Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 17

What is a Community Group?

For as long as there has been a church, God’s people have gathered in multiple ways—both in large groups numbering in the thousands and in groups small enough to be counted on one hand. The vast majority of those reading this gather together on Sunday mornings to worship Jesus as part of their larger church community. They also, likely, gather together in smaller groups throughout the week.

These smaller gatherings run under different names: In some churches, they’re called small groups. In...

You Should Be Angry About These Things

Sunday started as a good day. Our church worshiped Jesus together. We celebrated as several people became members, and as five people were baptized. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the playground behind the school where we meet on Sunday mornings.

Sunday continued to be a good day, as we drove home and listened to a bit of music while everyone was in generally good spirits. Shortly after arriving home, my middle daughter and I drove over to the local hardware store to get a few bags of mulch, w...

Sometimes ministry means going for a walk

At the end of 2020, my family moved into a new home in an under construction subdivision. Our house and the one across from ours were the only two on our particular street. But as months passed, construction continued and now what was once a field is now a street full of occupied houses. And we’ve wondered, what does ministry look like for us in our community:

How can we be the kind of neighbors God wants us to be? How can we pursue relationships to whatever degree we’re able, both with those...

3 Questions to Ask Before Applying for Seminary

I am a believer in lifelong learning. I love it. I think it’s incredibly important, and not simply for utilitarian reasons, either. Lifelong learning benefits every aspect of your life, from your finances and relationships to your mental (and possibly even physical) health. That’s a huge part of why I read so much, both fiction and non-fiction. I want to learn about telling better stories. To understand different situations, events, and experiences. To develop new skills and hone existing ones. ...

3 reasons Christians slander one another

I have a confession: I am, on occasion, a doom-scroller. I can easily get sucked into reading nonsense Christians say about one another on Twitter. And I can get riled up really quickly, especially when I see people committing a sin specifically condemned in Scripture: “Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters” (James 4:11a).

And I’m equally tempted to commit that sin myself in response.

The sin of slander

The language James used might read differently depending on what ...

3 Questions to Help Us Deal With Conflict

Conflict is the cultural water in which we swim. It’s what fills the coffers of Facebook, and keeps ratings—and, more importantly, ad revenue—flowing into cable news outlets. And in the war to gain the most attention, the more incendiary we can be, the better.

And while this is the cultural sea we’re swimming in, the church is supposed to be different. The church is meant to be a place that is unlike the rest of the world. The church is people who are unlike one another in so many ways yet br...

One Last Time in Louisville

I’ve been doing the conference rounds every season for the last 11+ years. Whether I’ve been there as an exhibitor or an attendee, they’ve been a huge part of what I do. But conferences are also strange, especially in our ever-divided and still pandemic-y time. They’re always strange, but the current times only make their strangeness more noticeable.

But the latest conference is one that has me feeling this most of all. This week (April 19-21, 2022), I’ll be in Louisville for the final Toget...

The Opportunity of Easter

I love the Bible. That itself is a statement that still blows my mind. If you had told me that I would write that 17 years ago, I would have laughed. In April of 2005, I wasn’t a Christian; that was still a few months away.

But that aside aside, I truly love the Bible. I love when I read it—even during those seasons of life when I’m wildly inconsistent in reading it. I love to teach it and try to make sense of it. And even when that desire to make sense of it leads me to realize just how lit...

Three ways writing less is helping me write better

I write less than I used to. Actually that’s not entirely true. I write articles that people see a lot less than I used to. And I think it has made me a better writer.

My old pattern of writing

Back when the world, or at least this website was new, I published a daily blog post. Every single day, without fail, there was a new post. Most of the time, it was something I was writing entirely. Occasionally, it was a post that was interacting (or sharing) a quote from a book I was reading. The...

Introducing The Non Sequiturs Journal

Life doesn’t always make sense, and that’s okay. If life made sense all the time, I suspect it wouldn’t really be all that normal, would it? Life is always throwing a curveball, often catching us off guard, offering unexpected—and sometimes delightful opportunities.

Today, is one of those days. Today I had hoped to introduce you the book I announced a year ago at this time. Alas, it is not meant to be. That book is still coming, and I’ve got some announcements to share about it soon, but it...