How should we relate to our leaders?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. . . So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. - Hebrews 13:8-15 (ESV)
 
American evangelicalism has recently had a leadership crisis. At the highest levels, there have been multiple revelations of abuse and misconduct. The stories of hidden sins and the chaos they have produced in their wake have rippled throughout the church. At the lower levels, the strain of regular ministry and the added layer of complexity through the pandemic have caused pastors to leave the ministry at an increasing rate. All of this may cause us to question how we should relate to leaders. Read more

How would you describe a Christian?

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. - Hebrews 13:1-2 (ESV)

How would you describe a Christian? What are their defining characteristics? How would people outside the faith identify them?
 
You might say a Christian is defined by what they believe. You might think that Christians are set apart because of their moral imperatives. Others might describe Christians by how they live in the world or how they vote. Still others define Christians by the person they follow and try to model. All of these have a place. And all of them might shape the picture of Christians in a particular time and place. Read more

Mountains - spiritual places where profound things happen and are revealed

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. - Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV)

I once heard a guy theorize that Disneyland is meant to be a very spiritual place. It wasn’t because it contained characters with fanciful stories or because it had retold tales that shaped children’s experiences. No, it was because it has a bunch of mountains. There is Splash Mountain and Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain and the Matterhorn. His theory was that mountains in the course of human history are spiritual places where profound things happen and are revealed. I’m not sure what profound and revelatory thing is happening on top of Space Mountain, so I take his 'spiritual Disney theory' with a grain of salt. Read more