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Showing posts from January, 2023

Stay Connected: Why Life Only Works When You’re Connected to Jesus

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by Bart Denny Central text: John 15:1-11 If you’ve ever stepped on a LEGO in the middle of the night, you already know—they’re small, but they matter. But here’s something else about LEGO bricks that’s just as important: A LEGO brick by itself doesn’t do much. It’s not broken. It’s not defective. It looks perfectly fine sitting there on its own. But it never becomes what it was designed to be… unless it connects. And that simple truth is exactly where this message begins. Recently, our church kicked off a new sermon series titled Created to Connect with a message called Stay Connected. Using both Scripture and a familiar childhood image, he unpacked a powerful reality: Your life only works when you stay connected to Jesus. The Problem Isn’t Activity—It’s Disconnection Most of us don’t feel disconnected because we’re doing nothing. We feel disconnected because we’re doing too much… without the right connection. You can be busy. You can be productive. You can even be religious. And still...
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Ten Critical Barriers to Church Revitalization—and How to Overcome Them

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by Bart L. Denny Church revitalization is never easy. There are no silver bullets, quick fixes, or one-size-fits-all strategies. But if we’re honest, the root issue in most struggling churches isn’t a lack of programs or people—it’s a lack of Gospel focus. When Jesus Christ is no longer central, everything else begins to drift. The path forward must be prayerful and Spirit-dependent, marked by repentance and renewed devotion to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Only when we place Christ and His mission at the center of our church’s life can true revitalization begin. Below are ten of the most common barriers that keep churches from moving forward—along with general remedies to help overcome them. 1. Resistance to Change Long-standing traditions and deeply ingrained preferences often create powerful resistance to change. Many congregants fear that letting go of the past means abandoning what’s sacred. But revitalization isn’t about chasing trends—it’s about reali...
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The Overturn of Roe v. Wade: A Lost Opportunity?

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 Evangelicals, and the Republican politicians we support, have squandered a once-in-a-generation opportunity posed by the overturn of Roe v. Wade . First, let me lay my cards on the table. After all, this is my blog and my opinion. I believe that abortion is nothing short of murder—the murder of people who are the most voiceless and, perhaps, the most marginalized of our society. I will set aside the politics of how we came to have a Supreme Court that was brave enough to take on the “settled” matter of abortion in the Roe v. Wade precedent. The machinations behind Donald Trump’s nominees (especially in the matter of the death of Justice Scalia during the waning days of the Obama Administration) is undoubtedly a matter worthy of discussion, but one I will save for those more into partisanship than I am. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the Supreme Court recognized that, contrary to the badly-decided 1973 Roe decision, the U.S. Constitution nowhere guarante...
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