99 CHURCH

James Baldwin once wrote, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” When talking about justice, there are two things that the Church in America cannot afford to ignore: our history of racism in America and the Church’s complicity that helped racism thrive. This week, we take a sobering look at these two things as we explore how the Gospel calls the Church to respond.

We live in a violent world. From wars to mass shootings to domestic violence, it’s easy to see that our world is bent towards violence. But Jesus shows us a better way, an alternative way to respond to the evil and injustice we see in our world. This week, explore Jesus’ radical call to nonviolence in a violent world.

The late great politician and civil rights activist John Lewis once said, "Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." Lewis knew from experience that whenever injustice is confronted, there will always be resistance from those who benefit from that system of injustice. Jesus stirred up good trouble, it's what ultimately got Him killed. What would it look like to be a people who get into good, necessary trouble, as we confront injustice in our world? What is Biblical justice and how can we participate in doing justice with God? This week, we explore God's heart for justice and the Church's call to respond to injustice in our world today.

When we think of childlike faith, we tend to think of this mindless, leap-but-don’t-look, blind kind of faith in God. But those who say childlike faith means not asking questions must not have been around too many children. What if questions aren’t a sign of unbelief? What if questions are actually an invitation into deeper intimacy with God? This week, we explore three ways children teach us about the Kingdom of God.

What does it mean to be a child of God? What are the implications of being His sons and daughters? This week, we explore our inheritance as children of God and how understanding what we have access in the Father could completely change the way we experience life.

One of the first things babies do to express their humanity is play. Play is a vital part of the human experience. Yet, as we grow older, we become less and less playful. What if when God calls us to reclaim our childlikeness, He's calling us to reclaim our ability to play? What if there is something sacred and divine about play that God is longing for us to tap into? This week, we explore what it means to develop a theology of play.

We’ll often look to find examples of how we might more childlike within scripture or from leaders in our faith who exemplify it. But how many of us feel an overwhelming sense of pressure to reach childlikeness, feeling not quite there or always missing the mark by just a little? What we think we should be doing overshadows the truth of who we are. God calls us His children. What if we stop trying to be like His child and start being His children?

One of the greatest challenges we face in life is learning how to remain childlike while growing up. Scripture tells us to put our childish ways behind us, while inviting us to embrace our childlikeness. How do we recapture childlike faith and childlike wonder? It begins by answering the most important question we could ever ask ourselves: what is my purpose? We kick off a new collection titled “Like A Child,” by answering this question and exploring our identity as children of God.

We all have needs. We all have wants. But what about our longing? Is it really God-shaped? Jesus welcomes us to admit our needs. God finds us to wrestle with our wants. If we’re willing to engage and contend, we will hear the liberating invitation to face and embrace our longing.

Jesus didn't come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come alive. Easter is the story of Gardener God cultivating life in all that is dead in our world. From the dirt in our lives, God brings forth a garden.