Sometimes all it takes to properly contextualize a verse of Scripture is to read the next one. This is John 12:32 (NIV):   “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” I grew up hearing preachers and worship leaders quote John 12:32, and the application was, “we…

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<![CDATA[ I recently started writing for a publication called Off the Page, from the creators of the popular Our Daily Bread devotional series. It’s a new forum for me to start talking about my favorite examples from pop culture and to show how the Bible can be relevant to everyday life. Anyway, I thought it…

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<![CDATA[ (Editor’s Note: Yes, the title is a bit clickbaitey, but hang with me. I’ll back it up.)   Yesterday, Andraé Crouch slipped into eternity, present in full with the Lord, in perfect peace. I’ve been half suspecting, half dreading that this day would come for a while now, and yet now that it has, I…

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<![CDATA[Life is full of irony. For example, one of my favorite worship musicians that I respect tremendously, happens to serve the congregation of a church led by a pastor that I have very little respect for. Because they are both very prominent personalities, and because their ministries are often recontextualized for purposes that extend far beyond…

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<![CDATA[So for the past sixteen months or so, I've been serving as the interim worship director for a church plant just west of Portland, called Kaleo Covenant Church. How I ended up there is sort of a long story for another time, but it will suffice to say that it’s more than just a gig…

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<![CDATA[If you've ever wondered why it is that Christian music sucks, I have a hypothesis. But first, I just have to say —  "The Sentient Song Fallacy" — doesn't that sound like an episode of The Big Bang Theory? Get at me, Chuck Lorre! I’m a budding screenwriter, I do some stand-up, and I can…

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<![CDATA[ Beckah Shae #putyourloveglasseson (Single) Shae Shoc Records ____________________________   There are so many things that I love about this song. And let me be clear. This song is probably not going to be considered by anyone as “great art.” It is not rife with moral ambiguity, or a profound sense of personal identity, and…

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<![CDATA[Tye Tribbett, Fresh, “Only Help” So I’m going through some things. Like, the kind of “going through” that you might hear from one of the saints who’s been around the block a few times and is waiting on the Lord to get their breakthrough… that kind of “going through.” One of the things I’ve noticed is…

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