Activist Faith

“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.”—Jesus (John 4:14 NIV) We live in an era that values speed, production, and efficiency. Deadlines and due dates drive much of our daily routine. Enough is never enough. But is this the life God intends for us to live? Did the One who came to…

I was honored to find a blogger quoting my book Not in My Town in a recent post on standing against modern slavery. What surprised me was that the part that stood out to this writer were the “What if” questions I posed toward the end of my writing. In challenging Christians to stand up…

I realize that there are many Christians who are ambivalent or even opposed to Christian fiction. I’ve never shared that belief, because I think fiction has a way of bringing important issues to light in a way that may be impossible for straightforward treatises. But even if you are someone who eschews novels, I’d urge…

After Jesus had cast the evil spirits out of a man in the region of Garasenes (see Matthew 5), the guy wanted to serve as one of Christ’s followers. He had been transformed. He was ready to go anywhere and do anything for the one who had changed him. You would think Jesus would have…

“All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.” -Galatians 2:10 Leaders care for the poor. When Paul met with Peter, James, and John–the big three church leaders–they debated several issues and ideas. One thing they did not debate was whether…

“1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior…” -1 Timothy 2:1-3 We live in an…

According to a new research project by Baylor researcher Aaron Franzen, those who read the Bible are found to be more concerned about today’s social change issues, including social and economic justice. As mentioned by David Briggs today at Huffington Post: In many cases, Franzen found frequency of Bible reading was one of the most…

In June 2009, I traveled to Titanyen, Haiti, for a week of missionary activity with Mission of Hope, my second journey to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. On our last morning, we began the trip back to the Port-au-Prince airport in the back of a delivery truck, similar to the affectionately called “tap…

[A great post from Tony Merida, co-author of Orphanology, from my friends at New Hope Digital.] Until perhaps recently, most believers, in my experience, have only considered adoption and orphan care in a couple circumstances. One, they were praying for the Smiths because “they can’t have children and are thinking about adopting.” Or, two, they…

When I speak about stopping human trafficking, people often ask, “How?” I don’t have all of the answers, but in our book and DVD Not in My Town, Charles Powell and I include a chapter that shares many of the solutions we are discovering along the way. These include ideas we have implemented, along with…

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