25 Quotes from The Storied Life
My new book The Storied Life: Christian Writing as Art and Worship is now available from Zondervan Reflective. This book is for both experienced and aspiring writers — whether you write stories or sermons or even just social media posts or daily journal entries — and is designed to equip you with some nuts and […]
Visible Grace in Disagreements: Willingness to Confront vs. Eagerness for Controversy
Editor’s Note: This post is excerpted from Visible Grace: Seeing the Church the Way Jesus Does by Caleb Batchelor. The book is available now from 10Publishing. Paul wasn’t afraid to address sin. Just ask the Corinthians. But what first grabbed Paul’s attention when he thought about that rowdy, discriminatory congregation in Corinth? God’s visible grace (1 […]
A Word of Hope: Reflecting on Luther’s Lectures on Genesis
I teach church history as part of my profession. In doing so, I’ve discovered it to be exactly what my teachers described—a wonderful means of keeping the faith. Of the figures from our past who have helped me, Martin Luther stands at the top of the list, as he continually points me away from myself […]
Episode 261: Books That Changed Our Minds
On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson talk about the books that changed their minds about things big and little.
Three Key Questions to Ask Your Mormon Friends
I have a lot of friends who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter Day Saints (LDS). One I see regularly is the bishop of his ward; he regularly emphasizes, as do my other LDS friends, how we both worship Jesus, how we have a lot in common, and how we’re on the same […]
The Mission of God
Mission is all about God. At Midwestern, we emphasize the study of who God is (theology) and what God does (mission). Good theology is crucial to missiology because the mission begins and ends with God.[1] The one true God has one unified mission, and each person of the Triune God distinctively carries out this mission […]
Episode 260: FTC Mailbag
A new mailbag installment of the FTC Pod is upon us! In this episode, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson answer your submitted questions and topics, including: when should pastors refer members to professional Christian counselors?, are church dress codes for those “on stage” reasonable?, preparing a small town church ready for city growth, when does a church plant become a “real” church?, is the age of accountability in the Bible?, what’s the best thing about the American Church?, best resources for training church leaders in gospel-centrality, and opinions about the streaming show The Chosen. You can submit a question or topic for the Mailbag any time via social media or via email at [email protected]
Unsearchable Riches: 100 Facets to the Diamond of Christ
He is inexhaustible. Unsearchably rich (Eph 3:8). Bottomless. We receive him, thinking he’s a pond, only to discover over time he’s an ocean. In him there is surprise after surprise. Endless discovery. Startling wonders around each bend. He’s ruling and reigning over the entire cosmos such that the top headline of both FoxNews and CNN […]
Episode 10: Not a New Convert
It doesn’t matter how you start; it’s how you finish that makes the difference. In the season finale of The Heart of Pastoring Podcast, Jared and Ronnie discuss the “why” behind the qualification that pastors not be recent converts, what happens when they are recent converts, and the residual effect on ministers and their churches when there is too much rush of untested men into positions of leadership. Our hosts also take a little stock of their own lives and ministries from their mid-life vantage points and explore what it means to pursue a long track record of faithfulness, a reliable pattern of predictability in ministry, and a good ol’ “veteran-ship” in the faith.
Episode 259: Why Stories Matter
On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson talk about the importance of “story” as it pertains to our testimonies and to preaching and teaching, as well as the biblical and theological significance of the concept of story, before discussing Jared’s new book The Storied Life: Christian Writing as Art and Worship. The Storied Life, designed for writers and artists of all kinds, is published by Zondervan and is available to order/purchase wherever you buy Christian books. Order before May 7 and you can get access to Jared’s FREE teaching videos either for writers or preachers. More details at: www.zondervan.com/p/the-storied-life/