Good Faith Reads

In the second book of the “Spelunking Scripture” series, Spelunking Scripture: The Letters of Paul—Exploring Important Passages of the Bible, author Bruce C. Salmon digs into the thirteen letters of the New Testament attributed to Paul. Although some scholars believe some of the letters may have been written, or edited, by Paul’s followers, all of the letters begin by identifying Paul as the author. Most of the letters were addressed to specific churches (or groups of churches), although a few were addressed to specific individuals. Probably, most of the letters were intended to be read aloud to assembled congregations, and most were written to address particular needs within the churches. As such, Paul’s counsel about certain situations was not meant to be applied universally to all the churches. The passages from Paul’s letters identified for this study have a universal application, and Salmon focuses on the way in which Paul’s letters convey the truth about God’s intentions for our lives.

This book is part of the “Spelunking Scripture” series. You can find all of the published books in the series at GoodFaithMedia.org.

The Bible is a record of and witness to divine-human encounter and relationship—period!

To understand such stories, we have to understand that the Bible must not only be read; it must be interpreted. So, how do we do that? I am convinced that a significant portion of the difficulties many people have with the Bible is due to a lack of understanding of the historical process by which we received these inspired scriptures—and I do believe they are divinely inspired.

We have not paid sufficient attention to the story of how the Bible came to be written. If we read the Bible as a technical treatise in which every word stands on equal footing, we distort the meaning of scripture. If, on the other hand, we read every sentence of the Bible through the lens of Jesus Christ, we come to see God in all the glory we earth-bound and time-bound creatures can stand.

Trust Jesus and let him show you how to read the record of God’s self-revelation. Read everything before Jesus and everything after him through the Jesus lens.

Learn more at GoodFaithMedia.org.

In the first book of the “Spelunking Scripture” series, Spelunking Scripture: Christmas—Exploring Important Passages of the Bible, author Bruce Salmon digs into the story of Jesus’ birth as told in the Gospel of Luke. He briefly introduces each pertinent scripture passage related to the Christmas story then illustrates each passage with studies gleaned from the more than 1,500 sermons he preached during his 33 years as pastor at Village Baptist Church in Bowie, Maryland. In addition to examining Luke, Salmon also digs into the visit of the wise men, the prophecy in Isaiah 9 about a child being born unto us, and the prologue to John’s gospel as he explores how these important scripture passages underpin the Christmas story.

Learn more at GoodFaithMedia.org.

At one of our Center for Healthy Churches semiannual gatherings, we decided to come up with a definition of “healthy church” that would help us articulate our understanding of what lies at the heart of the Center’s work. We spent several hours crafting a definition. We wanted it to reflect both our own long years of experience in creating healthy churches in congregations we had served as pastors and what we have learned from our years of working as consultants with church leaders from around the country.

We quickly came to a shared agreement about what metrics don’t inform our under-standing of “healthy,” specifically: the number of members a church has, the size of its budget, and how “successful” it has been. We’ve seen too many large, “successful” churches that exhibit unhealthy behaviors. We’ve also worked with too many small churches that exhibit robust health and a vital mission.

After many drafts, we came up with a statement that we feel captures the heart of our work. It also mirrors our understanding of the church’s call to be the body of Christ in and for the world. This definition emerged from our discernment: A healthy church is a community of Jesus followers with shared vision, thriving ministry, and trusted leadership.

Learn more and purchase the book at GoodFaithMedia.org.

God created space from chaos. He chose to carve out space for all living things. He created space for the sun, moon, and stars. He created space for the oceans to form and for the dry land to appear. He created space for plants to flourish, for animals to roam, and yes, even for man to dwell. And in his image we are gifted with the ability to create space for all living things, including people who may not always feel included in our space or in God’s. We have the ability to make space for things to happen, for lives to thrive, for relationships to bloom, and for people to find wholeness.