One of the fascinating things about watching the World Cup is seeing so many different cultures come together around the same game—what we Americans call soccer. Most of us know that, at least when it comes to men's soccer, the United States is a bit of an outlier....

The other day, I met with a friend and trusted advisor to talk about the work of Groundswell Saint Louis. I wanted his perspective and counsel on where we're headed. As I explained what we're doing, he stopped me. "Before we go any further," he said, "tell me again:...

Every Tribe, Tongue, and Nation Sometimes I wonder if we've heard the phrase "every tribe, tongue, and nation" so often that we've stopped hearing it altogether. It's one of those phrases Christians quote almost reflexively. We use it when we talk about missions. We...

I recently told a group of fifth graders that it is actually possible they might never die. I wasn't joking. I wasn't trying to be provocative. One of them had asked a sincere question, and I answered it with a straight face. "Yes," I said. "And it is actually...

When we talk about “being a missionary,” most of us immediately picture something that feels far removed from our everyday lives. It’s usually someone other than us—someone in a distant country, in an uncomfortable environment, doing something we would never imagine...

On December 7, 1941, aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, aiming to cripple the United States Pacific Fleet in a single blow. In the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto reflects on the moment...

Have you ever stopped to think about how the Gospel made its way to you?
You can probably name the person who most influenced your faith—the one who shared the Gospel with you, prayed with you, answered your questions, or invited you to church. But how did the Gospel come to them? How did it make its way to your city, your nation, your language, your family?

It’s fascinating to consider how easily the faith we now know as Christianity could have failed to take root in its earliest days. In the book of Acts, we witness the birth of The Way — a movement within Judaism centered on Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah foretold...