The words we may speak account for only ~7% of what constitutes human communication. No wonder our churches and our culture are so conflict-prone. We don’t know how to talk to each other, including and especially “Christians.”
Tag Archives: grace
Spiritual Abuse: Culture of Honor: 'Monday Morning Musing - January 31, 2022'
In some churches leadership talks about “creating a culture of honor.” How honor is defined, and how it is expressed, makes all the difference between an authority-intoxicated cult and something truly wonderful and beneficial to all.
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Copyright 2022. Dr. Stephen R. Crosby. www.stevecrosby.org. For video and audio resources, sign up as a student here. You will find a mix of both free resources and those with cost. This ministry is sustained by the freewill offerings of those believe in the message of a radical grace in a new covenant understanding. If this blog article has been a blessing to you, would you prayerfully consider making a contribution through our Paypal button to help? Stephanos Ministries is NOT a 501-c-3 corporation Click here to understand why. Thank you and God bless you.
Gentleness – Jesus Style: 'Monday Morning Musing - February 1, 2021'
Like humility and meekness, biblical gentleness is not a human personality trait. It is a spiritual awareness of our one-ness with each other in weakness. It is a quality that understands and lives from a relational awareness of mitigating circumstances. It does not demand its just due from stark legal, quid-pro-quo dynamics. Gentleness is like mercy. It is a tempering quality to the severity that is always inherent in naked justice.
Copyright 2021. Dr. Stephen R. Crosby. www.stevecrosby.org. For video and audio resources, sign up as a student here. You will find a mix of both free resources and those with cost. This ministry is sustained by the freewill offerings of those believe in the message of a radical grace in a new covenant understanding. If this blog article has been a blessing to you, would you prayerfully consider making a contribution through our Paypal button to help? Stephanos Ministries is NOT a 501-c-3 corporation Click here to understand why. Thank you and God bless you.
The Power of Love in a Christian Community: 'What a Healthy Local Church Looks Like'
The Power of Love in a Christian Community
If you have followed me any length of time, you know I am not shy about critiquing the corruption and short comings in institutional and organized forms of Christian religion. I know many of you, like myself, have experienced not just poor church experiences, but scarring and damaging ones. Many are wary, rightfully so. Many are in extreme forms of reaction, both theologically and emotionally to anything formally structured or organized in terms of following Jesus with others–being the people of God together practically. Frankly, some have lost hope and given up.
That is why this post is so important. I have permission to share it and have blanked-out personal names to maintain privacy.
I believe this real-life, real-time letter from a pastor I know personally embodies the values and the transformative power of what can happen in a local church REGARDLESS of how it is STRUCTURED, when Christ is exalted and central at all times, where the good news of the gospel is relentlessly preached in a simple yet powerful way, and where loving and serving each other is all that matters practically.
I believe it will be worth your time to read.
Dear Christians: Your Behavior Matters: 'The Perils of Christian Celebrity - Meditations on Living or Dead Faith'
Christian Celebrity and Our Responsibility
So, another Christian celebrity’s egregious behavior has made the national news. He has “fallen” in sexual immorality. Sadly, there is no real news here. This will always happen in a “give us a king (celebrity)” culture that values fame and talent more than character. But it is not just an individual responsibility issue.
The Church Refugee Sanity Guide – Part Nine – Evangelism: 'Taking the Dread Out of Evangelism'
Church Refugee Sanity Guide – Part Nine – Evangelism
In this installment of the Church Refugee Sanity Guide, I take a fresh look at the topic of evangelism and discipleship apart from traditional theology, mindsets, and methods.
Apostolic Covering – Old Idea in a New Dress: 'Stop the Madness'
Apostolic Covering – Stop the Madness
Within Charismatic circles, there is a widely influential subset group called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). One of their strongly held beliefs is the necessity of submitting to an alleged “apostolic covering” or maintaining what is called “governmental alignment” to a “covering apostle.” It is alleged that failure to do so, cuts off heavenly blessing and opens the individual to spiritual dangers and demonic attacks. The Protestant forefathers must be rolling over in their graves. They gave their life’s blood to do away with the belief system that required a class of religious professionals to broker or mediate the blessings of heaven to the believer. It is beyond painful to see the resurrected form of this doctrine being espoused in so-called apostolic churches and foisted under the banner of “new revelation,” “restoring apostolic covering,” and “restoring apostolic authority.” It is not new revelation. It is old heresy in a new dress.
Spiritual Covering: 'Stop the Nonsense'
Spiritual covering is a biblically illegitimate, bad idea, that just won’t go away.
Dying to Self – What Does it Really Mean?: 'An Excerpt From: The New Testament Prophet - Understanding the Mind, Temperament, and Calling'
Dying to self? What is it really?
There is a brand of Christianity that is always talking about the cross and the importance of dying to self. At best it is an imbalanced over-emphasis–a half-truth–and at worst, flat-out error. It promotes sin-conscious introspection, feelings of worthlessness, self-loathing, self-hatred, unworthiness, spiritual paralysis, and legalism. It promotes spiritual pride in a reverse sort of way—you are esteemed for how worthless you feel about yourself and how “humble” you have become in appearance to others who control access to power in the specific church culture.
The New Testament Prophet – Podcast Part 1: 'Understanding the Mind, Temperament, and Calling'
The New Testament Prophet: Understanding the Mind, Temperament, and Calling
I had the privilege of doing a podcast interview with my friend Loren Rosser concerning my new book. Part One of the podcast is available here:
http://untangled.podomatic.com/entry/2015-08-27T09_58_56-07_00
The Kindle version of the book is available here:
http://www.stevecrosby.com/The-New-Testament-Prophet-p/ntpkindle.htm
Soft cover should be available in October 2015.
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