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This just in: The church’s mission is to make disciples. Not just programs, processes, or worship gatherings. The mission has always been the same since Matthew 28 . . . but it took me five years of Bible college and two years of full-time ministry for it to actually sink in. It took me that many years to realize that, in general, the church in the West has not fully been on mission with the One we worship and dedicate our lives to.

And yet we all know the passage of Scripture that tells us this. We all could quote it:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV)

These are some of the last words of Jesus to His disciples before He ascended into heaven. He’s saying we are called to walk in obedience toward Him and teach others to do the same. A helpful definition of “disciple” comes from Matthew 4:19: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” We accept Jesus as our leader (“Come, follow me”), He begins to shape and transform us (“I will make you”), and He puts us on mission with Him (“fishers of men”).

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Many Muslims believe that Muhammad is the final prophet, the last in a long line of messengers from God. The Qur’an itself states, “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets” (Qur’an 33:40). However, Hebrews 1:1-2 tells a different story:

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2, ESV)

This passage clarifies that while God once spoke through prophets, His final and ultimate revelation comes through His Son, Jesus. The role of prophets was to prepare the way, but Jesus was the fulfillment of everything they pointed toward. If Christ is God’s final and ultimate revelation, the claim that Muhammad brings a new or greater message doesn’t hold up. The progressive nature of revelation finds its climax in Christ, not in any subsequent prophet.

Furthermore, this passage challenges the Islamic view that God’s final message was revealed in the Qur’an. In Islamic theology, revelation is seen as a progressive unfolding, with each prophet building upon the previous messages, culminating in the Qur’an as God’s final and complete word. However, Hebrews 1 asserts that God’s ultimate revelation is not a book but a person—His Son. This shifts the focus from written words to the incarnate Word, emphasizing that divine revelation reaches its fulfillment in Jesus, rendering any subsequent claims to final prophecy unnecessary. If the Son Himself is the final revelation, then no book, no prophet, and no further message can surpass or replace Him. Christianity stands on the claim that Jesus embodies the fullness of God’s revelation, making all other claims to final prophecy redundant.

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Have you ever had one of those “God, why?” moments?

God, why did this happen to me?

Most of us have been there. Something in our lives has left us hurt, lonely, empty, or just wondering…

God, why?

My latest “God, why?” experience came in 2024. None of us expect our lives to come crashing down around us—but as we all discover, that’s simply part of living. I was helping my middle son and daughter-in-law move some boxes into our barn. I picked up a box, carried it about 20 yards, set it down—and then had to go sit down. I was completely exhausted. Thankfully, one of the ladies here at Community works in a heart cath lab, and she got me in for an EKG—which I failed. Soon after, I found out I had four arteries over 90% blocked. Two weeks later, I had said my goodbyes and prepared myself for the ride of a lifetime: open-heart surgery.

A guy I had discipled for several years asked me, “What do you need?”

I said, “I need you to text me this Scripture every day until I’m through the toughest parts of recovery—because when I wake up with a tube down my throat, I know I’m not going to handle it well.”

So we memorized Joshua 1:9 (NIV):

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

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What comes to mind when you think of the Antichrist?

In pop culture, whether movies or TV, the Antichrist has been pictured as a devil child or a devil-like person who embodies the height of evil.

In popular Christian imagination, the Antichrist is often portrayed as a sinister but charismatic person who rises to a position of immense political power and leads the whole world astray, ushering in the Great Tribulation. This image has been popularized in movies and books about end times, such as Nicolae in the Left Behind series. He is a charismatic leader who eventually rises to rule the global community.[1]

Here is how one popular Bible teacher describes the Antichrist. He will be a “global dictator,” the “most powerful dictator the world has ever seen.” This teacher contends that “the Bible is clear that one man, the Antichrist, will rise up to unite the world under one government during the Tribulation.”[2] Many Christians simply assume that such a portrayal is what the Bible teaches about the Antichrist.

Much of this portrait of the Antichrist comes from combining various Bible passages together into a composite. Two of the key passages used for this composite are 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 which mentions the “man of lawlessness” and Revelation 13-14 which uses the image of a horrific beast, a beast which itself is an amalgamation of the beasts in the book of Daniel.

The identity of the “Antichrist”—or even if there is a single future Antichrist—is up for debate among RENEW.org leaders. In humility, let’s try to untangle the concepts to arrive at a clearer biblical picture.

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In our deeply divided culture, where social media fuels endless debates and personal spiritual paths are celebrated as equally valid, one question persists: “Is Jesus really the only way to God?” This claim, rooted in Scripture, often provokes offense in a pluralistic age. Yet as Ecclesiastes reminds us, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9b, NIV). I know this tension intimately from my own journey.

As a new Christian, I began reading the Gospel of John. When I reached chapter 14, Jesus’ words struck me forcefully:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV)

Emerging from a secular worldview influenced by university lectures, popular atheism, and neo-paganism, I found this claim too narrow. How could one man from Nazareth hold a monopoly on eternity?

I approached my minister with these questions: “Aren’t good intentions sufficient? If others follow a different god with sincerity, isn’t it all the same? Doesn’t God automatically save vast swaths of people?” His reply was direct: “No.” He pointed me to Acts 4:12 to ponder in prayer:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NIV)

This launched me on a journey, revealing that exclusivity is not arrogance but logical necessity. Conflicting truth claims among world religions—from Buddhism’s self-enlightenment to Islam’s submission to Allah—cannot all coexist, just as opposing directions cannot lead to the same destination.

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Many legends and stories have been created about Patrick, but very little about his life can actually be confirmed. The most reliable information about Patrick’s life comes from two of his writings that have survived down through the centuries. The first is his Letter to Coroticus, a letter written to condemn a British tyrant and his soldiers who had been abducting people from Patrick’s Christian community. The second document is Patrick’s Confession, which he wrote toward the end of his life as a spiritual biography to defend his ministry among the Irish people. From these documents there are at least five interesting facts about Patrick’s life that can be discovered.

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“We are never better deceived than when we deceive ourselves.”[1]

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal [but not equal to God], that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness [Not included is the right to run the cosmos or to even pretend that you can run the cosmos].”

“Then the Lord said to Moses, Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Even then, Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” (Exodus 7:1-5, NLT)

God insists that he defeat his enemies. He has plenty of them, more than the average guy, more than Moses, even more than Vladimir Putin. This is because every person in the human race is God’s enemy.[2] He clearly stated, “You must not have any other god but me.”[3]

Let’s face it: we want to be God, at least to be our own gods, run our own show, and be free to remake the world our way. Down deep, we think we could do a better job. You don’t believe me? Read the story of the ten plagues.

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Author’s note: This is my fifth article dealing with pastoral burnout. Recent Barna research revealed that 33% of ministers had given serious thought to quitting.[1] My own research for a graduate studies project showed 63% of those surveyed had given or were giving serious thought to quitting the ministry. Previous articles provide an overview to challenges ministers face and how key regular rhythms of renewal like silence and solitude and community can create resiliency.

After being married for 31 years, I’ve realized something. (Yes, I’m a slow learner.) It’s this: I like simply being in my wife’s presence.

When I was younger, I would see older couples eating at a restaurant or sitting on a park bench and they would just…be sitting there. Yes, in the restaurant they would be eating, but often they would not be talking. They would just be eating in one another’s presence. Or on the park bench, they would just be sitting there in one another’s presence and not be doing…anything.

I understand it now. Sometimes I just want to be near my wife. We don’t have to talk or do anything for me to feel content in that moment.

This is how I am coming to understand prayer.

In my research on pastoral burnout, I saw this interesting dynamic at play.

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The most well-known feature of Calvinism is its famous five points, often referred to by Calvinists as “the doctrines of grace” and represented by the acronym TULIP.[1] There is much more to Calvinist theology than this, of course, but TULIP is definitely the centerpiece. The acronym summarizes the Calvinist understanding of salvation like this:

Each of these points expresses a key component of Calvinism’s understanding of how God saves people. In this article, we’ll take a look at “irresistible grace.”

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*Editor’s Note: If you could write a letter to your younger self, what would you say? How would you advise your younger self in navigating the difficulties? What would you tell yourself to stop obsessing about, and what would you tell yourself to go all in with? Marcus Stenson is a preacher and founding member of the disciple making organization “Be1Make1.” In this letter, Marcus imagines what he might say to help his fifteen-year-old self hang in there when it gets tough and pursue what matters. How can a teenager handle tough identity questions and personal tragedies in ways that grow their faith in God stronger? As you read, let Marcus’s letter help you imagine how you might help guide younger people who could use wisdom and encouragement for what lies ahead. 

Hey man,

I’m writing to put you on game ahead of time. You don’t realize it yet, but I’m just one of a multitude of voices God has put in your life to guide you. Know this: none of this is by accident. Remember when Papaw passed away? How only then you realized then how lucky you were to have an example like him? Remember the dream he visited you in? I know it crushed you, but it also motivated you. Chase it down. I want you to know ahead of time that you’re incredibly gifted, but you owe all of what you will become to God and to the people He has given you. So cherish them.

Realize that for every single person you know, some day you are going to talk to them for the last time, see them for the last time…and you never know when that is going to be. So make sure you live gratefully and graciously with them. Tell them how important they are, and most important of all, pay it forward. Be for others what they have been for you. Do this as often as you can, as deeply as you can, for every single person God brings across your path. You never know who needs your story.

Speaking of that…I’m proud of you. You’re just starting to sense that there’s a larger story at work here. It’s confusing, I know. So far, you’ve spent most of your time trying to figure out where you belong. Growing up on both sides of the tracks has its benefits, but it’s true that you’ve never really “fit” in anywhere. Enjoy it! You’re never going to look back and regret your crisp J’s pulled up to a game of D&D with your guys.

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