S. Michael Craven

When the church, according to Jesus, is living in visible relationship with each other, it is then that the world will know that God the Father has sent the Son. Is this not the desire of every faithful, gospel-centered Christian? Jesus is clearly saying that our visible unity—our relationship to one another—is essential to showing the world that there is a God and He has sent His Son. Read more »

My family and I recently saw The Blind Side, the surprise blockbuster movie that tells the remarkable story of Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher. Michael’s story is a true-life tale of nearly hopeless beginnings, the generous love of neighbor, and redemption; it is a powerful representation of the gospel of the kingdom. Read more »

By the time social issues manifest themselves in the realm of politics, it’s too late—by then you’re fighting from a deficit. The ideas that produced these political points of conflict began long before and the process of affecting real change occurs over a generation or more, not one political term. Read more »

The purpose of the Kingdom Project™ is to help Christian business leaders leverage their business as a redemptive instrument that transforms the culture and gives evidence of God’s in-breaking reign. If you are a business owner or executive who desires to deepen your vocational calling and purpose by seeking to serve the kingdom, you should consider applying for this no-cost, no-commitment opportunity. Read more »

The specific goal of the Kingdom Project™ is to help Christian business/institutional leaders discover how their vocational gifts and their enterprises can tangibly advance the kingdom of God. Why the emphasis on business? Because it is one of the most influential contributors to our culture. Read more »

How did we reach the place of a secularist, anti-Christian culture in America? This ground has not been taken by secularism but rather given as a result of the cultural vacuum created by an impotent and apathetic Church. Read more »

Evidence demonstrates that “once a society’s basic needs—food, shelter, employment—are satisfied, the accumulation of greater and greater wealth does not generate greater collective or personal happiness over the long run.” This is known as the Easterlin Paradox. Read more »

In Corpus Christi, Texas, where my parents live and worship, the Christian community was rocked two years ago by the shocking conviction of Hannah Overton. In an outrageous series of events, this gentle thirty-year-old Christ-follower, wife, and homeschooling mother of five was sentenced to life without parole in the death of four-year-old Andrew Burd. Read more »

As we, once again, approach this national day of “thanksgiving” I thought it necessary to reflect upon our nation’s long history of acknowledging and giving thanks to Almighty God. On October 3, 1789 George Washington issued the nation’s first presidential proclamation in which he called the nation to set aside a day for giving thanks to that “great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be….” Read more »

Saul-turned-Paul’s post-conversion experience was, literally, a shipwreck, having been so privileged on three occasions, together with multiple imprisonments, beatings and floggings. Paul understood that God’s greatest blessing is not a divine exemption from life’s difficulties but, rather, the strength to go through any and every difficulty. Read more »

I have previously argued that we, as a community, have both an interest and responsibility to prepare, promote, and preserve every marriage within the body. There are many factors that contribute to the demise of marriages within the church, but there is one in particular whose virulence and force is made worse by our isolation and indifference to community: pornography. Read more »

As Christians our foremost concern is not the political right or left but the Christian church that is called to bear testimony to the lordship of Jesus Christ. This is why marriage both as an ideal and in reality should matter to the church, because its condition within the body of Christ either serves or opposes the gospel of the kingdom. Read more »

So is it easy to despair? Sure. Is there reason to hope that anything will change? Can the tide of immorality, paganism, and general debauchery that threatens to swamp us even be arrested, much less reversed? Can the moral character of the nation—once rooted in a vigorous Christian faith—be recovered? Read more »

Author Dick Keyes says, “Our fascination with heroes comes from a hunger for excellence. Without heroes the whole source of imaginative motivation is disengaged from life. Without heroes, what will inspire us to go beyond mediocrity and cynicism? What will keep us from becoming bored and boring?” And what do bored people do? They seek after the idols of amusement.” Read more »

The church is not doing enough to prepare couples for covenant marriage. The church must also be prepared to intervene and work to rescue those marriages that come under assault. And we must resolve to wage war against the sin that threatens families. Read more »

The issue of marriage within the church—namely the noticeable lack of distinction between Christian and non-Christian marriage, given our equal propensity to divorce—is not about the preservation of a tradition or institution. The reality of marriage and our apparent lack of respect for that which “God has joined together” ultimately reveals a gaping chasm between biblical Christianity and cultural Christianity that must be closed if the church wants to be faithful to its mission. Read more »

Years ago, a family therapist was asked, “What are the top three causes of divorce?” to which he replied, “Selfishness, selfishness, selfishness!” Of course this is an oversimplification of the varied and many contributing factors to divorce but there is an element of truth in this statement that permeates each. Read more »

There is much consternation over the state of marriage today. The institution itself has suffered serious social diminution—so much so that same-sex marriage appears inevitable. But the blame for this lies less with the culture at large than with the church in America. How so, you ask? Read more »

No-fault divorce is much more than just divorce; it is a legal tyranny that denies the fundamental right of due process to a defendant. Prior to no-fault divorce, the party seeking divorce (plaintiff) was required, by law, to demonstrate cause on the part of the other party (defendant) prior to dissolving the marriage, dividing the family’s assets, and destroying the two-parent structure essential for children. Read more »

Where discipleship precedes conversion it is evangelism; where it follows conversion it serves sanctification. The man or woman moved by God will receive this instruction, becoming a follower of Christ, whereas the natural man will reject these things. We don’t convert people through arguments or persuasion; Christ alone receives credit for the conversion of human souls. Read more »

In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn’t have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision. Read more »