keithpetersen80

Acknowledging, “Including,” or Celebrating Mothers and Fathers?

My earliest memories of Mother’s Day (in the 1960s) are of my mother and the other mothers at my church wearing a corsage; similarly, my father and other fathers wore a boutonniere at church on Father’s Day. That tradition faded in the 1970s (at least where I went to church), but mothers and fathers wereContinue reading “Acknowledging, “Including,” or Celebrating Mothers and Fathers?”

Does It Matter What We Believe about Choosing or Being Chosen?

I grew up in the Reformed Calvinist tradition which, among other things, teaches that God chooses some people to be saved; this is known as predestination. Even as a child, I had some understanding of what it meant, and I believed it even before I ever read a Bible. Maybe it’s because I had atContinue reading “Does It Matter What We Believe about Choosing or Being Chosen?”

What Do Woke Churches Look Like?

I’ve been reading a book called No Reason to Hide by Erwin Lutzer; it’s a call for Christians to stand firm in a world which is becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity. One of the chapters is about woke churches. Trying to define “woke” is not as easy as it might first appear, as definitions varyContinue reading “What Do Woke Churches Look Like?”

Is In-Person Incivility on the Rise?

My church recently had a yard sale as part of a missions fundraiser. On our church lawn, there was a designated area for free items; anybody was free to stop by and take items at no cost. We were just glad to get rid of them! One woman stopped by and wanted to take aContinue reading “Is In-Person Incivility on the Rise?”

To Cohabit or Not to Cohabit Before Marriage

I recently read an article about Pastor Josh Howerton , who preached a “provocative” sermon in February called “3 Things That Will Kill Your Marriage.” In the process, he laid out some sociological statistics and a challenge. He later said, “What’s amazing is I love when sociology is always discovering what theology was already saying.”Continue reading “To Cohabit or Not to Cohabit Before Marriage”