God’s Battle for Your Bank Account
Why Bother with the Local Church?
Every earthly kingdom has its own way of doing things, its own customs and policies regarding food, sex, family, and religion. And every kingdom has an economic policy. But when Jesus welcomes us into his alternate kingdom, something strange happens. We discover a whole new world. And we soon discover that Jesus’s kingdom looks different…
Adapted from Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn’t the American Dream, pp. 92-96, 98-99, 120. I had a wonderful upbringing in a godly, Christian family, and I attended Christian schools from first grade through my senior year of college. But despite my parents’ best efforts, like many Western Christians, I somehow absorbed highly…
When Pam’s marriage fell apart in 2015, she was left alone with bills to pay and a grandson depending on her. She paid for what she could, but sometimes it was a struggle. “I was scared,” she says. “I wasn’t making a lot of money at the time, and I didn’t know how to budget…
Excerpted from Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic, Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn’t the American Dream (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2019), 52-55. Humans beings are created to be image bearers. To be an image bearer is to act as a mirror, reflecting the image of whatever god we are worshiping onto the rest…
Across the world on the first day of each week, Christians gather to pray, partake of the Lord’s Supper, perhaps baptize new members into God’s family, read the Scriptures, hear a sermon, and sing. The style of each of these parts of a worship service vary from place to place and tradition to tradition, but…
Chalmers staff member Laura Haley recently sat down with Vicki Conn, Director of Love INC of Greater Holmes County, to discuss her experiences walking with people who are poor. Listen to the interview or read the transcript below! Laura: Today’s audio interview is brought to you by the Chalmers Center. I’m your host, Laura Haley.…
Excerpted from Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic, Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn’t the American Dream (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2019)., 32, 34-35, 39. Stories are powerful. The stories we believe—whether true or false—shape our entire lives, telling us who we are, who we were, and who we are becoming. But what are…
Brian Fikkert recently sat down with our very own Laura Haley to discuss his latest book, Becoming Whole—and how the stories we tell ourselves shape our work with the poor. Listen to the interview or read the transcript below! Laura: When Helping Hurts was released 10 years ago this year. What are some things you’ve…
When I start talking about helping people who are poor, I usually wind up talking about the Kingdom of God. If you’ve read When Helping Hurts or heard me speak, you probably already know that. I can’t help it! It might seem weird for me to talk so much about God’s Kingdom. After all, I’m…
Ronnie Garcia is the senior pastor at Iglesia La Travesía, a Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) church plant in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During his first seven years of ministry there, he focused on establishing an “anchor church” in the city, discipling members of the congregation and developing leaders to plant other churches in Puerto…