blog

Ministries are now taking steps to help church members with disabilities feel included and part of community.

Ellen Stumbo is a writer, national speaker, pastor’s wife and ministry leader. She’s also the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome and an adopted daughter with cerebral palsy. 

In our current culture of pluralism and individuality, a fair amount of controversy surrounds church, who leaves and why they leave.

Nothing seems more undesirable than hard times and unanswered questions, but God always has a plan and purpose for these moments in his children’s lives.

Disappointment seems like the gateway emotion to a lot of worse ones: bitterness, anger, depression and more. By that logic, God wouldn’t want Christians to experience disappointment. Why expose us to what only breeds bad things in our hearts?

The only problem is that Jesus regularly disappointed people.

God brought one young woman out of a seemingly hopeless spiral and then blessed her with an incredible surprise.

Ashley was a cheerleader at her high school. Popular, pretty, she had ambitious dreams for a future in the medical field.

Life was buzzing right along between her family and friends, figuring out who was secretly crushing on whom, prepping for the next prom and keeping abreast of the most recent gossip about that hot new kid in her class.

Syria is now the questionable home to mothers and children who are either forgotten, ignored or condemned.

“There’s only one exit,” our guide tells us at the place where we’re staying. “If you need to evacuate, don’t turn left outside. That part of the street belongs to Assad.”

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11 ESV).

In her 2011 book, Ellen DeGeneres said, "…the key to happiness is being happy by yourself and for yourself. Happiness comes from within. You have the power to change your own mindset so that all the negative, horrible thoughts that try to invade your psyche are replaced with happy, positive, wonderful thoughts."

A battle with mental health can already feel like a lonely one, but when God doesn’t miraculously free us from it, the question “Why?” inevitable rises.

The callings of God on our lives can seem impossible, but one girl’s story is a testament to God laying out his path before us.

Back in 2017, I was napping and had a vision. It was so vivid, I don’t know what else to call it. I saw myself in front of a board meeting, and I was talking to them about kids and fund raising.

I woke up and quickly said, “God, that’s not me. That’s my brother.”

Pummeled with constant news about crises, it becomes tempting to simply ignore the persecution of our brothers and sisters around the world.

In a sermon at Times Square Church, Pastor Carter Conlon pointed out, “Many today find themselves journeying through this season of despair….

In an age of social media confessions and “tell-all” memoirs, we must ask ourselves what true vulnerability is and why it’s important.

In the opening lines of the Beatitudes, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”