Tag Archives: recovery from spiritual abuse

Sep 20 2021

Escape and Assurance: 'Monday Morning Musings - September 20, 2021'

In many common presentations of the Gospel in modern evangelicalism, the themes of escape and assurance have had a dominant presence. If we are pursuing Christian community with those two values as primary motivators, we will assure ourselves of unnecessary relationship difficulties. A local community is not something we should hope to escape at the first whiff of an unpleasant experience. A local community is the laboratory of relational life where the ethics of what we say we believe gets tested.  I am not saying there are never good reasons to leave a group. There are. But “I am not enjoying myself” or “it is too hard,” or “it hurts,” are not among the legitimate reasons. 

 

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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.

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Aug 23 2021

Knit Together in Love: 'Monday Morning Musings - August 23, 2021'

Ask an average Evangelical or Charismatic about how to grow in grace and the knowledge of God and you will get answers like: study the Bible, listen to anointed preaching and teaching, get a “download” from the “Holy Ghost,” pray regularly. Few, if any would say “by being knit together in love.” Yet that is exactly what Paul itemizes as critical for unfolding the deep things of God.

 

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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.

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Aug 16 2021

Relationship and Community: 'Monday Morning Musings August 16, 2021'

Many folks are yearning and looking for authentic community together in Christ. It is a great goal, but if we hold some “isms” emotionally or intellectually in our heart, we are headed for disappointment. The “isms” that need to go if we would experience a vibrant (not perfect) Christian community are: Romanticism, perfectionism, idealism, and individualism. 

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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.

 

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Jul 5 2021

Who’s Your Daddy? Your God-Image Matters: 'Monday Morning Musings July 5, 2021'

 

Our image of God as Father is so important. It will shape how we relate to God, and how we relate to others. If our God-image is skewed, distorted, bi-polar, dual-faced, etc., we will be confused personally as well as in our message and mission to the world.

 

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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.

 

 

 

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Jun 7 2021

Apostles and Apostolic Ministry – Paul’s Apostolic Ethos: 'Monday Morning Musings - June 7, 2021'

 

In many Charismatic leaning type of congregations the term apostle is used broadly and loosely. Too often it is used as a title implying significance, rank, positional authority, and governmental hierarchy–a hyper-spiritual veneer for naked ego and ambition. Paul’s cruciform “apostolic ethos” is plain and costly. It is also plain that many who profess to be apostles, do not possess it.

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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.

 

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May 24 2021

Ekklesia – Part Three – Essence or Container?: 'Monday Morning Musings - May 24, 2021'

The value of a matter is not defined by the container. It is defined by the essence of what is in the container. Poison in a Swarovski crystal punch bowl is still poison. Gold coins buried in a 2,000 year old clay pot are still gold coins. When it comes to discussions about ekklesia, the emphasis is often arguing about the container, rather than what is supposed to be “inside” the container. 

 

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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.

 

Photo by Melissa Walker on Unsplash

 

 

Feb 28 2021

Life in the New Covenant Video – Part 4 – Authority, Leadership and Professional Ministry: 'A New Covenant Perspective'

After months and months of delays and technical challenges, Loren Rosser and I are pleased to release this fourth installment of the video series.  
I join three friends of mine–Jose Bosque, Wayne Jacobsen and Bryon Wiebold–in dialogue on this issue from a New Covenant, grace-based, and love-based perspective.

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Jan 25 2021

Meekness – Jesus Style: 'Monday Morning Musings - January 25, 2021'

Biblical meekness, like humility, is also not a personality type. It has nothing to do with an external demeanor of diffidence. It does not involve being an emotional eunuch. It is about being fully alive, experiencing all range of emotion, but having those emotions under the rein of the governance of Christ. It does not mean I live as a doormat for others to abuse or degrade me.

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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.

Dec 17 2020

The Simplicity That is in Christ: 'Jesus is Simple. The Bible is Not.'

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Simplicity in Christ

Jesus is simple. The Bible isn’t. Jesus is deeply, profoundly, unknowably, unfathomably, costly, and painfully–simple.

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Jun 12 2019

Matthew 18: Misunderstanding and Misuse in Conflict Resolution

Misusing Matthew 18

The Misuse and Abuse of Matthew 18

The heavy-handed application of Matthew 18:15-20 leaves a trail of pain, broken relationships, and human carnage among God’s people. Controlling authoritarians use Matthew 18 to silence dissenting speech, prophetic criticism, and to label people as trouble makers–sources of contamination in the assembly that must be purged.

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