What if our modern theology of politics is far too simple—and dangerously wrong? The Bible doesn’t paint a picture where every ruler is handpicked by God in a neat, predictable way. Instead, it reveals a cosmic drama of spiritual powers, human leaders, and seats of authority that can be used for justice—or deeply abused. To…
The idea of our Spare Oom Worship Nights is pretty simple: show up with no script and see where the Spirit leads. During that time, we create a lot of spontaneous songs. We’ve isolated some of those moments to create an 80 minute album of music. Check it out wherever you stream music. Many thanks…
They sound super spiritual in their double acknowledgment of calling Jesus, “Lord, Lord.” They’ve operated in the power of the Holy Spirit. They’ve legitimately prophesied, casted out demons, and performed signs and wonders. And yet, shockingly, Jesus says he doesn’t know who they are. This may forever be one of the most intense passages in…
As we continued to meet, I asked my client to daydream up a space where they could meet with Holy Spirit. We would return to this space in future sessions to see what the Spirit might want to communicate about their inner healing process as we moved forward. As time went on, a theme would…
I once had someone invite me to confess all my sins to them to “clear my heart” or something like that. Except I knew that wasn’t really what they were offering—rather, this person was looking for ammo against me should it ever prove useful. Though I often try to be vulnerable with people, I said…
I couldn’t sleep easily when I was younger. Instead of getting rest, I would stay up and think of all the things I had done wrong in life, repenting of new and old sins alike. In that way, I had a religion similar to that of an early Martin Luther, who was so addicted to…
Up until the 1500s, it was thought that eyes actually emitted or projected something like light or energy. This energy wasn’t as extravagant as an X-Men superpower, but ancient people certainly believed there was a power of sorts in the eyes. Indeed, they believed that you could basically curse someone by casting an “Evil Eye”…
“In Jackson as it is in Heaven.” That’s the mission statement of our church, and it comes straight out of the short prayer Jesus himself taught us to pray. The Kingdom of Heaven was Jesus’ favorite theme to preach on, but he rarely spoke on it in the way that we think. For him, it…
The first time I fasted was a total waste. I made a deal out of it everywhere I went. I went out for pizza with some friends and stared at it longingly and said, “I wish I could I could eat that but… I’m fasting.” I went to church and emitted hunger groans. “Oh how…
Martin Luther King Jr. was out for more than winning an argument—he was out for winning people. That is to say that winning a debate and proving people wrong (as necessary as that was) wasn’t at the heart of his movement—converting angry white racists into black advocates through pacifistic enemy love was the highest goal…
I think the first time I really saw pornography was on a fuzzy TV channel that would occasionally straighten out into something visually comprehensible. When the image finally broke through, it felt like I was hit by a powerful force. It was like every good and bad emotion in existence were all lit up inside…
Jamin Bradley 