Conversational Steering: A Gentle Way to Include a Dominant Participant

Conversational Steering: A gentle way to include a highly verbal dominant participant

Conversational steering offers small-group leaders a gracious way to include a dominant participant without embarrassment. By entering, engaging, redirecting, compressing, and releasing the conversation, leaders preserve dignity, encourage balanced participation, keep discussions focused, and promote biblical edification for everyone present. Continue ReadingConversational Steering: A Gentle Way to Include a Dominant Participant→

Critical Review of Christian Standard Commentary

The Christian Standard Commentary has overwhelming Reformed/Calvinistic authorship

The Christian Standard Commentary claims to be a broad conservative evangelical series. [B&H Publishing] But among the contributors whose theology can be identified confidently, there is a overwhelming Reformed/Calvinistic presence, especially in the New Testament. Continue ReadingCritical Review of Christian Standard Commentary→

10 Simple Ways Christians Can Fight Insomnia

1. Stop doom-scrolling; your pillow cannot compete with infinite content. 2. Skip afternoon caffeine; stimulation can linger into bedtime. 3. Exercise regularly, preferably earlier; tired bodies often sleep better. 4. Keep your bedroom cool, dark, quiet, and boring. 5. Keep consistent bedtime and wake time, even weekends. 6. If awake, leave bed briefly; return when sleepy. 7. Cast tomorrow’s worries on God before bedtime (1 Peter 5:7). 8. Pray through everything and everyone (Philippians 4:6-7). 9. Read Scripture slowly; replace anxious rehearsals with truth. 10. Persistent insomnia deserves medical evaluation; underlying causes may need treatment.

There are few problems quite as frustrating as being exhausted and unable to sleep. The house is quiet, the lights are off, tomorrow is getting closer, and somehow the brain has decided that 2:17 in the morning is the perfect Continue Reading10 Simple Ways Christians Can Fight Insomnia→

When the Problem Fills the Frame: Seeing Life from God’s Perspective

Has one problem ever filled the entire frame of your life? Scripture helps us step back, see our circumstances from God’s perspective, and remember that even painful troubles are never greater than His presence, wisdom, and faithful care.

Has one problem ever filled the entire frame of your life? Scripture helps us step back, see our circumstances from God’s perspective, and remember that even painful troubles are never greater than His presence, wisdom, and faithful care. Continue ReadingWhen the Problem Fills the Frame: Seeing Life from God’s Perspective→

The Daily Practice of Looking to Christ for Perspective

Does one concern keep crowding out everything else? The daily practice of looking to Christ redirects our attention through Scripture, prayer, fellowship, and obedience, helping us rest in His presence when life feels overwhelming.

Does one concern keep crowding out everything else? The daily practice of looking to Christ redirects our attention through Scripture, prayer, fellowship, and obedience, helping us rest in His presence when life feels overwhelming. Continue ReadingThe Daily Practice of Looking to Christ for Perspective→