Insights from in and around the association
UBA Voices
Renew: A Citywide Celebration of God's Faithfulness
It's been a year. But Sunday, October 24, is an opportunity for you and everyone from your church to join us in a demonstration of unity and a moment of praise for God's faithfulness.
Ask, Seek, Knock
What can we expect when we ask for things and seek God? A dive into Matthew 7 tells us to expect more from the Kingdom of God, not less.
Three-Fold Message of Salvation
The gospel resonates in all cultures, and we need to know how to share it.
How to Share the Gospel: A Quick Word on Narratives and Themes
There are two ways to consider the gospel which aid in understanding: a thematic approach and a narrative approach. You have probably heard both, but understanding both and why they are important will help you know the gospel better and explain the gospel better.
Ask these four questions to know what someone really believes.
With the remarkable diversity we find around ourselves today, we can no longer assume we understand someone’s religious background. This is obvious when we talk about discovering and engaging unreached people groups around us. Here are four simple questions to get at the heart of what a person believes—because everyone believes something.
Church Renewal is an Urgent Gospel Issue
6 in 10. That's the number put out by Lifeway Research concerning the number of churches in North America that are plateaued or declining in number. That's grim news. We mourn the 6 in 10 because of the loss of gospel witness. So we must work to see church renewal starting here in Houston.
People are Searching for "Good News." Let's Give it to Them.
Like most of you, I've spent even more time than normal perusing the news on the internet. In a recent trip through the news feed, I stumbled across an article on a tech website. The headline read: "Google searches for 'good news' are at an all-time high.” Turns out people are searching for the phrase "good news" more than any time since Google began publishing its trends in 2004. For those of us with a gospel message to share, that kind of lay-up is just too good to pass up.
Pastor, Pivot Toward Care This Week
Pastor, this one is not an article on best practices or strategies. This one is a plea from my heart for you and your people. This week, please pivot toward pastoral care. Up to now, we’ve been dealing with logistics as everyone scrambled to deal with the urgency and severity of this moment in our history. This is the week where pastoral care must take absolute priority.
A Theological Framework for Adjusting Church Practice
The following article is part of a collective resource for considering your church’s current practices in light of COVID-19. This collection of articles is designed to help pastors, church leaders, and church members as they forge a path forward. In this article, we consider the question: How do we think about this matter theologically?
COVID-19: Encouragement for Pastors in the Midst of Pandemic
The following article is part of a collective resource for considering your church’s current practices in light of COVID-19. This collection of articles is designed to help pastors, church leaders, and church members as they forge a path forward. This article focuses on: How do we approach this moment with grace and humility?