When Conflict Comes to Church The local church is an amazing place. There is nothing like it in the entire world. The church is a spiritual family adopted by God, purchased by Jesus, and united by Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:4-7). The church is a spiritual greenhouse where Christians are discipled into maturity and engage in mutual care. Because all these things are true, conflict in the church can be particularly disorienting and damaging. As Christians, we are called to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). If you want to obey this commandment, you must know how to help resolve conflict in the church. Here are three steps you can take to help those who are in conflict at church. Step 1: Address their Heart If you want to solve a problem, you...

Puddleglum is one of the most interesting characters in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. He’s always jolly and always looking for the opportunity to cheer up anyone who might be sad. But there’s only one problem. The more he attempts to encourage his sorrowful friends, the more he ends up making them feel even worse! Puddleglum tries to use his words to spread glee, but instead, all he does is spread gloom. As Christians, we cannot be like Puddleglum. We must care well for those in the throes of sorrow. But how? It starts by learning what we need most amid our sorrow. Matthew 9:36 helps us with this: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” This crowd is a sorrowful bunch. They are “harassed and...

In a world of hate, it is a joy to minister to brothers and sisters with compassion! Twenty-eight years ago, when God relocated our family to Jacksonville, we found First Baptist church to be a wonderful family of faith. People lived out in their lives what they believed as they loved God and loved each other while faithfully serving Him. The Covid lockdowns brought so much turmoil and despair to our world. It seems like we found ourselves in a downward spiral rather than one moving up.  Many families were isolated from others. There were impacts on our schedules and work habits. There was a strong uptick in crimes like drug and alcohol abuse, depression, child and spousal abuse, and suicide. The hospitals, nursing homes, and funeral homes were closed to people visiting and...

Last week, we had the privilege of taking 220 students and over 100 adults to Lake Placid, Florida for our annual student camp. It was a remarkable week of fun, fellowship, and tremendous spiritual growth. Our theme for the week was Thrive from Jeremiah 17:5-8. This passage describes two plants that are in a parched, dry land. The first plant is a shrub that is wilting away and bears no fruit. This is the person who trusts in man. The second plant is a tree that has deep roots, bears much fruit, and does not fear when the drought comes. This is the person who trusts in the Lord. We want our students to be like the tree, bearing much fruit for the rest of their lives. Despite what the world throws at our students, we want to see them bear fruit forever. Our students learned in the...

Shouldn’t Christians just focus on studying the Bible and the truths of Christianity? Why should Christians worry about what other religions and cults believe? Here are three reasons why Christians should examine the claims of other faiths. To Grow in Understanding the Claims of Our Faith Contrast is a great revealer of truth in lots of areas of life. This is especially true when it comes to the truths of our faith. One of the ways to understand the true claims of Christianity is to contrast them with the false claims of other religions and other faiths. Paul does this in the book of Galatians. He is writing to the Galatians to teach them about the true gospel over against a false gospel, what he calls “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6). We see him doing this especially in Galatians...