Almost a decade ago, I was deployed to a combat theater while serving in the military. My wife and I had just been blessed with our oldest daughter two weeks before I left the country. It was a challenging time in our marriage because here was my wife with a newborn baby living five states … Continue reading 3 Reasons Facebook Is Destroying Our ‘Real’ Lives
Rethinking Pastoral Ministry in America: How Pastors Should Start Thinking About the Future
Ken Myers, the founder of Mars Hill Audio, once said in his Epiphany Lectures that he does not like to be prophetic. By prophetic, he does not mean that he has been given some special word from God similar to that of the Old Testament prophets. He is not claiming a "Thus says the Lord," … Continue reading Rethinking Pastoral Ministry in America: How Pastors Should Start Thinking About the Future
Instagram Is Capturing the Souls of Our Girls
Instagram's creators promote this social media tool with these words, "Bringing you closer to the people and things you love." This phrase makes a great marketing slogan. It makes users and potential users feel like they are going to really grow in their personal and professional relationships. However, interacting with someone's picture rarely (if ever) … Continue reading Instagram Is Capturing the Souls of Our Girls
Why I Deleted My Twitter Account
It was a tough moment in my life. The message on the screen was begging me to stay. After a series of attempts to delete my account, this was the final plea from Twitter to change my mind. "Are you sure, Jeremy? Once you hit this button, your account will be permanently deactivated and @jeremybell06 … Continue reading Why I Deleted My Twitter Account
Sorry Luke Bryan, “Most People Are NOT Good.”
My family and I took a road trip to Texas over our summer break. Seventeen hours crammed into a minivan will definitely bring people closer together--both figuratively and literally. We talked, slept, watched movies, and listened to music. When it comes to music in the Bell family, we enjoy listening to a variety of styles. … Continue reading Sorry Luke Bryan, “Most People Are NOT Good.”
Why A Divorce Will Not Doom Your Future
The statistics on divorce in America might be alarming at first glance. While the divorce rate among Christ followers may be slightly lower than the national average, the church still sees its fair share of broken marriages. Many people know that divorce leads to a wake of hurt, brokenness, and confusion in the lives of … Continue reading Why A Divorce Will Not Doom Your Future
3 Questions to Help Prevent Your Child from Leaving the Church
Children are like human sponges. They are constantly taking in everything they see and hear from us, but as sponges, something will inevitably happen. These little sponges will spill out all they have heard and seen to others. If you are a parent of little children like me, you have probably experienced this scenario before … Continue reading 3 Questions to Help Prevent Your Child from Leaving the Church
4 Reasons to Stay with the Southern Baptist Convention
On Wednesday, I arrived home around 12:30 am from our annual Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meeting. I fell into my bed both exhausted and exhilarated after a long two days of being in Birmingham, Alabama. My tiredness came due to spending hours sitting in chairs that brought nearly unbearable pain to my lumbar spine, and … Continue reading 4 Reasons to Stay with the Southern Baptist Convention
Parents, Stop Raising Quitters
I stood with my mouth wide open at the baseball field. It was a moment of both shock and sadness. Our son's baseball team was determining if we were going to forfeit the next game because the team we were playing was better than us. Forfeit a game because we might get beat ("humiliated" was … Continue reading Parents, Stop Raising Quitters
So, You Had a Bad Preaching Day? Here Are 4 Ways to Bounce Back
It never fails. Some Sundays you walk down from the pulpit thinking the Holy Spirit's power was with you in that sermon. You captured the audience's attention. Your exegesis of the Scripture seemed faithful to the text. Your illustrations connected the biblical text with the lives of your listeners. You walked away with confidence knowing … Continue reading So, You Had a Bad Preaching Day? Here Are 4 Ways to Bounce Back
