The Hermit and the Blackbird
By Donavon Riley
03/27/26
11mins

The Hermit and the Blackbird

Lent exists because we are forgetful creatures. We forget how hungry we really are.
Getting Over Your Moral Superiority
Daniel Emery Price
Daniel Emery Price
03/26/26

Getting Over Your Moral Superiority

The Pharisee valued fasting and giving tithes, but could not find value in his fellow sinner.
The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew
Magnus Persson
Magnus Persson
03/25/26

The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew

God is not a tool in our hands. He does not exist to serve our goals, our metrics, or our platforms.

All Articles

Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
01/05/26

Wake Up Dead Man: A Word Worth Saving for Lent

Wake Up Dead Man is not ultimately a story about mystery, exposure, or even justice. It is a story about what happens when mercy speaks to death—and death listens.
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
12/25/25

What to Preach and Not to Preach at Christmas

Christmas is not for remembering, thinking, pondering, trying to make sure you are really celebrating it properly, or for wondering whether you truly have faith.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
12/23/25

A Christmas Message for the Post-Christian

Lewis once pointed out that Christianity does not begin by telling us how to behave, but by telling us what is wrong.
Adam Francisco
Adam Francisco
12/15/25

Be Kind...But Why?

Christ did not merely urge humanity to be kind. He embodied perfect kindness by giving his life for those who neither earned nor expected such a gift.
Adam Francisco
Adam Francisco
12/03/25

Did the Church Replace Israel?

The unity of God’s people is grounded not in lineage nor land but in the promise of the coming Christ.
Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
11/17/25

The Word That Will Not Shut Down

Every age has its emergencies, and the church must never ignore them. Yet, our response cannot be one of panic or propaganda.
Adam Francisco
Adam Francisco
10/23/25

When Faith Becomes Blind: The Problem with Fideism

When faith seeks understanding—when belief is grounded in revelation and open to the light of reason—truth can travel.
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
10/16/25

An Introduction to The Bondage of the Will: The Preached and Unpreached God

This is the fifth installment in our article series, “An Introduction to the Bondage of the Will,” written to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Bondage of the Will.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/08/25

When Churches Are Abused by Their Pastors

When a congregation is abused by its pastor, it loses more than a shepherd. It loses its threshold place; that fragile seam between earth and heaven.
Adam Francisco
Adam Francisco
10/03/25

Not Done in a Corner: Why Christians Must Resist Fideism

Fideistic Christianity may look bold, but it is fragile.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
10/02/25

The Consuming Fire and the Holiness That Comes Down

He doesn’t consume us, even though that is what we deserve. Instead, Jesus comes down to us and consumes all our sin by taking it on himself.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/01/25

When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations

This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
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