By Donavon Riley

06/11/25

11mins

Where Pride Fails, Grace Breaks In

You are a soul. Not an algorithm. Not a hashtag. A soul knit together by a God who does not mock, does not abandon, and does not lie.

Why I Needed a Church That Gives Jesus: On Rooted Faith and Real Absolution

Michael Gibney

06/10/25

Why I Needed a Church That Gives Jesus: On Rooted Faith and Real Absolution

What I was missing—what so many are missing—is a Church that doesn’t just speak about Christ, but delivers him.

August Hermann Francke: A Practical Pietist

Sam Leanza Ortiz

06/09/25

August Hermann Francke: A Practical Pietist

Though several generations removed from Luther’s generation, Francke came of age right on time for a new wave of spirituality to collide with the Reformation in the movement known as Pietism.

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Donavon Riley

01/30/18

When Doctrine Becomes Idolatry

I’m a drug addict. Specifically, a recovering drug addict. More specific, a grateful recovering drug addict.

Bradley Gray

01/29/18

The Drug of Behavioral Preaching

Preaching is a dangerous and difficult task. Some occupations might involve more harrowing situations and circumstances but I will continue to contend that there’s not a more perilous or vulnerable position to be in than behind the pulpit.

Paul Dunk

01/26/18

Here We Are Now. Entertain Us.

Do you remember way back in May 2007, Charlie and his brother Harry were sitting on a chair when Charlie bit Harry's finger? The little guys broke the internet.

Chad Bird

01/26/18

The Unsexy Church

The following is an excerpt from Chad Bird’s new book, Your God Is Too Glorious: Finding God in the Most Unexpected Places (Baker Book, 2018).

Donavon Riley

01/23/18

God's Strange Way of Relating to Us

God goes to work on us through His Word like a woodcarver chisels a block of wood.

Dominick Santore

01/18/18

Come and See

I know it’s hard for some people to put aside old ideas and notions about Christianity, Christians, and church in general.

Jeff Mallinson

01/18/18

Really? Will Anything Ever Be Okay in Jerusalem?

In him, retribution is set aside. Forgiveness comes. A new order begins. Remember that God’s mission will prevail, because grace is in, with, and under the fabric of human history.

Chad Bird

01/17/18

"I'm Fully in Control of This Situation" and Three Other Delicious Lies

Jesus lives amidst the twisted metal and smoking ruins of lives gone bad. It’s where he does his best work. Christ is the ultimate first responder.

Chad Bird

01/17/18

The Unexpected Narrative of God

Dual narratives are unfolding in our lives at every moment. There’s the story we’re writing, and the one penned by the Spirit.

David Rufner

01/17/18

Life Wrapped in Death, Wrapped in Life.

In Adam and in us, life has been wrapped in death. But in Jesus, God has wrapped death in life.

Donavon Riley

01/16/18

The Unforgivable, Forgiven

The pastor declares it. We receive it. The forgiveness of sins. It’s a simple thing.

Joel Hess

01/11/18

The Light Shines in the Darkness

But another possible translation for the Greek word we translate as ‘overcome’ and one maybe more consistent with the context is ‘comprehend.’

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