Author: Michelle Van Loon
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Review: Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Man and woman are made in the image of God, so we should long for complementarity in our friendships as we seek God above all things. – Aimee Byrd The thesis of the 1989 movie When Harry Met Sally is that a man and a woman can’t be friends. Sexual attraction will always be a third…
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The Questions Few Are Asking
The newest wave of reaction to megachurches was sure to come in the wake of a string of moral failures of both charismatic leaders and the “yes man” approach of the elders/board members responsible for governing the organization. A number of pundits have noted that the megachurch built on a business model is a faulty…
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What’s In The Stack, Summer 2018 Version
Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home. – Anna Quindlen I’ve been honored to receive a great big stack of wonderful books during the last couple of months – some from publishers, others from friends who know that books are my plane,…
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Doctrine? Music? Or Relationships? Why People Stay In A Congregation
I’ve always heard faith in Jesus is about relationship, not religion. The relationship to which this statement refers is having “personal relationship” with God. Though that kind of language is not found anywhere in Scripture, it is a shorthand way to refer to being born again and committing to follow God wholeheartedly rather than relying…
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Why Respond When You Can React?
One thing the current American political climate has revealed in many followers of Jesus how easy it is to react to events, and how difficult it is to respond to them. While social media fuels the problem, and highlights our flea-sized attention spans and hippo-sized thirst for hot takes, I believe it is also a…
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Book Review: Near Christianity
Historically, Evangelicals have been those who’ve planted their flag well within carefully-defined spiritual boundaries. People are either “in” or “out”, based on their stated relationship with Jesus. On the inside of that boundary line, there are dozens of other fissure lines based on denomination, worship style, and doctrinal difference. Boundary-crossing words like “interfaith” and “ecumenical”…