I occasionally hear myself make this mistake in an argument: When I describe my own view, I describe an ideal, a vision for how we should think and live. But when I describe my opponent’s view, I describe how that view is lived out in real life.

SBC Leadership Conference 2023 speakers respond to questions such as, “How do we go about determining the essentials versus the non-essentials? The gospel is to unite us, but how do we define the gospel?“

Our special Tenebrae service on the eve of Good Friday was planned and performed by a team of believers in Jesus working together to create an atmosphere of worship and remembrance. They took us step by anguished step through the last week of Jesus’ life during Holy Week.

We walked down the metal steps of the small jet in Tabatinga, Brazil, and were hit by heat and the smell of the rainforest. There was beauty in nature, but the buildings and streets were well-worn and plain.

My son recently started a coin collection. My husband, Zach, who has collected coins since he was a little boy spent time explaining to Creedence how to grade his coins. They flipped through a coin reference book. “That one is almost enough to buy a house!” I exclaimed, hearing the value of a tiny piece of metal.

It would be a gross understatement to say we live in an age of division. One only needs to look at world events, read the national or international news, or observe the tone in their own community and networks to see that division and polarization dominate.

How is Christian faith shared from one generation to the next? What help does the local church provide? Parenting Faith, the 245-page report released on April 11, 2023, presents the findings of this uniquely Canadian research that identifies what helps and hinders the transmission of faith from this generation of parents to their children.

Abbeydale Christian Fellowship, where one can only guess what kind of interesting and wonderful surprises are in store. The Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday worship services were each unique and a blessing in their own way, culminating in a distinctly international experience.

The world is watching as events unfold in the West African country of Burkina Faso. Every week there are more stories of threats and terrorist attacks. These attacks and threats have caused much suffering and anguish due to loss of life and displacement.

What makes for Christian unity? It is my contention here that it is allegiance to lesser gods—including ourselves—that is at the heart of our divisions; therefore, the remedy is being de-centered by and oriented toward Jesus. This is the message of John’s Gospel.

Readers write in, responding to columnist Karla Hein, “Lucy made of light,” the report on Nicaragua, and more from previous issues of The Messenger.

Beauty Out of Ashes (BOA) was established in 2017 through the vision and commitment of Gary and Mavis Unger. The Ungers had spent several years at an orphanage in Haiti when their hearts were touched by the desperate circumstances of young girls forced into domestic slavery in some of the poorest areas of Port au Prince.