Scott Slayton

Increasingly, our political commitments lead us to find our hope, salvation and security in political wins. There is a simple name for this–idolatry.

It takes no work to get people to lament the state of America. Gather a group of liberals, and they will wring their hands over the impending theocratic patriarchy that will create a dystopia that rivals The Handmaid’s Tale. Conservatives remain convinced that a cabal of elites is conspiring to destroy America as we know it with high taxes, mass immigration, liberal indoctrination and sexual deviancy.Too often, we complain infinitely more than we pray. Think about this, though, if the state of our country causes us anxiety, shouldn’t prayer be our first recourse?

Now that you’re caught up on this week’s controversy du jour, I want to convince you that it doesn’t matter. When this controversy dies down, there will be another, and another, and another. The cycle never ends and never accomplishes anything.

The 2024 election needs to be about America's future, not a battle royal over its recent past. Unless American voters reject the status quo and choose new candidates, we'll be dealing with the latter and not the former. Christian voters need to spend serious time examining primary candidates outside the two that everyone knows. Find someone who reflects your values and choose accordingly. Then, hopefully, we will all be in a better place in 2028 than we find ourselves in 2023.

Like many who mourned pastor Tim Keller's passing, I never met him in person. Also, like many others, he served as a mentor from afar. I could talk for days about the ministry insights I learned from him, but those are not the most important. Through his sermons, books, articles, and interviews, I gleaned an approach to following Jesus and engaging the people around me with the Gospel.While this list could be much longer, these are the three most important lessons about following Jesus from Dr. Tim Keller.

Our politicians, from both parties, have learned that working on real solutions doesn't get their face on cable news or garner social media likes, both of which they turn into fundraising opportunities.

In the wake of the announcement that former President Jimmy Carter will spend his remaining days at home, political observers have reappraised different aspects of his presidency. By any objective measure, Carter’s Presidency was one of the most difficult in American history. In July 1979, Carter’s administration put him in a pinch by prematurely announcing he would give a televised speech addressing the energy crisis.Washington panned the speech, accusing Carter of blaming the American people for his administration’s failures. Some Americans received the speech warmly, and his approval rating jumped by eleven points. History, though, has not been kind to the speech, viewing it as a harbinger for the coming beat down he would take in the election of 1980.As Carter sought to diagnose the problem at the heart of American life, he blamed Washington, but recognized that what happened there was a symptom of the disease in the rest of America. Carter said, “In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption.

If we hear the name of Jesus and start searching for a political agenda, we have made politics into an idol. Political victory has enshrined itself in our hearts as the thing that can save us. We owe our allegiance to our political tribe and must obey the compulsion to crush our enemies.Politics can't save us. It offers us the world as we wish it was but only leaves us with disillusionment, frustration, and anger. Jesus can and does save us.

If we want our government to change, we have to change. American citizens, particularly those who are followers of Jesus, have an obligation to improve the condition of the American republic so that it better addresses the obstacles we face. We could talk for hours about how we need to change, but here are three suggestions to get us started today...

After Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a nationally televised football game last week, slews of people began calling for prayers for his recovery. In one sense, this outpouring was not surprising. In another sense, it pushes back against the growing secularity of America.

I stopped making New Year’s resolutions for myself a few years ago. I found them to be pointless goals that I was not going to chase just because the calendar flipped. Instead, I use the New Year to examine my weekly rhythms and routines to see what I need to change.My personal disavowal of New Year’s resolutions does not extend to other people. No public figures are coming to me for advice, but if they were, these are the New Year’s resolutions I would recommend.

Celebrity culture is at odds with Christianity. The Christian Gospel goes forward and bears fruit, not when it is espoused by the talented and the beautiful, but when ordinary and faithful men and women commit their lives to Jesus. Celebrities need to hear the Gospel and believe, but the Christian church does not need its large platforms or influence to thrive.The Christian church thrives on weakness and endurance. It bears fruit through faithful witness over the long haul. It is not thrilling or exciting by the world’s standards, but it changes lives and brings glory to God.

A Canadian appeals court handed a victory to a pastor charged with contempt of court for holding church services in violation of COVID restrictions.

Masked robbers entered a church and robbed the pastor, who was in the middle of his sermon, at gun point. The entire robbery was caught on the church’s live stream.

An undocumented immigrant who raped and impregnated a 10-year-old Ohio girl has been indicted on rape charges. Columbus Police arrested Gerson Fuentes, 27, after he confessed to raping the victim on at least two occasions.