “gospel,” very narrowly understood). However, I would counter by saying that such a distinction is more accurately rooted in pagan dualism than scripture. Platonism divides reality into two spheres: the material and the nonmaterial—with the nonmaterial, or spiritual, being superior.

Study Reveals: If a father does not go to church—no matter how faithful his wife’s devotions—only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper. If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular). One of the reasons suggested for this distinction is that children tend to take their cues about domestic life from Mom while their conceptions of the world outside come from Dad. If Dad takes faith in God seriously then the message to their children is that God should be taken seriously.

Perhaps one of the most persistent and pervasive myths that have shaped the thinking of many people and, subsequently, public policy is the myth that the world’s population is spiraling out of control and that it will ultimately lead to catastrophic shortages of the essential resources necessary to sustain life.

It is astounding to consider that the most powerful military force in the history of the world is comprised entirely of volunteers! These are men and women who have, by their own free choice, set aside their personal freedom and dedicated themselves to serving a higher purpose: justice and liberty.

For those mothers who are discouraged by the spiritual state of their children, take heart; I bear witness to the fact that the Lord can and does respond to the prayers of a grieving mother!

For those mothers who are discouraged by the spiritual state of their children, take heart; I bear witness to the fact that the Lord can and does respond to the prayers of a grieving mother!

According to a study released last month by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), sexual activity among teens has dropped dramatically. This information corroborates another CDC report released just last week showing that teen birth rates have reached their “lowest levels in nearly 70 years!” That's the good news, now the bad news...

Is our present foreign policy in the Middle East being driven by a naiveté that unwittingly identifies with “revolutionaries” and “rebels” as kindred spirits? Are these revolutionaries in search of the same thing sought by our founding fathers? Can Islamic societies even conceive of liberal democracy in terms of freedom for all? Are we even asking these questions and if not, how can we determine whether or not military intervention is appropriate?

Those who know me know I love this season above all others and that for me, this season begins with our annual trip to the family farm for Thanksgiving. This a beautiful place among the rolling hills outside Brenham, Texas, that has been in my wife’s family since the 1840s. Each Thanksgiving we gather to give thanks and celebrate, among other things, the wonderful gift of family. My children have never known a Thanksgiving apart from the farm. This year however we will not be making our annual pilgrimage. As I write this, my wife is with her mother in San Diego as she slowly passes from this life to the next. Compounding the grief associated with her passing is the absence of our oldest son, Tyler, as he is halfway around the world serving in the Marine Corps.

Personally, I am delighted to see that the alarming shift toward European-style socialism has suffered some measure of arrest. Americans, in large majority, appear committed to the constitutional idea of limited government (at least for the moment). However, the results also reveal the very limited and temporal nature of politics. It was, after all, only two years ago that the nation went in the opposite direction. The Bush administration was a reaction to the Clinton administration. In 2006, Americans hired the Democrats in response to Republican policies. Before that, Republicans were given the Congress in 1994 in reply to the Democratic Party’s agenda and so on it goes. And through it all we have seen the slow and steady demise of our moral and spiritual values. In other words, the culture has remained unabated in its downward trajectory,

It is said that the test of true ignorance is our inability to recognize our own ignorance. (Or, in the words of Forrest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does.”) According to the latest Pew Research, it seems that American Christians not only lack basis knowledge essential to the Christian faith, they also don't seem to know what they don't know. As a result, the once robust historic Christian faith is being lost to "pop" Christianity, which has no serious theological distinctives and which none seem required.

For the past several weeks I have been attempting to outline a Christian response to Islam, Muslims, and the politically contentious issue of the “Ground Zero” mosque. I think—given the many critical responses to my series—that we easily embrace the love of neighbor in theory but struggle when it comes to actual practice, especially when that “neighbor” represents a social, cultural, or political offense. What I have heard repeatedly is concession to the biblical admonitions to love our neighbor followed by “but…” when it comes to Muslims. This is a conditional love that struggles to separate the abhorrent ideology of radicalized Islam from Muslim people and Jesus doesn't make his command to love, conditional.

Okay, I knew it was going to happen. I even prefaced last week’s commentary on public education by granting the fact that “this is a dicey issue that can get you into a lot of trouble very quickly.” However, my appeal was couched in terms of inviting examination of the issue from a thoughtful Christian perspective (given education’s enormous role in shaping our children) and “wrestling” with the answers—honestly and intelligently—because our faith demands serious self-examination when it comes to our engagement with the changing world around us. The reaction was disappointing. My concern is not so much with the fact that some folks assumed a different view of the topic but with the manner and content of their disagreement.

Revival is a seemingly old-fashioned word that conjures up numerous definitions, some of which have little to do with authentic revival, or “times of refreshing” sent from the Lord as described in Scripture. To aid in defining what I mean when I reference true, biblical revival I want to draw from one of the most important modern documents written on the topic, An Urgent Appeal—To Christian Leaders in America for Consensus and Collaboration on the Biblical Nature and Hope of Corporate Revival.

Do you sometimes struggle to engage with unbelievers? Do you feel ill-equipped to dialogue with those who reject faith in Jesus Christ? There is an important book that offers an excellent example of one such engagement, entitled Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? (InterVarsity Press, 2006). Coauthored by Preston Jones, assistant professor of history at John Brown University and a Christian, and Greg Graffin, an atheist punk rocker (Graffin also has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology), the book chronicles the discussions between these two disparate personalities as they wrestle with life’s most challenging questions from two opposing worldviews.

A rather obscure but large and important study conducted by the Swiss government revealed some astonishing facts with regard to the generational transmission of faith and religious values. In short, the study reveals that “It is the religious practice of the father of the family that, above all, determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children.”

Each year, high school baseball players across the country who are homeschooled compete for a few coveted spots in the Homeschool World Series. Our son’s team made it all the way to the national championship game last year—his senior year—in Pensacola, Florida. It was a special end to a wonderful season in our life as a family. With the incredible growth of homeschooling, commensurate athletic programs have followed, providing homeschooled students an even richer educational experience. This is no “powder puff” program. The Homeschool World Series, which began in 2000, boasts an impressive alumni. Many former players have gone on to play at the collegiate level and some have even gone on to play in the Majors. However, there is one young man in particular, who stands above them all: Ryan Adam Miller from Pearland, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

It's the oldest dialogue known to families: "But, Mom, everybody's doing it! Why can't I?" To which parents routinely reply with a variation of the common-sense retort: "Well, we're not everybody. And if everybody were jumping off a bridge, do you think I'd let you do it just because they were?!" Lemming behavior patterns call for wise guidance. A recent study of the social and sexual behavior of college students called this thinking "pluralistic ignorance."

In my last commentary I stirred controversy by suggesting that we were losing our sense of duty and that this was reflected in a growing disdain for or indifference to self-sacrificial service, especially related to military service. Well, I want to continue to stir this pot, not because it gives me pleasure but because we’re beginning to scratch the surface of a significant problem that is adversely affecting our culture and, by extension, the church.

Today, we live in a culture in which men (in particular) are no longer encouraged to “do their duty,” to serve something greater than themselves and certainly never at risk to themselves. So many today are so self-indulgent that to serve one’s country through military service is thought to be foolish—a task due only to the poor and uneducated among us, those poor souls who either can’t afford or lack the academic merits to go to college. This kind of elitism is alive and well in this country, especially among the more liberal who are all too happy to have someone else’s son or daughter defend their freedom. My wife and I have encountered it frequently, however I was shocked to encounter it from other Christians!

In the late 1990s, while working as the president and CEO of a large company in Dallas, the Lord began to redirect the focus of my life into what would become this ministry that today consumes my being. I distinctly recall being so burdened by the state of the church and its growing irrelevance in American life and culture that I would find myself awakened in the middle of the night weeping! I must admit that I was perplexed, pleading, “Lord, what is happening to me?”

In my last commentary I wrote about the tragic death of Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old Massachusetts girl who hanged herself after months of relentless and cruel bullying. In that article, I addressed the mass indifference to Phoebe’s persecution, in which no one appeared willing to come to her defense or stand in opposition to her tormentors. I referred to this as the “cowardice of noncompassion.” Recently, I have encountered another kind of cowardice of noncompassion within the church, which hinders the church’s mission and undermines our witness in the world.

God judged Israel on how they treated the poor and defenseless. Dick Keyes, the director of L’Abri Fellowship International and author of True Heroism, goes even farther by saying the way a nation treats the defenseless “is God’s barometer of the moral quality of a society." There are two issues at stake in the rise of bullying that reveal the “moral quality” of the forthcoming society: the brutality of those doing the bullying and the “cowardice of noncompassion” by those who stood by and did nothing to help the victim. 

Last week I wrote how Israel’s neglect of the poor was a central offense against God that led to their Babylonian exile and that we, too, have neglected those in need in our own times. This neglect, I argued, has led to increased government intervention. However, we need to go further by asking, “Who are the poor among us?” While the Israelites were guilty of neglecting the materially poor—and we no doubt have done this as well—Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett make an important contribution that serves to expand our conceptions of poverty in their book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself.

With the passage of health care reform, we have initiated the largest expansion of government in the history of this nation. While the full implications of this law are not yet fully realized, we can be certain that America has crossed a critical boundary that promises to fundamentally change this nation forever—and not necessarily in a good way. At the moment, it may be easy to blame this condition entirely on the current political administration. However, as Christians we are compelled to examine ourselves individually and corporately. Asking, “Have we done anything (either by commission or omission) that might have contributed to the preconditions that led to such radical social and political change?”

When the church, according to Jesus, is living in visible relationship with each other, it is then that the world will know that God the Father has sent the Son. Is this not the desire of every faithful, gospel-centered Christian? This why I recommend an important new book, Your Church is Too Small by Dr. John H. Armstrong. In doing so, I join with Dr. Packer in saying, “I hope this book will not be ignored but will have the influence it deserves. Aspects of North America’s future—aspects, indeed, of the honor and glory of Christ in this century—may well depend on whether or not it does.” Click on the link above to learn more...

My family and I recently saw The Blind Side, the surprise blockbuster movie that tells the remarkable story of Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher. Michael’s story is a true-life tale of nearly hopeless beginnings, the generous love of neighbor, and redemption; it is a powerful representation of the gospel of the kingdom.

After more than eight years of writing, teaching, and speaking on the subject of Christian worldview from an academic level, I now feel it is time to roll up my sleeves and personally begin to help others apply these principles so they can both experience personal transformation and become transforming agents themselves. Thus I am launching a new initiative called KINGDOM PROJECT™, a discipleship/training program to help Christian business/institutional leaders discover how their vocational gifts and their enterprises can tangibly advance the kingdom of God.

A poll by the Pew Research Center reveals that “eighty-one percent of 18- to 25-year-olds…said getting rich is their generation’s most important life goal.” The second most important, according to the survey: being famous.” Described as the “millennial” generation, 51 percent listed being famous as the second most important life goal! A Gallup Panel survey of 18- to 29-year-olds found that 55 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “You dream about getting rich.” Anecdotally, one only has to watch the latest season of the hit series American Idol, which began last week, to realize that many in this generation are obsessed with fame and fortune to the point of radical self-delusion. I’m not criticizing the show; I actually like it. I delight in seeing those who actually do have talent realize their dreams. However...

In Corpus Christi, Texas, where my parents live and worship, the Christian community was rocked two years ago by the shocking conviction of Hannah Overton. In an outrageous series of events, this gentle thirty-year-old Christ-follower, wife, and homeschooling mother of five was sentenced to life without parole in the death of Andrew Burd, the four-year-old child that she and her husband were adopting from the foster-care system. By every account, the justice system not only failed but also may have actually crossed the line into willful misconduct, resulting in an unimaginable nightmare for the Overtons.

There are many factors that contribute to the demise of marriages within the church, but there is one in particular whose virulence and force is made worse by our isolation and indifference to community: pornography! This sin grows in its influence and effect through secrecy and there is perhaps no greater secret sin in the church than the habitual consumption of pornography.

It has become all too easy for Christians to fall into a state of pessimism—even despair—over the state of our culture today. This is understandable in light of the last fifty years. So, is there reason to hope that anything will change? Can the tide of immorality, paganism, and general debauchery that threatens to swamp us even be arrested, much less reversed? I believe history offers numerous examples where God, in his providence, has done so, in particular...

In response to my article regarding my son's departure for the Marine Corps, I heard from service members who were grateful for my article because they had long struggled with whether or not their military service was compatible with serving the kingdom of Christ. In response, I feel cannot let this pass without trying to assuage those concerns and encourage those men and women who serve in our armed forces as well police officers, firefighters and all first responders who confront and sometimes must employ violence in the service of humanity.

The day I have long dreaded has finally arrived. My oldest and only son, Tyler, left for the Marine Corps this morning. For the next thirteen weeks, he will be going through basic training (boot camp) in San Diego. We will not be able to communicate with or see him until his graduation in November and then only for a few days until he ships out again. This will be a challenge for his mother, two sisters, and me, as he has always been an enormous personality and presence in our home.  

In an effort to answer the demand for practical steps by which the church can demonstrate its essential witness-bearing love for one another, there is perhaps no greater opportunity emerging than that of caring for the aging saints. 

I now want to take up Paul’s charge that “love believes all things.” Once again, Paul is speaking about our relationships within the body of Christ. Paul is not calling for a foolish gullibility. However, being guarded against the possibility of being taken advantage of is not correct either. If love believes all things and love is our motivation, then suspicion has no place. If one has a need and we are able to meet that need, we do so without any expectation (see Matthew 5:41). You may be taken advantage of; you may suffer a loss. You may even look foolish to the world for doing so. So what? We serve one another without qualification in obedience to Christ. 

This is the title of a compelling book by Rick McKinley—but it also describes the church quite well. It is here that we see the “beautiful mess,” albeit more mess than beauty today. The beauty emerges as a people once teetering on the edge of destruction are brought by grace into a new life together in Christ. As we have established, this life together—in essence our love for one another—is essential to the witness of the church and the proclamation of the gospel. Practically speaking, though, what does this love look like? 

Apparently some might have perceived that I was suggesting Christians abandon personal evangelism in last week’s article. Certainly not! Let me also say I am not offering absolutes here. I am, like Christians have throughout the ages, seeking to understand and best express the mission of the church in light of our changing cultural and social reality. 

The goal of learning, wrote the great Christian poet Milton, “is to repair the ruins of our first parents.” I challenge you to make this your goal as you pursue higher education. Use this time to gain wisdom, to better understand the culture in which you live, and form a consciously Christian understanding of life and reality so that you may serve God’s redemptive purposes in the world.

In our ongoing analysis of The Coming Evangelical Collapse we must inevitably examine what I call the “new ecclesiology” or doctrine of the church. I say new because there has been a shift in how we understand and define the church, so much so that the institution itself is being redesigned and much of its life reoriented. 

Over the last century the church in America has suffered serious generational drift and decay. In every subsequent generation over the last century, the faith has become more fragmented, watered-down, superficial, and irrelevant. We have drifted from a vibrant faith rooted in the historic confessions, coherent theological convictions, and intelligent cultural engagement to a privatized faith that is indifferent to the past, theologically ignorant, and culturally irrelevant.

This was the title of a recent article by popular blogger Michael Spencer (aka Internet Monk) published in the Christian Science Monitor. The article received widespread media coverage, resulting in a potential book deal and hundreds of speaking invitations for the author. Within hours of its online posting, I received dozens of e-mails generally asking, “Have you seen this?” In the weeks following, there were countless references to this article on radio and in print. I have rarely seen such a swift and sweeping reaction, which begs the question, What was it about this fatalistic statement that generated so much reaction? 

In John 1:35–50 Jesus interacts with Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathaniel in calling each of them to follow him. This passage is full of importance for the modern apologist/evangelist. Each of these four men is at a very different place. The approach Jesus uses with each man, as he calls him to come into a community where they will begin following and trusting him as the Messiah, is quite unique in each case.

I have argued that the cultural context in which we do apologetics and evangelism has radically changed and will likely continue to change even more with each passing year. The regnant position of modernism has been eclipsed by a new social and cultural reality, a reality that we call postmodernism or hyper-modernism. Along with this cultural change the role of the church within the culture is changing every year. The goal is to always be the same: to make obedient disciples of Christ who are true worshipers. The evidence for the change I am writing about is overwhelming. But many are still unaware, blissfully or otherwise.

In the wake of our current financial crisis, the most popular scapegoat is quickly becoming the wealthy in America, inspiring class warfare reminiscent of Marxist socialism. The neo-Marxist philosophy that is emerging in the wake of our present economic crisis threatens to displace the best economic system for human flourishing—free market capitalism. 

As you have probably heard, the Grapevine Faith football story continues to gain national attention and Kris Hogan, head coach of the Faith Lions, even received an invite to the Super Bowl from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. More importantly, the actions of the Grapevine Faith fans and players continue to reap kingdom rewards far beyond what anyone could have ever imagined. This is the transforming power of the gospel, properly expressed! This story challenges everything we—modern Christians—have come to accept about evangelism and the mission of the church in the world.

I can hardly believe it—Uncompromised Faith is finally and officially published! In a process that began more than two years ago, it is frankly overwhelming to finally hold this book in my hand. I know that authors are supposed act like this is no big deal; after all, it’s what authors do: we write. But for me it is a big deal because this is my first book and more importantly it serves as a powerful reminder of God’s abundant grace and mercy—that He might condescend to use me. It is humbling…

Today, when we speak of recovering the missional purpose and nature of the church, we naturally draw upon the Bible’s account of the first-century church. However, recovering the church’s missiological purpose should not be understood as an attempt to replicate first-century Christianity in our time. Our times are dramatically different, especially given Christianity’s unrivaled influence over the last two thousand years. Thus our cultural context in no way compares to that of the Roman Empire. Our challenge, then, is to appropriate the mission of the church (which never changes) to our current cultural context. This is not an adaptation of the gospel message in order to be relevant but rather an adaptation of how we express the gospel relevant to the culture we are trying to reach. 

I can think of no more radical example of this than that which took place this past fall on a Friday night in Texas...

The fundamental distinction of the missional church is one that begins with a particular Christian community that is focused on and lives for God’s purpose in the world. On this point, some may say, “Of course, aren’t all churches focused on God’s purpose in the world?” Not necessarily.

Recently, a reporter from a Christian journal—writing on the topic of the missional church—asked me “What is your definition of the word missional?” This seems to me a very important question, especially if, as some scholars suggest, a proper recovery of this concept may hold the solution to the crisis within the North American church. It’s so important that its answer may provide the foundation for the reformation of the church in America—namely who we are and the purpose for which we exist.

More than two millennia ago, the prophet Jeremiah warned the Israelites that the prophets and priests were falsely proclaiming that “all is well” saying, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). We, very much like the Israelites have also been lulled into believing that all is well within the church.

I received many responses to last week’s article, Marriage Survives! Can it Endure? Some revealed the very problem I was addressing: the next generation, including many Christians, are either confused or compromised on the issue of homosexuality and, by implication, biblical authority. The following dialogue with a young Christian reveals a great deal about what this generation knows about Scripture and the diminishing authority of Scripture in their lives. This dialogue, I hope, models an effective way of engaging younger Evangelicals on this and other "hot-button" issues.

In a momentous turn of events, Proposition 8 (California's Marriage Amendment) passed! Similar measures passed overwhelmingly in Florida and Arizona, bringing to 30 the total number of states that have amended their constitutions in order to protect marriage from special interest revisions. However, these political victories will be temporary if we do not strengthen the cultural understanding of and commitment to marriage. There is a distinct difference between politics and culture, .... Politics always follows and reflects culture—it does not create culture. So how do we create a culture that exalts marriage?

John Adams warned more than two hundred years ago, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. … Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (Emphasis mine.) In other words, it is moral knowledge informed by religion that best serves to restrain destructive human passions and enlighten the electorate, thus rendering them better equipped for governing themselves. Given the recent decline of this moral knowledge, the question must be asked: Have we grown unfit for democracy?

As I discussed last week, the first step toward freedom from consumer debt and financial profligacy is a transfer of trust in financial security (a fallacy) to trust in the Sovereign God. Once freed from dependence upon temporal things, we together—the Body of Christ—can seek first the kingdom (Matt. 6:33) rather than remain isolated in the illusory construction of our own individual enterprises that can crumble in an instant. Might the looming financial downturn (to be optimistic) or economic meltdown (to be extreme), offer the church a unique opportunity to bear witness to a watching world?

It is an ironic fact that this phrase appears on our currency when so often it is money (or financial security) and not God that we trust in first. In these uncertain economic times, the tendency of our frail flesh is to be fearful. However, if the church is to be a faithful witness in such times this, fear must be replaced by confident faith in the sovereign God who causes all things to work together for good. It was only by God’s merciful grace and providence that I was delivered from this very same fear and dependence upon the things of this world and it is this story that I wish to share.

In the wake of an unprecedented $700 billion bailout plan passed by Congress, many are asking, “How did this happen?” While there is plenty of blame to go around—much of which rests with reckless politicians and avaricious profiteers—many of us still don’t fully comprehend exactly what has happened. All most of us know is that the stock markets are all over the place and there is real potential for a widening financial crisis. I don’t claim to be a financial expert or economist; however, economics are not so much the source of this debacle as is a fundamental shift in values, namely, away from the historic Christian virtue of thrift.

Last week I demonstrated how secular humanism as a worldview fails because it doesn’t deal with reality. This manifested failure has ushered in the postmodern era, in which Westerners, having lost confidence in the secular story of the world, are floundering. Cynicism and relativism have followed (and often hopelessness), resulting in a careless approach to life’s great questions. Unfortunately, in the wake of this void comes Islam, which secularism can neither persuade nor resist. The predominant representation of the (reductionist) gospel we now see in the West is, I would argue, similarly ineffective. Through neglect, cultural accommodation, and historical indifference, the Christian faith in the West has been largely reduced to a few doctrines of self-interest.

In last week’s article, I pointed out how Great Britain, through incremental concessions to Muslim demands, is sowing the seeds of its own subjugation. As to the cause of this civilizational suicide, Europe rendered itself impotent long ago when it traded its Christian philosophical foundations for that of secularism.

While Britons may think of America as its juvenile and impetuous offspring, Great Britain has surely become our senile grandmother. Through repeated acts of self-condemnation and political correctness, the British are systematically capitulating to all things Islamic. In essence, our British forbearers are committing cultural suicide. In what may appear to be deferential considerations to their growing Muslim population, British authorities are slowly conforming to the demands of an increasingly outspoken and violent minority.

Another school year has begun and an estimated 15 million young men and women will be pursuing studies at the college and university levels. However, this may not be as beneficial as we have historically believed higher education to be.

Rarely do I feature a guest commentary, however John Jalsevac’s review of the extraordinary documentary film, Miss HIV is so important that I thought I would be doing my readers a great service in sharing his insights. I have tried to edit Mr. Jalsevac’s piece for brevity’s sake without reducing its substance.

Responding to the conclusion of my series In Defense of Marriage, there were some who expressed concern that I was advocating capitulation or withdrawal from the culture, which, of course, I am not. I appreciated the thoughtfulness with which many of you responded and the gracious manner in which you expressed your disagreements. This is healthy and—let’s be honest—we’re not dealing with essential doctrines of the Christian faith, so there should be room for disagreement, debate, and discussion. That is precisely what I hope to encourage. Otherwise, we can remain blindly entrenched in old patterns of thinking and conduct that render the church and its message irrelevant as the culture around us changes. The faithful Christian will always wrestle with the execution of his calling in a changing cultural context (see 1 Cor. 9:22).

I am amazed at the level of pessimism among so many Christians that I encounter. I think this may also be a product of too much reliance on politics. This is, after all, the pressing concern of the population whose frustrations center mostly on the failed expectations of their political leaders and government: the economy, the war, fuel prices, and so on. Add to that concerns over the moral direction of the nation, and the church often appears indifferent or defeated. There is a cure for this pessimism...

In this heightened political season, there are many, including some Christians, who believe the fate of the nation rises and falls on the outcome of November’s presidential election. That is not to say that politics and elections are inconsequential—the nation prospers from good leaders and suffers from the inept—but are government and political leaders really the hope or ruin of a nation?

It was into the sexually immoral environment of the first century Roman world that Christians would bring forth a radically different sexual ethic. The concern for the Christian today is that unlike our early brothers and sisters, the church all too often appears similar to the surrounding culture. This is especially true among the forthcoming generation. Knowing this, what hope does the church have of restoring the dignity of marriage? We must reclaim the subject of sex by giving our young people a comprehensive theology of sex...

The famous historian, Arnold J. Toynbee observed that civilizations arose in response to some set of challenges of extreme difficulty prompting “creative minorities” to devise solutions that would reorient the entire society. When a civilization responds to challenges, it grows. Conversely civilizations declined when their leaders stopped responding creatively or with wisdom. Toynbee points out that in the wake of an inadequate response, the civilizations in question then sank owing to either nationalism, militarism or the tyranny of a despotic minority. It seems we, as a nation, have sunk to the level in which a “despotic minority” is in the process of reorienting our entire society, that minority being those who advocate a natural and now constitutional right to homosexual behavior. Recent decisions in California and New York demonstrate that the line in defense of traditional marriage continues to erode.

Adolf Hitler once said, “It is the luck of rulers when men do not think.” The writer of Proverbs underscores this truth by saying, “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.” (2:12) This begs the question; what role does the intellect and scholarship have in our faith? What role does a consciously Christian education play in seeking first, the kingdom?

The thing which most offended critics and reviewers of Ben Stein’s film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, was his attempt to link Darwinism to the Holocaust. It is here, in the area of moral philosophy, that the Darwinian paradox is revealed. On the one hand, modern Darwinians posit that the universe is the result of impersonal, amoral, natural forces while on the other denying this undermines objective moral standards. However, the Nazi’s understood what modern Darwinians do not; if you reject the Creator you cannot hope to live within the safety of the Creator’s rules. It is either God’s loving law or the law of the jungle.

Two years ago I wrote that we may be seeing the first signs of what could be a new cultural renaissance in Italy. Recent events in Italy seem to indicate that this "renaissance," if you will, has not only continued but may be gathering momentum. Could this indicate the revival of Christian influence in Europe?

For more than five decades, self-proclaimed experts and so-called sexual reformers have worked to advance the belief that there are no public consequences to private sexual behavior. And Americans, for the most part, have bought into this notion, proving what Lenin said, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth!” However, first-ever research reveals the fallacy of this notion and quantifies the high cost of immorality in America to be more than $112 billion each year!

If Christians living within a distinct community is an essential witness to the mission of God, and because so many of us seem unwilling to surrender the independent self, and since our present understanding and expression of this community falls painfully short; what can we do to remedy this situation? What hinders this community is NOT a weakness of the institutional church and its leadership but rather the radical individualism of its members. This is not simply a matter of concern over sporadic church attendance or mediocre participation in the church potluck dinner; this is a central underlying principle, which nullifies the witness of God’s people and opposes the redemptive mission of God! 

As Americans, we enter the church with nearly overpowering individualistic inclinations. As a result, we are failing to fulfill an essential part of God’s mission because we fail to demonstrate the reign of God within the authenticating community of faith that is distinct from the world. If we don’t get this right, our service will remain indistinguishable from any other and our proclamation of the risen Christ will appear shallow and without basis.

As I wrote in the first part of this series, the church of Jesus Christ is not the purpose or goal of the gospel, but rather its instrument and witness.” This brings us to our second question: What exactly is the church’s mission?In order to answer this adequately, we must first accurately define the gospel or “good news.” I say “accurately” because I think many Christians, particularly in our highly individualized culture, have come to view the gospel as simply the personal plan of salvation. The modern emphasis tends toward “fixing the sin problem” in terms that are entirely personal. However, the Scriptures speak in a more comprehensive way that goes beyond the private version of the gospel that we know in the West.

In the age of Christendom, the church occupied a central and influential place in society and the Western world considered itself both formally and officially Christian. So when we speak of post-Christendom, we are making the point that the church no longer occupies this central place of social and cultural hegemony and Western civilization no longer considers itself to be formally or officially Christian. This clearly represents an historic change in the cultural context into which the Western, and specifically American, church is now attempting to carry out its mission. This raises two fundamental questions: What does this new cultural context mean for the church and its mission? And, what exactly is the church’s mission?

There is much talk today about the “culture of death” and certainly there are powerful forces emanating from competing worldviews that predictably foster such conditions. These worldviews have driven us as a culture to legitimize abortion, consider euthanasia, and proceed to cross a whole host of bio-ethical issues as technology advances. However, these worldviews, in which the value of life and human dignity are diminished, inevitably encounter a most formidable obstacle: natural revelation.

As orthodox Christianity continues to ebb in the Western world there follows a spiritual vacuum and as it has been observed, nature abhors a vacuum. At present this spiritual void appears to have found its latest alternative to Jesus Christ in the convoluted and ambiguous world of New Age religion.While this may conjure up images of incense, crystals, and Shirley MacLaine—or associations with flower haired hippies—this “new” spiritual movement, which is anything but new, has acquired a most powerful and influential advocate: Oprah Winfrey.

Do good works and loving our neighbor necessarily have to include a direct gospel proclamation to be worthy, or is it enough to love our neighbor as ourselves and trust the Lord to assign our part in His redemptive work? By not getting this right, we may inadvertently be creating obstacles to the missio dei.

This appears to be a growing sentiment among many younger Christians in America today. They love Jesus but they want little to do with His Church. It’s not that they don’t like the their local church or even other Christians—it’s that they don’t like how Christianity in America is frequently represented by many professing Evangelicals, which in their minds is often unloving, judgmental, arrogant, and hypocritical. What concerns me most is that this reaction among young evangelicals is fraught with peril as are all reactive movements.

I have come to face this possibility along with its implications, most recently while reading the new book by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons entitled unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity … and Why it Matters. In the book, Jud Wilhite, a pastor in Las Vegas says just that, “In Las Vegas, where I live, the culture war is over. We lost. Let me repeat: WE LOST. Now our calling is to love and accept people one-on-one, caring for them where they are. Our role is subversive as we carry the light and love of Jesus into the casinos, clubs, and streets of our city.”

The Islamic worldview fails to correspond with reality at every point, producing less than adequate results in every standard by which we measure personal, social, and economic well-being. So, why does this matter? And, what is the Christian response?

The last four decades have seen a significant shift in the philosophy behind sex education in America’s public schools. Prior to the sexual revolution, human biology and reproduction, hygiene, and marriage were the focus of sex education. In essence, this approach was grounded in particular moral virtues, namely biblical. The new emphasis seeks to eliminate these traditional moral distinctions. Instead the student’s “choice” is given the supreme moral authority and the goal of these curriculums is to merely aid in the “safest” expression of the child’s choice. However, more and more, modern sex education programs are becoming nothing more than publicly funded platforms for legitimizing homosexuality and other deviant and unsafe behaviors—pro-homosexual propaganda presented under the guise of “tolerance” and “diversity.”

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the official diagnostic manual used by mental-health professionals, defines depression as “two continuous weeks of such symptoms as despondency, diminished pleasure in life, and difficulties in sleeping and eating.” In the manual, it doesn’t matter why a person is despondent. If you’ve lost your job, or your romantic partner dumped you, or you’ve been given a diagnosis of cancer, you’re still deemed ‘clinically depressed’ if you’re "sad" for two weeks or more. This might account for the recent 300 percent increase in Americans diagnosed with depression.

It is the role of the Church to preach the gospel. What the Arts provide is a medium for cultural formation that can promote the plausibility of the gospel story. Literature and film, in particular, shape the stories of our culture and our stories help shape our conceptions of reality. If our literary traditions are dominated by nihilistic hopelessness then society becomes less hopeful. If however, our literature includes themes of redemption and messianic saviors then the story of the true Messiah rings true.

Recently, Willow Creek published the results of their 2004 congregational survey entitled, Reveal: Where are You? The surprising results required the study’s authors, including executive pastor Greg Hawkins, to tell senior pastor Bill Hybels that “the church isn’t as effective as we’d thought.”

As we, once again, approach this national day of “thanksgiving” I thought it necessary to reflect upon our nation’s long history of acknowledging and giving thanks to Almighty God.

I have written many articles over the years often addressing controversial issues, some of which have provoked strong reactions. However, no other subject so provokes as the suggestion that Darwin’s theory of evolution is false. In my recent article, James Watson is Not a Racist; He’s a Darwinist! I commented on the recent statements of noted scientist and evolutionist, James Watson. You may recall that Watson suggested that black people were inherently less intelligent due to their stunted evolutionary development. As I pointed out, Watson was simply speaking in a way that revealed the ethical dilemma of Darwinism in which morality as we understand it has no place. True to form, the evolutionists were outraged.

What does it mean when we call Christians to engage the culture? Is cultural engagement even necessary to the Christian life? And, if so, just exactly how do we engage culture?

Could it be that our own actions are causing the religiously-inclined but nonetheless lost to doubt the existence of God? Is it possible that the Church is pushing people toward unbelief by virtue of its approach to culture and the world? Has Christianity become so politically defined that true faith and the person of Jesus Christ is obscured in the minds of many? Is it possible that Christians are conducting themselves in such a way that the spiritually seeking are looking anywhere but to Christ? I don’t know for sure but I certainly think it is possible and that is enough to make me examine my self in light of these questions. It should cause us all to examine ourselves.

According to Mark J. Penn, author of Microtrends , "the most powerful forces in our society are the emerging, counterintuitive trends that are shaping tomorrow right before us… In fact, the whole idea that there are a few huge trends that determine how and the world work is breaking down.”

The latter half of the 20^th century has seen the emergence of two extremes in the and its relationship to the culture – liberal revisionism on the one side and conservative fundamentalism on the other. Both, I contend, have hindered the work and ministry of the Church. One renders the Christian faith meaningless while the other makes it irrelevant.

There is a subtle and sinister shift underway in our culture that is redefining the basis of humanity dignity and what it means to be human. The Judeo-Christian basis for human dignity rests on the belief that since all men are created by and equidistant from God they are therefore of equal worth before God. However, this aforementioned “shift” in thinking seeks to establish a new basis for human dignity that is cut off from this theological and religious foundation. Secular society still seeks to uphold human dignity however set adrift from its religious moorings there follows a serious crisis in the structure of society’s beliefs and its ability to uphold an equitable and true basis for human dignity.

Despite ample evidence that fame, fortune, and beauty fail to bring lasting peace and satisfaction—in fact, often quite the contrary—Americans are more celebrity-obsessed than ever. Whereas we once prized honor, integrity, virtue, courage and the like; we now prize fame, fortune, and beauty and thus the celebrity serves as the ideal modern “hero.” Our values have changed, which in turn changed our “heroes” and how we define heroism. Subsequently our stories have changed as well. Instead of inspiring a generation to aspire to human excellence in the moral virtues, we are indoctrinating children in secular humanist propaganda over and against biblical truth. Perhaps telling schoolchildren the story of the Good Samaritan would better serve the needs of society than the story of Heather has Two Mommies.

There has been a profound loss of community in American life, including within the Church. A study by sociologists at Duke University and the University of Arizona found that in 1985, every American had an average of nearly three close friends. Today, every American only has an average of two close friends they can confide in. Approximately a fourth of the people who were surveyed responded “they had no close friends at all” and the number of people who say they have no one to talk to about important matters has more than doubled. Americans, in general, are increasingly isolated and lonely. Herein lies a real and tangible opportunity for the Church to bear witness to the truth of Jesus Christ.

There has been a rash of scandals, moral failures, human errors and the like coming out of NASA in the past year. Do these failures within our most ambitious human project ever conceived reveal something about our culture? I think they do. Is it possible that we as a society are losing our ambitious energy that has heretofore driven us as a nation to explore the great unknown and that this is the source of NASA’s recent failures and the public’s apathy for space exploration?

This past week, in cities around the world, groups gathered to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings--Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. Included in the commemoration events were numerous groups and cities throughout the United States. This strikes me as rather strange. We would not, for example, commemorate the bombing of Berlin during World War II in sympathy to the Germans killed, as this was the home of a vicious enemy that had brought war upon itself and was unrelenting in its aggression. However, in an act of self-incrimination, Americans are beginning to revise history in such a way that we are the “bad guys.”

In the wake of Madonna, Paris Hilton, and countless other “role models” encouraging young women to “express their sexuality” and drink deeply from the pool of promiscuity there comes a rare and refreshing voice of reason. Despite the fact that porn is mainstream, and despite the fact that those who to choose to delay sex are labeled “prudes,” Wendy Shalit argues in her latest book, Girls Gone Mild that “a youth-led rebellion is challenging the status quo.”

Secularism has certainly done its worst over the last five decades to the point that most churches in Europe are either empty or aged. However, there are signs of new life within the European Church as well as indicators that Europeans are increasingly open to religion. Theories as to the cause of the European Church's near death and possible resurgence reveal potential warnings for the American Church.

Radicalized individualism, which hinders the fellowship of believers, might be one reason for the lackluster witness of the Church in which so many seem to never experience real spiritual transformation.

Earlier this year, the Washington Post conducted an unusual social experiment that reveals something disturbing about our culture—something that should concern any person interested in the wellbeing and future of our society and the preservation of the true, the good, and the beautiful.

One quickly discovers that upon closer examination, there is a large and growing body of evidence demonstrating that “global warming” is simply a natural phenomenon, completely unrelated to human causation. I could literally spend the next several months recounting the data but I must bring this series to a conclusion and connect it to its theological considerations—why does it matter to the Church and why should Christians be equipped to respond to “green politics?”

According to the proponents of “man-made” global warming, carbon dioxide emissions are the culprit in climate change. So what is the role of carbon dioxide if any and are there other, more plausible explanations for the half-degree centigrade temperature increase that is believed to have occurred over the last century?

The conflict between those who view humanity as an enemy of nature and those who view man as nature's steward culminates in the dispute over global warming. At odds in this debate is not the question of whether or not we are experiencing a period of warmer temperatures, we are. Rather, it is the competing theories relative to the causes of the present temperature increase and the implications thereof. However, let's first understand what is meant by "warming."

As we have previously examined, the idea that human population growth and presence is an affront to the earth and nature is grossly overstated and frankly, a myth. In a sad bit of irony, this myth and its resulting environmental extremism have their roots in the writings of an 18th century Anglican preacher named, Thomas Malthus. Malthus was the first to suggest that environmental catastrophe would be brought on by the unchecked growth of the human population.

The global population is the highest in recorded history. However, does this necessarily mean that the earth is “over-populated” in the sense that the human population exceeds the resource capacity of the earth? This is certainly the implication of those who speak in terms of a “population explosion” or “population bomb.” Does the human population exceed the capacity of the earth and therefore place us in danger of destroying the planet?

One of the core commitments of this ministry has always been to demonstrate the truth and relevance of Christianity to all of life and culture. Toward that end I feel compelled to wade into the debate currently raging over the environment and environmentalism. On the one side we have those who would subordinate mankind to nature and on the other—well, let me be honest—Christians haven’t had a lot to say in the environmental debate. What we tend to do is withdraw from the issue altogether because we don’t like those who seem to be dominating the topic or we act indifferent to the issue as if we don’t care about the environment. And a few evangelical organizations have opted for a third alternative: capitulation to green politics. In this series I hope to offer a helpful response to this complex and important issue, again, all for the sake of demonstrating the truth and relevance of Christ and His kingdom to all of His creation.

It is an amazing fact when you consider that the most powerful military force in the history of the world is comprised entirely of volunteers! If we as a nation continue to neglect the cultivation of true virtue among young people and instead immerse them in a culture which only encourages their most sensate and base desires, we will, in time, see such noble men and women disappear.

A California pediatrician reportedly refused to treat a baby girl because her mother had tattoos. The doctor said, says “his Christian faith has inspired him to enforce certain standards in his medical practice, and that means no tattoos, no body piercings, and no gum chewing."...After taking one look at Tasha Childress, who has both tattoos and piercings, [the doctor] asked her and her daughter to leave. What concerns me most is what kind of culture has developed within the American Church to produce such legalistic thinking that it borders on the inhumane.

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story addressing the “culture of praise” that is becoming characteristic of the next generation of American workers. The article’s author points out, “Childhood in recent decades has been defined by such stroking – by parents who see their job as building self-esteem, by soccer coaches who give every player a trophy, by schools who used to name one ‘student of the month’ and these days name 40.” What the article fails to identify is what produced this culture of superficial self-esteem building.

Matthew Henry, the early eighteenth century English preacher and author of the renowned commentary that bears his name, begins his examination of Proverbs 31 with the following words:

When children are under the mother's eye, she has an opportunity of fashioning their minds aright. Those who are grown up, should often call to mind the good teaching they received when children.

This past week, a heart-wrenching letter was circulated across the Internet from fellow Christians in Turkey, the details of which have been confirmed by numerous news reports. The letter gives account of the savage torture and murder, which occurred on April 18th of German missionary Tilman Geske, pastor Necati Aydin, and Ugur Yuksel in Malatya, a Turkish province 300 miles northeast of Antioch.

This is what the mainstream media and opponents of abstinence-centered education would like you to believe in the wake of the most recent study. The report, which was released by the Department of Health and Human Services and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. appears, on the surface, to live up to the headlines. However, here are the problems with concluding that “abstinence education has failed.”

How do you respond to the person who on the one hand says they are gay and on the other says they are a follower of Christ? I quite often encounter this situation and the response, which seeks to be consistent with biblical Christianity, is not always as straightforward as one might think.