Josh Hunt's Blog, page 36

The practice of godliness

IF I HAD to choose one word to summarize all the marks of a mature Christian, it would be the word godly. There is no higher compliment that can be paid to a Christian than to call him a godly person. He might be a conscientious parent, a zealous church worker, a dynamic spokesman for […]

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Through Jesus, shadow Christians experience God’s tender love.

Many people, including some shadow Christians, struggle with believing God really loves them. They project their flawed father-image (often resulting from a bad experience with their human father) on God, envisioning him as a harsh taskmaster or distant demigod they must please at all costs. They find biblical reinforcement by reading their warped perspective into […]

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Shadow Christians are valued by God.

Some ideas explode in our minds and shape our behavior for a lifetime. It happened to me in a seminary classroom almost forty years ago. The professor said three words, “Theology informs practice.” That simple sentence summarized the most consequential lesson from my formal ministerial training. Those words—theology informs practice—mean that what we believe determines […]

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The Great Dechurching & reasons for hope

As our data poured in on the Great Dechurching, one truth became increasingly clear: what looks like defeat to many could really be the beginning of something special. Tens of millions of people may be leaving the church, and more than eighty-six churches may be closing every week, but if we have eyes to see […]

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Reversing the Downward Trend

I don’t keep up with denominational trends much. About once a decade I pull my head out of my own work and take a look at the bigger picture. I was shocked at what I recently discovered. Have you seen this? (All data from https://research.lifeway.com/2023/05/... )   In summary: Membership down by 20% Worship attendance […]

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Jesus wants to know you intimately

Shadow Christians are Christians, meaning they have become followers of Jesus Christ and adopted his identity as their own. His name means more than our names and much more than nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, or any cultural affinity. Believers aren’t hyphenated people with spiritual qualifiers further defining their identity. We are simply Christians, which establishes our […]

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Shadow Christans

My study of characters in the biblical shadows, unnamed but incredibly significant, led me to two important conclusions: God chooses and uses shadow Christians. He relates to them intimately and tenderly, places high value on their anonymous contributions, and uses them as his essential workforce to accomplish amazing things. The answers to the questions above, […]

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Train yourself to be godly

In 1 Timothy 4:7, Paul exhorted Timothy to “train yourself to be godly.” The word train Paul used is a word from the athletic arena, a word used to describe the training activity of young men as they prepared themselves to compete in the athletic games of that day. Just as those young men trained […]

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Let everything you say be good and helpful

How you treat others is a function of how you feel about yourself. Hurt people hurt people by projecting their pain. They criticize in others what they don’t like about themselves. There is a third dimension to the Great Commandment that is overlooked and underappreciated. We get the love God part. Same with love your […]

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The Pursuit of Holiness

One of the first identifying marks of a growing Christian is the pursuit of holiness. God has called every Christian to a holy life. There are no exceptions to this call. It is not a call only to pastors, missionaries, and a few dedicated Sunday school teachers. Every Christian, whether rich or poor, learned or […]

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