In this series, we are looking what it means to live a life on mission for God. Or, put another way, to practice what I call whole-life evangelism. In this, our final, post, we’ll explore why our ability to explain and defend the gospel is so critical to our witness. St. Francis of Assisi is
Why Clear and Consistent Boundaries are Good for Children ‘The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” Psalm 16:6 A group of landscape architects conducted a study in the early 2000s to determine what impact a fence might have on children’s behavior at a playground. In the
In this series, we are looking what it means to live a life on mission for God. Or, put another way, to practice what I call whole-life evangelism. In this post, we’ll explore why our love, expressed in action and empathy, is such an important part of our witnessing Christ. Last week, I had the
In the wild west of adolescent parenting, many people face this new frontier fraught with fears and anxieties. The parents’ mature brain has a negative bias towards the environment around it. This strategy scans for danger. And whether dangers are real or imagined, we naturally work to preserve ourselves and our young. Experts like Daniel
In this short series, we are looking what it means to live a life on mission for God. Or, put another way, to practice what I call whole-life evangelism. We’ll see why how we live and who we are matters as much as what we say. Today, we’ll look at how and why the way
In June and July of 2022, Burke Community Church conducted an extensive church-wide survey. The goal of the survey was to determine who the church naturally attracts, what attracts them to the church, how they connect and grow, and where they are in their journey of faith. The response rate was incredible, with 761 individuals
In this short series, we are looking what it means to live a life on mission for God. Or, put another way, to practice what I call whole-life evangelism. We’ll see why how we live and who we are matters as much as what we say. Today, we’ll cover a few introductory concepts. In his
The word “trauma” is often thrown around in the media and has become a common topic of discussion in our society. But what is psychological trauma? The American Psychological Association defines trauma as an emotional response to a distressing event. In the United States, rates of trauma exposure are estimated to be high. Approximately 70% of
“Who am I?” How we answer this question is everything. We’re born into the world with a certain set of gifts, talents, internal thoughts and feelings, circumstances, and temptations. This is what we wear, what we know the world by and know ourselves by as we navigate growing up, relationships, hardships, and more. When we
There are many benefits to mindful meditation. Mindful meditation can be used within Dialectetical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). DBT is a modality that counselors use to equip clients with the tools necessary to achieve their goals. The four pillars of DBT include Distress Tolerance Skills, Emotional Regulation Skills, Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills, and Mindfulness. Mindfulness is defined as or our ability to stay in
1. The gospel is devoid of conditionality, save for one’s initial faith statement (John 5:24; 6:37; 10:28-29). Belief in the person and work of the Savior saves me on a continual basis, apart from any personal effort. Nowhere do I read I must continually perform in order to remain saved. Passages that seem to teach
What do you think of when you hear the phrase “Christian” counseling? We hear so many people say they want Christian counseling, but what exactly do they mean? The quick answer is that it depends on your theology. If we look at counseling on a continuum, on one end is secular psychology, which uses science and
