The Inner Life

Unity of the Spirit until Unity of the Mind

Austin Spiller
One does not need to remain invisible or passive to be Christlike in a community, nor does one need vehemently defend all beliefs that are passionately held. There is a better way to handle disagreement in a community. In this week’s post, Austin Spiller,graduate student at Southeastern University’s Divinity School, draws a relevant comparison between our firm understandings of taboo subjects and how we as believers communicate them with those we love. ... Read More...
5 min read

Everyday Ethics

Yoon Shin
Recognizing the state of our moral existence should help usbetter tackle, or at least better understand, the ethical issues that we face,especially those that we deem more personally important. Ethics surround oureveryday existence. In this week’s post, Yoon Shin,ethics professor at Southeastern University, discusses several steps for ethicaldecision-making when answers stray from being simply black or white.... Read More...
8 min read

Why Pray?

Alan Ehler
The New Testament priority for prayer was adopted by the early church. Mark 1:35 records the pattern of Jesus’ ministry mentioned several other times in the Gospels: “The New Testament priority for prayer was adopted by the early church. Mark 1:35 records the pattern of Jesus’ ministry mentioned several other times in the Gospels: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” The Incarnate Son of God made prayer a regular part of his life. In this week’s post, Dr. Ehler, Dean of Southeastern University’s college of theology and religion, discusses the posture of prayer and the significance it has in cultivating our relationship with God. ... Read More...
9 min read

Materialism in the Christian Context

Joshua Britt
Materialism, and all its associated encumbrances, have been the subject of Christian discourse since the beginning of the Christian era. It is none other than a hermit, John the Baptist, whose blistering imperative to, “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” opens the New Testament. In this week’s post, Dr. Britt, director of Global Education at Southeastern University, discusses Christian perspectives of a world living under a materialistic umbrella. ... Read More...
6 min read

Dark Night of the Soul

Jordan Montgomery
When left unchallenged, our dialogue with God can become the way by which we measure our relationship with him, and often leads us to believe that God’s love and presence is limited to the functions of our behavior. In this week's article, Jordan Montgomery, senior practical ministries major at Southeastern University, highlights how painful deprivations press upon a believer's spirituality and how to overcome the darkness rooted from internalized suffering. ... Read More...
6 min read

Faith Outside Ourselves

Jordan Reed
Faith can, will, and should be challenged from outside ourselves. A humble faith recognizes contrasting voices as valid even if the value of their claims is up for debate. In this week's discussion, Jordan Reed, a seminary student at Boston University, provides a personal reflection examining his transition from undergraduate learning into a more diversely opinionated institution and how it has influenced his current theological perspectives. ... Read More...
5 min read

Broken Friends

Fredric Rohm
During the New York City Times Square celebration, the music group Lovelytheband performed their hit song "Broken." Regardless of the band's religion or worldview, the underlying message weaved throughout their songs seem to have a clear association with the Christian gospel. In this week's article, Dr. Ric Rohm, professor of business and leadership at Southeastern University, discusses why believers should embrace brokenness, admit to personal vulnerabilities, and love others despite who they are within.... Read More...
12 min read

Spring Cleaning: Skeletons in the Closet

Richard Harris
We often conceal our vulnerabilities beneath the surface of a smiling countenance, curated social media or distinguished job title. Should we demand justice as Christians when we see hate crimes materialize without attending to the deeper issue? In this week's article, Dr. Richard Harris, communication's professor at Southeastern University and former (renounced) Grand Dragon of the Indiana KKK, discusses a seven step process in addressing the infirmities within us. ... Read More...
5 min read

Making Peace with the Warrior God

Chris Green
How are we to deal with certain brutalities found in the Old Testament? How do we know what is and isn’t worthy of God? The good news is that God means to put us in that difficult place. He means to save us not from interpretation but through it. Dr. Chris Green, professor at Southeastern University, provides four approaches on how Christians today should perceive and interpret God's seemingly violent Old Testament acts in a rather confounding context. ... Read More...
9 min read

Fostering Authentic Spirituality in the Church

admin
How can we construct a healthy community that embraces dialogue upon spiritual questions we may not hold the answers to? Humility shifts the paradigm from appearing to know all spiritual answers into one that acknowledges God’s transcendence. In this week’s discussion, we expound upon the sacred art of questioning and why incorporating it is vital for developing an authentic functioning faith. ... Read More...
5 min read

Worship and the Trinity

Chris Green
Often in Christian circles, we envision our worship as being an overflow of the Spirit’s abundance. However, there is nothing to the Spirit but the love that the Father and Son share. In this week’s discussion, an intricate perspective reveals the enigmatic Trinity in relation to our spiritual veneration. ... Read More...
9 min read

When Christianity Encounters Mental Illness

Sara Spong
According to the National Institute of Mental Illness, one in six people (17% of the US population) suffers from a mental illness. In other words, 17 of every 100 people in our churches has a mental illness diagnosis. What would it look like for followers of Jesus to reimagine walking alongside those suffering with mental illness? Professional licensed counselor and PhD Candidate, Sara Spong exposes convicting truths behind the Church’s current involvement with psychological disorders and examines the essentiality for religious institutions to initiate ministries that focus on recognizing and addressing the affected group’s disability. ... Read More...
4 min read