Calling a church “biblical” often means its pastor teaches what listeners already expect the Bible to say. But genuine faithfulness requires us to wrestle with the whole of Scripture—its complexity, tensions, contexts, and varied perspectives—alongside the Holy Spirit who inspired it.
Calling a church “biblical” often means its pastor teaches what listeners already expect the Bible to say. But genuine faithfulness requires us to wrestle with the whole of Scripture—its complexity, tensions, contexts, and varied perspectives—alongside the Holy Spirit who inspired it.
When a man ignored a congregant’s explicit request and arrived at our church anyway, I faced a difficult pastoral decision: welcome him or protect the woman who feared his manipulation. That morning reminded me that shepherding a congregation sometimes means drawing firm boundaries—even when doing so looks unwelcoming.
God gives people a mission without always giving them a script. Pastors should lead in the same way—equipping others for ministry, giving them room to act, and helping them grow through both success and failure. God calls us to co-labor with him, not live as micromanaged robots.
Porn is rarely just about lust. Sometimes it’s driven by passion, sometimes by pain—but beneath both is often the same longing: intimacy.
When pastors let fear of backlash silence the pulpit, churches become echo chambers. Faithfulness to Jesus must come before keeping everyone comfortable.
Political views draw lines, name enemies, and protect power. Jesus erases lines, names neighbors, and gives himself away. A series of contrasts about what happens when political certainty meets the unsettling way of Christ.
The pandemic placed pastors in impossible situations, but the deepest challenge wasn’t masks, closures, or online services. It was confronting the political idols shaping the American church. Too many pastors learned to remain silent while partisan loyalties became entangled with Christian faith. The church will not find freedom until it addresses the golden calf in…
Jamin Bradley 