About Jim McCraigh

Jim McCraigh blogs at www.choosingthingsoflife.com and is the author of the Power of Brokenness… Making Healthy Choices that Change our Lives, Hearts and Families. He is a retired ministry leader, lay teacher and church elder.

What Authentic Christian Community Looks Like

Posted on July 30, 2013 Written by Jim McCraigh 5 Comments

Years ago, when I first started attending church, I thought I had to “look good and be good”. I believed that I needed to appear as if I had my act together and never messed up… and if I did, no one need ever find out about it. The good news is that I was dead wrong.

Righteousness before men

When we encounter a lack of grace and acceptance, it really hurts. The first time someone gets slammed for their honesty is perhaps the last time honesty is practiced. If grace is not a part of the group culture, then superficiality will rule the day.

On those who have walked away

Honesty demands that we admit our struggles to work out our faith. Real faith is at times a gritty mess and we all face difficult times. My experience is that God remains faithful even when we are faithless, as Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:13. Feeling doubt and even expressing doubt does not automatically disqualify someone from being relationship with God.

Social media and the need for validation

I read a where a social media guru recently said something to the effect of, “there are two types of people involved in social media, those who want more followers and those who are lying about it.” With the advent of social media, there is a danger in finding our validation in follower counts. Where should our validation come from?

The way to find rest

Jesus offers to provide rest to all who come to him. This post provides a brief look at Jesus’ offer of rest as recorded in Matthew 11:28.

Moving beyond the gospel?

In some churches I have attended, there is a sense that the gospel entails the elementary teaching of Christianity. To move toward maturity then requires that people move beyond the gospel into more “meaty” doctrinal teaching.

I have come to realize that this is wrong headed and leads not to maturity, but to immaturity. The effect of this teaching is the exact opposite of the desired result.

What Authentic Christian Community Looks Like

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