Renovate

Is Jesus really the only way? In a post-modern world where truth is a moving target and the ideology of the past is met with increasing skepticism, how are we supposed to navigate the claims of all the world religions when it comes to choosing rightly for ourselves? And if Jesus Christ really is the only way to get into Heaven, is it mean and exclusive of God to take away the option of a more customizable religion?

Join Ben as he highlights the kindness of a God who offers us things we don't deserve—everything—through Christ.

For more about this imperfect community, visit www.renovateftw.org or check us out on Instagram or Facebook @renovateftw.

What’s missing in your life? Is it a good career, a potential spouse, good friends? Maybe something less tangible comes to mind … like confidence, clarity about your future or freedom from a nagging struggle. What one or two things (or 30 things) need to come together before you can truly feel content in life?

If we are honest, we could all identify areas where we secretly feel sorry for ourselves. While we feel hamstrung, we have to watch others get everything that we wanted.

Is God holding out on us?

Fortunately, Scripture doesn’t flinch in the face of our raw feelings. In fact, it shows us what to do with our discontentment. We have the privilege of reading the words of one of king David’s worship leaders as he brings his all-consuming self-pity directly before a holy God. Join Ryan as he reveals the true goodness of God ... even in our unanswered prayers.

For more about this imperfect community, visit www.renovateftw.org or check us out on Instagram or Facebook @renovateftw.

We can't deny that pain and suffering are realities in the world we live in. Yet, in churches around the world, a message is preached that there is a God who is in control. It seems like the we're left with only two options: God is cruel, or God is not really in control.

• Is He a loving and compassionate God but just isn’t in control enough to stop some of the horrible things that happen on a daily basis?
• Or is He fully in control but not kind enough to use His control to stop the grievous disasters around us?

We believe the church is a place where we can and should ask hard questions like this. We believe in a truth that’s worth digging deep for, so join us as we step into this conversation!

For more about this imperfect community, visit www.renovateftw.org or check us out on Instagram or Facebook @renovateftw.

If you think people in the Bible didn’t doubt God, you should probably doubt that thought! They had their trust issues with Him just like we do today, and yet, the story of God through the Bible reveals a couple of very important things about God and His creation: He is a perfect and able Creator, and we are clouded and broken in our understanding of who He is. So when it comes to our doubts about God (those ones we keep secret or the ones we shout to anyone who will hear), our brokenness is not made perfect in our abilities or understanding, but in our faith and trust in the One who reveals Himself in His perfect time and way. Join Ben as he introduces the beauty that our doubt can lead to as we journey together this spring semester!

Merry Christmas Renovate! 🎁 We got to steal a conversation with Bear Rinehart of NEEDTOBREATHE when he was here for Renovate Live on Dec. 1. In our studio, he opened up about his life, anxiety, worship, doubt, college football, Jesus, and his creative process among other things! It was a real treat to hear someone who is so stinkin' talented open up in such a real way and have such an honest conversation about these personal things. Stop reading and press play now!

For more about this imperfect community, visit www.renovateftw.org or check us out on Instagram or Facebook @renovateftw.

Are the lenses we look at dating, marriage and love distorted? We broke into the studio this past week and recorded a follow-up conversation to Ben's talk at Renovate Live earlier this month with some special guests. You're going to want to hear these hot takes on dating from Matt Lantz and Amy Foster as they respond to and elaborate on three big areas that we all tend to navigate poorly when it comes to dating and marriage.

For more about this imperfect community, visit www.renovateftw.org or check us out on Instagram or Facebook @renovateftw. For Matt's "blook" on dating, visit this free resource at: thedatingblook.wordpress.com
For information about AVENEW for dating, engaged and young married couples, go to: www.avenewcouples.com

Some of our relationships are smooth sailing but some of our relationships are honestly really jacked up. Why? Why do we get it wrong so often, or make so many mistakes after a stretch of things seeming to go so well?

Maybe it’s because we’re looking at our relationships through a wrong or distorted lens. The way we look at dating, the way we see the opposite sex and the way we see ourselves are what build into our perspective, and ultimately, what cause us to continue to see someone as “not the right one” and things begin to fall apart.

But we believe in a God who has designed us to function differently than what is being sold through the images, expectations and experiences of our lives. So shouldn’t our relationships actually say more about our strengths than our insecurities? Join Ben as he attempts to narrow our focus on how we were designed to date, marry and love deeply!

For more about this imperfect community, visit www.renovateftw.org or check us out on Instagram or Facebook @renovateftw.
Don't forget this month's PDF resource if you want to interact more with this content!

We welcomed two really special guests into the studio this week to respond to Ben's talk from Renovate Live earlier this month on the narrow road to unity over race and politics. Join us for this follow-up conversation as we try to navigate the best way to follow Christ when we are fearful or frustrated at the broken world around us. Want to get to know us better? Reach out to us at www.renovateftw.org, or on social media: @renovateftw

Our world has become increasingly polarized and volatile. That’s certainly true when it comes to racial and political views in our culture. Are we too woke or are we too indifferent? To what degree do our convictions shape our politics? How do we maintain unity when it feels like people around us are increasingly hostile? Join us as Ben steps into a conversation on what to do when our minds run to worst-case scenarios that can divide us rather than to Christ who can unify us.

This is the challenging tension that a community like Renovate should not be afraid to wrestle with as we seek to do what’s best. For more about this imperfect community, visit www.renovateftw.org or check us out on Instagram or Facebook @renovateftw.

Don't forget this month's PDF resource if you want to interact more with this content!

Welcome to our follow-up conversation on the Renovate Live talk, "Who You Say I Am," where Ben shared an alternative to the defensive vs. defeated mindsets we so often find ourselves in when grappling with who we want to be. Our guests Lilly Park (Ph.D, author and professor of biblical counseling) and Ryan McCarthy (pastor and biblical counselor) explore hot topics like guilt, shame, anxiety, depression, victimization, brokenness, hurt, humility, community and other areas where we tend to talk ourselves out of a healthy view of identity. Join the conversation! Listen here, and reach out to us at www.renovateftw.org, or on social media: @renovateftw