Attempts at Honesty

The root of many church problems is that leaders feel that it is their responsibility to build the church. Christ himself told us that it is His responsibility and His alone. We are not in the driver’s seat. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus plainly told us, “I will build my church.”

It is Christmas Eve as I write this post. I am hoping that all who subscribe to Attempts at Honesty are well in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. While I suspect that the crisis has been sensationalized by news outlets, it is a very real problem that has changed all of our lives. How … Read more

In this Christmas season, we celebrate Emmanuel, God with Us, who came to earth to make that comfort and joy possible. But we should also keep in mind that the baby in the manger came knowing that he would also be the God on a Cross as the means of producing that joy.

I probably sound a bit like a scratched record that skips and gets stuck in the middle of a song. But I keep running across passages in Scripture that challenge the way that I have experienced church in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. The woke church, socially acceptable church, seeker-sensitive church, and just … Read more

We can, if we exercise the faith of Jesus, become as anxiety-free as Jesus was. We can, if we exercise faith in Jesus like Paul, be as anxiety-free as Paul.

This is so whether there is an “R” or “D” behind the president elect’s name on November 4.

To me, the difference lies in a fundamental desire to teach and live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ without adding to it or subtracting from it. You might think this an oversimplification, but hear me out.

Yesterday’s post was a prayer from the Psalms asking God for revival or renewal. That prayer begs the question, “what does that look like?” The very next Psalm provides at least part of the answer. The Psalmist writes: “Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.” Psalm 86:11, CSB A knowledge of the Gospel … Read more