Gospel.com Blog

What are the “basics” of the Christian life? Bookstores are filled with books about proper Christian living, effective Bible studying, and evangelism strategies. But when you strip away all the “extras,” what are the fundamental activities Christians should pursue to grow their faith and serve God in their lives?

A classic article be LeRoy Eims, reprinted at the Navigators website, encourages us to go “back to the basics” in our Christian lives. If your spiritual life feels “busy” or shallow, consider focusing on the “basics” that Eims lays out–you might be surprised at how powerful these “simple” activities can be!

Mission Network News is running a short piece on the plight of Christian churches in Gaza. While the Lebanon crisis has diverted Israel’s attention elsewhere in recent weeks, the situation for many people living in Gaza is grim. According to the article, the church is stepping in to meet basic needs that aren’t being provided by the government:

With Israel turning her attention back to the region, [Open Doors' Al] Janssen says the church’s response also increased–they’re providing what relief they can. “Members of the church go in, give them food baskets, give them aid, then offer to pray with them, That’s been very well received. Another thing that the church is doing is they are providing programs for youth and providing leadership training for Palestinian Authority.”

Read the full article, and keep your eye on MNN for regular reports on the state of the church in the war-torn region.

As any parent will tell you, teenagers aren’t always the most talkative people in the world–especially when it comes to interacting with their parents. And plenty of parents have trouble communicating with their teenagers, assuming that a sulky demeanor means that the teenager isn’t interested in interacting.

But despite appearances, teenagers do want a close, supportive relationship with their parents. So how do you, mom and dad, go about cultivating that relationship? In an article from Christian Home & School, Beverly Dillard offers some practical advice for figuring out the teenage mindset and actually talking in a meaningful way with your teenager. Don’t settle for monosyllabic dinner-table conversations with your teen–read Dillard’s advice and see if you can use it to deepen your relationship with your teenage son or daughter.

What does the evangelical world look like? WorldMap.org has put together a very broad visual picture of the state of evangelical Christianity around the globe (large image file; the map is also available as a 45-meg PDF file from the WorldMap.org site).

The color-coded map highlights the current status of the evangelical church in cities around the world–from North America, where evangelical Christianity is heavily represented, to India and the Middle East, where it’s much less common. It also highlights the areas of the globe where the Gospel message has received the most positive response in the last 25 years, and what area are in the most need of Bible translations into local languages.

Dr. Stanley Lindquist was a World War II hero and a pioneer in the field of psychology… and he’s also the founder of the Link Care Foundation, a ministry that provides counseling and pastoral care to missionaries and clergymen around the world.

Lindquist was recently featured in CBS-TV’s “Stories of Service,” which gathers first-hand accounts from veterans. You can read about Lindquist’s life story and watch a video about his battlefield experiences and the ministry to which he dedicated himself after the war.

How does one keep the excitement and mystery of marriage alive? If the answer to that question were obvious, then there’d be a lot fewer marriage counselors and divorce attorneys. But however difficult it may seem to keep the “spark” alive many years into a marriage relationship, it’s important to work at it–not just to keep your own marriage happy, but because the way you relate to your spouse influences the way that others in your community–especially kids–think about their own relationships.

So where should you begin? A recent article at Youth Specialties [PDF format] makes the case for re-discovering the mystery of marriage. It’s geared toward married church leaders and youth ministers, but is worthwhile reading for anyone who’s married, whether you’re 10, 30, or 50 years into marriage!

Have you ever wondered what exactly goes into the process of translating the Bible? What challenges do translators face, and why do some translations render certain Bible passages differently than others? The International Bible Society has gathered a number of resources to give you insight into the Bible translation process.

They’ve made a number of essays and full-length books available online [in PDF format] to show you the long and difficult process of producing a modern Bible translation. Their NIV page has several pieces about the New International Version, and their TNIV page does the same for the Today’s New International Version.

If you’ve ever wondered “Why does the NIV translate this verse differently from other versions?” you’ll find these essays worth reading. Even if neither of those two versions is your preferred translation, the issues and questions raised provide good insight into the challenge of Bible translation in general.

Who bought and read all those Left Behind novels? If you answered “evangelicals,” you’re mostly right–but it might surprise you to learn that over a fifth of Left Behind readers weren’t Christian at all. In a recent “On Religion” column, Terry Mattingly looks at the numbers:

…a recent survey of “Left Behind” readers did yield one big surprise. While nearly 69 percent were, as expected, evangelical and mainline Protestants, 8.6 percent of the readers were Catholics and the remaining 22.8 percent said they practiced Islam, Judaism, Buddhism or another world religion. Why did they dig into these books?

What would draw a non-Christian to an overtly Christian series of novels? For many people, it was simple curiousity. Read Mattingly’s column, where he discusses the question and looks at the ways that Left Behind went from an end-times novel for Christians to a socio-political phenomenon.

Preview Online’s Phil Boatwright recently had a chance to talk to Steve Oederkerk, writer and director of the animated children’s movie Barnyard. Oederkerk’s credits include numerous popular films, from Jimmy Neutron to the religious comedy Bruce Almighty. In the course of the interview, he offers his thoughts on subjects like “inappropriate” humor, the frequent use of profanity in movies, and his own Christian faith.

Once you’ve read the interview, be sure to check out Boatwright’s review of Barnyard.

How important is it to be a part of a community of fellow Christians? If you’ve got a stable family, money, and a happy life, why should you put in the effort required to get involved in a local church?

So much competes for our attention today that it’s easy for families to start looking at church involvement as an optional activity. But evangelist Luis Palau suggests that active involvement in a church is more important that we might think–that far from a casual option, it’s actually a critical part of both growing in your faith and participating in God’s work. Palau lays out his reasoning along with some practical suggestions for increasing your involvement in your local church.