Christianity.com en-us Sunday, November 08, 2009 Sunday, November 08, 2009 rss.aspx support@Christianity.com support@Christianity.com http://www.christianity.com/blogs/mcraven/ Christianity.com - Blogs - Conversations with Your Favorite Pastors, Authors, Theologians, Speakers Life Together: Being the Church vs Just Doing Church http://www.christianity.com/blogs/mCraven/11610604/ It is not enough to respond to the marriage crisis within the church by saying, “My marriage is fine!” If we abide together in Christ, then we together must prepare and care for marriage generally, and intervene specifically when any marriage is endangered. This is not happening on the scale that it should within the American church. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:43:00 GMT 11610604 Michael Craven Is There Hope for the Nation? http://www.christianity.com/blogs/mCraven/11610042/ It has become all too easy for Christians to fall into a state of pessimism—even despair—over the state of our culture today. This is understandable in light of the last fifty years. So, is there reason to hope that anything will change? Can the tide of immorality, paganism, and general debauchery that threatens to swamp us even be arrested, much less reversed? I believe history offers numerous examples where God, in his providence, has done so, in particular... Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:06:00 GMT 11610042 Michael Craven From True Heroes to Celebrity Zeroes and Why It Matters http://www.christianity.com/blogs/mCraven/11609701/ Despite the ample and never-ending evidence that fame, fortune, and beauty fail to bring lasting peace and satisfaction—in fact, often quite the contrary—Americans are more celebrity-obsessed than ever. We should be deeply concerned for a society that has elevated mere celebrity to hero status and for a church that has been flaccid in both asserting the true virtues of heroism and often embracing the same superficial valuation. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:37:00 GMT 11609701 Michael Craven Where is the Church in Our Marital Crisis? http://www.christianity.com/blogs/mCraven/11609347/ In my last commentary, I argued that the prevailing lack of distinction between Christian and non-Christian marriage serves as a barometer indicating a serious lack of spiritual depth and theological understanding within the American church. Reaction to this article overwhelmingly confirmed this suspicion. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:12:00 GMT 11609347 Michael Craven I Thought Jesus Came to Keep Me FROM Suffering! http://www.christianity.com/blogs/mCraven/11609041/ The issue of marriage within the church—namely the noticeable lack of distinction between Christian and non-Christian marriage, given our equal propensity to divorce—is not about the preservation of a tradition or institution. The reality of marriage and our apparent lack of respect for that which “God has joined together” ultimately reveals a gaping chasm between biblical Christianity and cultural Christianity that must be closed if the church wants to be faithful to its mission. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:40:00 GMT 11609041 Michael Craven