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By Nate Keeler, @MBCArlington Campus Pastor
CHURCH COMMITMENT
Have you ever heard someone say, “I love Christ, but I don’t love Christians?” Well in my early 20s that is probably one of the things you would have heard me say. I had a dysfunctional relationship with the local church that stemmed from growing up as a PK (that’s church talk for Pastor’s Kid) and seeing tons of hypocrisy.
I took a very self-centered approach to church. I wanted the benefits but not the commitment. Maybe you can relate. Many of us are dating the church. We would rather keep our options open than have to make a serious and exclusive commitment to a local church. I get it. Commitment can be scary. We don’t want to…
“Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God.” John Piper
By Margaret Ashmore, MBC Women’s Conference Speaker
In counseling, I am often asked “How To…” questions. How do I quit overeating, how do I forgive the wrongs in my past, how can I stop being so afraid, how do I stop obsessing over people and circumstances—and of course the list is as long as the maladies we experience in a world stricken with sin. When Elisabeth Elliot, author, speaker and missionary, was asked such questions she responded, “Do you want answers or orders?” There aren’t…
By Rachel Reed, MBC Arlington Director of Women’s Ministries
When I began this post, my intention was to write every reason I believe women in our church should not see the upcoming film “50 Shades of Grey”. It was out of my fear that many women within our church would, under the banner of entertainment, decide God’s Word was irrelevant when they lined up to see this movie. However, there are many great articles like “Fifty Shades, Twilight and Teaching Young Women to Desire Abusers” that speak to my point.
I would rather use this space to help equip you with tools in which you can filter any piece of entertainment you may be considering.
“O…
By Nate Crew, @MBCSilverSpring Director of Outreach
Over the last few months, several tragedies around the country have raised the nation’s conscious to the racial tension that exists in America. Benjamin Watson, an NFL player for the New Orleans Saints, took to Facebook to share his thoughts in response to the events and Grand Jury decision related to the death of teenager Michael Brown after an altercation with a police officer in Ferguson, MO. Watson addressed this tragedy through a Christian perspective, but also through the lens of personal experience.
As a church, we must remember that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not theoretical but makes an actual difference in our day-to-day life. One of those differences is…
By Nate Keeler, @MBCArlington Campus Pastor
DEALING WITH DEBT
If you want to ruin a happy hour, ask about your co-workers’ student loans. Or if you want to stress out your roommate, ask about her plan to pay off her credit card bill.
In our series on delayed adulthood, we come to a four-letter word: DEBT. For many of us talking about our debt is a downer, and we would rather avoid thinking about it. Four out of 10 Millennials are “overwhelmed” by their debt according to a recent CNN study. Many of us have accumulated student debt, credit card debt, car payments, etc. that are well above our earning capacity…and we don’t have much of a real plan to pay off…
By Nate Keeler, @MBCArlington Campus Pastor
DEALING WITH YOUR BAGGAGE
Recently, I started a blog series addressing one of the biggest challenges facing millennials today: Delayed adulthood. This cultural epidemic is a destructive philosophy built on the false premise that you can wait until you are 40 (or older) to pursue maturity in various areas of your life without incurring any problems. To the contrary, delayed adulthood robs us of our true joy, purpose and significance during the most available and passionate years of life while sowing future seeds of destruction.
One way that many young adults delay adulthood is by avoiding their childhood baggage. And believe me, we have tons…
By Mike Kelsey, @MBCSilverSpring Campus Pastor
As we envision the next 363 days, all of us have a desire—if not some sort of resolution—to do some things better this year. If we’re smart, we’ll not only desire and resolve to make some changes, but we’ll create a plan to help turn our commitments into priorities. But the single most important thing to keep at the forefront of our minds as we begin this new year is the character and nature of God—the God who was with us this past year and who will be with us this year.
No matter what we do or fail to do, God will be God, and He will be with us and for us….