worldview

While I am all for forging your way ahead past spiritual abuse, purity culture and fear-based teachings, I believe so strongly that purity is a gift from God, not a punishment that toxic church culture invented.

It’s easy for humans to throw out the baby with the bath water. Purity culture has undoubtedly caused spiritual and sexual damage to those who grew up under its fearful, controlling grip. But purity itself isn’t bad. It’s beautiful.

If you’re either single and unsure if purity is worth it or married and need a reminder about God’s perfect design, keep reading.

Here are 3 ways on how not to throw out purity with purity culture:

A week after Tim’s memorial service, I’m still reveling in the afterglow of its poignant beauty. And I’m also reflecting on the effects of the amazing era ushered in by Tim’s ministry. His work inspired so many New Yorkers to come to faith and so many others to renew and strengthen their faith. I was one of them.

My revitalized faith—and Tim’s Spirit-fueled encouragement—pushes me to seek shalom for New York and serve my neighbors in the city where God has planted us. As Christians, we know New York City—or any other city—is not our ultimate home. But we glorify God when we serve the community where He has placed us. I believe generations of Redeemer churchgoers will continue to embrace that idea, which gives me much hope for the future of Christianity in New York and the world.

This is Tim’s legacy that I treasure the most.

If we ignore politics, we consign ourselves to living in a society forged by a process in which we did not participate. As Daniel Webster noted, “Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don’t vote.” Conversely, making politics our religion is idolatry, investing purpose in fallen humans which is properly reserved for God alone.

Everything we do matters. That’s not the question. Here’s the question, according to Jane Goodall: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

Parents across the country may want to consider contraceptives and birth control pills for their teens’ back-to-school supplies, according to a new USA Today column.

The world and its geo-political sensitivities are far different from the last century. While industries, businesses, and politicians have to contend with phenomenal changes, it appears that Western churches and missions are unwilling to adapt to the complex new realities.

Take, for example, the lingo used by mission organizations. Many still use old language, which triggers deep hostility and violence against Christians. Terms like “conversion” or “unreached people groups” cause great trouble.

A new study from Lifeway Research found that 52 percent of American Protestant churchgoers believe their church encourages them to give more money to church and charities so God will bless them.

Faith, particularly Christian faith, is an irreplaceable force for good in society. Its decline will leave America less healthy, less charitable, less connected, and less capable of dealing with major social ills without government intervention. Evidence suggests it already has. 

At the same time, it is essential to remember that these benefits are byproducts of faith, not the main point. Anyone who hopes to halt and reverse church decline must remember what that main point is.  

If you’re like me, there’s a tiny voice in your mind assuring you that you’re somehow different. Airline crashes are extremely rare and happen to other people; the Maui wildfires and Ukrainian conflict are likely thousands of miles away.

Perhaps you’ve heard the news. Fires torching hundreds of properties. Entire households burned to the ground. Every personal belonging lost. Thousands of lives destroyed. The devastation has been unprecedented, and it will take years to rebuild that which can be rebuilt. But the personal tragedies and lives lost may never heal.

If you’re in the West, you may have heard about the tremendous loss in Maui, Hawaii. Wildfires have left a trail of death and destruction. As horrible as that is, that’s not what I am writing about today.

While Maui was burning in what was an act of God, Christian communities in Pakistan have been burning, torched to the ground, not as an act of God but as an act of evil.

The future of our democracy depends on the moral transformation of our people. As the only light in a dark world (Matthew 5:14-16), this process starts with us. But we must be changed to be the change we need to see. We must settle for nothing less than holistic holiness and then ask the Spirit to make us more like Christ than we have ever been as we submit daily to his lordship and obey his word and will.