In his quest to live forever, multimillionaire tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson has spent more than $4 million developing a life-extension system he calls Blueprint. But one expert said, “If you want immortality, you should go to a church.” Johnson is passionately pursuing an idea at the cost of other priorities and values. As Christians, are we doing the same in passionately pursuing the kind of life and influence embodied by Jesus Christ? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscrib...
Sep 21, 2023•7 min
A man in Jacksonville, Florida, held signs reminding others of their worth during National Suicide Prevention Month, a reminder we all need as the number of deaths by suicide in the US has increased in the last year to its highest rate ever. What can we do to make a practical difference in our hurting world? One biblical answer is both counterintuitive and countercultural, but it offers hope we can embrace and share with those who need it most today. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elki...
Sep 20, 2023•8 min
Five thousand people attended a worship service at Auburn University last week. When a student wanted to be baptized, a crowd gathered at a nearby lake—and roughly two hundred people gave their lives to Christ and were baptized. The act of baptism visibly sets Christians apart from the world. How else can we live in ways that are so different from our fallen culture as to be both distinctive and attractive? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/su...
Sep 19, 2023•8 min
The number of people in the US living to at least one hundred years old has doubled over the last decade. The reason may surprise you, and this reason leads Dr. Jim Denison to wonder if the same trait holds true for the longevity of a nation. The Lord said of ancient Israel, “My people did not listen to my voice” (Psalm 81:11), “so I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels” (v. 12). Is America following the same path? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins ...
Sep 18, 2023•7 min
As Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un meet to discuss exchanging weapons for rockets, Russia has also stepped up its efforts to silence critics within the church. What can those actions teach us about how to truly “honor the emperor” without prioritizing the government over the gospel? Author: Ryan Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/russian-pastor-yuri-sipko-wanted-by-russia/...
Sep 15, 2023•7 min
In the first eleven days of September, eight devastating flood events unfolded on four continents. The US has already set a record for billion-dollar weather disasters in a year, with four months still to go. Meanwhile, Apple’s latest product-launch event unveiled even more sophisticated innovations. But all that such high tech can do about the weather is to report the present and attempt to predict the future. Nothing we have invented can deter nature’s unbridled power and ferocity, proving eve...
Sep 14, 2023•7 min
Were the wildfires on Maui the result of a secret “weather weapon” being tested by the US? Should money being spent on the war in Ukraine be spent at home for disaster relief instead? If you believe the disinformation campaigns currently being waged by China and Russia, you’re likely to say yes to both questions. In this day of AI-generated fake videos, images, and stories, we can expect the problem of fake news to escalate. But there’s an even more significant narrative at work here. Author: Ji...
Sep 13, 2023•7 min
This morning, millions know what happened to Jets QB Aaron Rodgers. Fewer—but possibly still millions—know what happened to Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler. Both men are in the news because they’re celebrities and their experiences make headlines. By contrast, some of the most significant events of our lives can become routine over time and lose their apparent urgency, like the 9/11 attacks. Today, let’s consider one more normalized casualty of the worst terrorist attack in American history: ...
Sep 12, 2023•7 min
As two new victims of the 9/11 attacks have been identified on this twenty-second anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, Dr. Denison reflects on three attributes of God that are relevant today: his empathy in our grief, his reason in our confusion, and his hope in our fear. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so how can we best live for God today? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonfor...
Sep 11, 2023•7 min
While this Sunday marks the start of the NFL’s regular season for most teams—an unofficial holiday for many football fans—it has the potential to be life-changing for reasons that have little to do with sports. September 10 is also World Suicide Prevention Day, and a number of organizations are partnering to use the NFL's platform to help speak to people who might be thinking about taking their own life. They have much to teach us about both the urgency of this issue and our ability to help. Aut...
Sep 08, 2023•8 min
Five-year-old Edison Juel of Seattle raised $17,000 for Lahaina relief through his lemonade stand. His heart for generosity and helping others is a life principle worth considering, especially as our culture becomes increasingly anti-religion. When we can help others by sharing our faith, how can we as Christians defend our faith without becoming defensive or taking up arms in the culture wars? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read ...
Sep 07, 2023•8 min
Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks, who specializes in happiness studies, explained in a recent Harvard Business Review interview that our collective happiness “took a real big dip when social media came along” and was further exacerbated by the coronavirus. So how do we fix that? For Christians, the answer lies in knowing the difference between means as ends and means to an eternal end. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Dai...
Sep 06, 2023•6 min
How did the tradition that you can’t wear white after Labor Day begin? And what does it say about our culture that the tradition no longer holds as much sway? In other news, China has fallen on significant economic hard times in recent years. If that can happen to such a world superpower, should America still feel confident about its present and future? And what role should we play as Christians in our secularized, post-Christian nation? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe:...
Sep 05, 2023•6 min
Singer-songwriter and entrepreneur Jimmy Buffett died Friday at 76 from Merkel cell skin cancer. And Sarah Young, author of the popular “Jesus Calling” devotional, died last Thursday after suffering from various illnesses for years. When famous people die, we can’t help but consider our own mortality and the legacy we’ll leave when we pass. How should your belief in God and heaven empower your work on earth today? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum...
Sep 04, 2023•7 min
Across much of this week, the focus has been on how natural disasters like Hurricane Idalia can lead us to question God's goodness and force us to wrestle with the existence of suffering in this world. Today, let’s continue that discussion by taking it a step further to discuss why such suffering is not only redeemable but necessary in light of God's goodness. Author: Ryan Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read today's Daily Article: https://www...
Sep 01, 2023•6 min
Hurricane Idalia slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area yesterday morning. Some residents who chose to ride out the storm at home had to “swim out of their windows” to escape waves of water crashing through their front doors. In other news, a fire ripped through a rundown five-story building in Johannesburg, South Africa, killing at least seventy-three people as of this morning. And today is the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death in 1997 at the age of thirty-six. The day’s news so often asks us...
Aug 31, 2023•6 min
Hurricane Idalia strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm early this morning and is expected to make landfall soon on the Big Bend region of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The National Weather Service predicts the storm will “likely be an unprecedented event” for the area, noting that no major hurricanes have struck this region in recorded history and adding, “When you try to compare this storm to others, DON’T. No one has seen this.” In the face of disaster, it is human nature to turn instinctively...
Aug 30, 2023•7 min
Idalia has strengthened to hurricane force and is expected to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast tomorrow as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. On this day in 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, resulting in 1,800 lives lost. Natural catastrophes like hurricanes starkly remind us of our mortality, and Christians and non-Christians often minimize the fact of death. So how can we best maximize our time on earth to God’s glory? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.de...
Aug 29, 2023•8 min
Sixty years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famed “I Have A Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as part of the March on Washington. Last Saturday, thousands of Americans gathered in our nation’s capital to commemorate the event. The same day, a white gunman killed three Black people in a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, before shooting himself. The Jacksonville sheriff told a press conference, “This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Bl...
Aug 28, 2023•8 min
The Los Angeles Dodgers recently held their first Christian Faith and Family Day since 2019, featuring the likes of actor Chris Pratt, pitcher Clayton Kershaw, manager Dave Roberts, and singer Jeremy Camp. Eighteen Major League teams host similar Faith and Family nights. While the details can vary from place to place, they continue a decades-long tradition, one that still has a lot to teach us today. Author: Ryan Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscrib...
Aug 25, 2023•7 min
The first presidential debate of the 2024 election was held last night. In light of this political season, let’s consider three relevant questions for us as Christians: What biblical principles guide our political engagement? How should we treat those with whom we disagree politically? Can politics become an idol? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/gop-rivals-debated-l...
Aug 24, 2023•7 min
In the last month, commercial airlines have experienced 46 close calls, a notable increase—and a reminder of both our human imperfection and finitude. Dr. Denison then turns to a discussion of AI, the greatness of God, and why being “good enough” actually isn’t good enough for us as Christians seeking to change the culture. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/airline-cl...
Aug 23, 2023•7 min
Security camera footage reveals what may have started the wildfires in Hawaii that have since claimed the lives of 114 people—sobering proof that seemingly insignificant events can quickly turn tragic. The same cause-and-effect can occur in our body politic as well. For instance, the moral condition of a people determines their destiny. Is this good news for America? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://w...
Aug 22, 2023•8 min
Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall over Mexico’s Baja California peninsula shortly before noon yesterday. Thousands of people across Southern California have lost power. On the same day, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake struck eighty miles northwest of Los Angeles. As we pray for those affected by these calamities and challenges, we’re reminded of the cultural and spiritual principles at work in these disasters. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/su...
Aug 21, 2023•7 min
Michael Oher went from a football star to a national celebrity after “The Blind Side” took his inspirational story and put it on the big screen. Recent reports, however, call into question the truth of the tale many of us wanted to believe. Author: Ryan Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/michael-oher-the-blind-side-sues-tuohy-family/...
Aug 18, 2023•7 min
Eddie McCarthy, a high school math teacher in Toledo, Ohio, donated a kidney to Roman McCormick, one of his geometry students. Such altruism is newsworthy because it seems increasingly rare. In “How America Got Mean,” NYT columnist David Brooks discusses how the US became “a society that’s terrible at moral transformation.” And his points were reiterated to Dr. Jim Denison during a recent, surprising conversation with a cashier about why she doesn’t like working shifts on Sunday mornings. Author...
Aug 17, 2023•8 min
Parents from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish backgrounds in Montgomery County, Maryland, have brought a lawsuit against the district seeking to shield their children from sexual LGBTQ materials. But the culture wars know no geographical boundaries. Activists want to normalize and legalize LGBTQ behavior across the country while stigmatizing and criminalizing opposition wherever it exists. This is why Christians need a way to resist our secularized, anti-Christian culture while impacting our nation...
Aug 16, 2023•7 min
Yesterday, a grand jury in Atlanta charged former president Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and other allies with operating a criminal enterprise that attempted to overturn Joe Biden’s electoral victory in Georgia. The unprecedented indictments mean that our democracy is on unprecedented political ground with an uncertain future. How should we as culture-changing Christians move forward? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily ...
Aug 15, 2023•7 min
About 49,500 people died by suicide last year in the US, the highest number ever. This comes to 135 per day. The recent apparent death by suicide of a beloved pastor in Texas made the issue more real for me. It caused me to reflect on other pastors I’ve known over the years who died in the same way. And to relive memorial services I have conducted for suicide victims and their families, among the most painful experiences of my life. These reflections raise a formative question: Does our faith he...
Aug 14, 2023•8 min
With a death toll expected to rise, at least 55 people have died as a result of wildfires in Hawaii. The scenic, historic town of Lahaina on the island of Maui was engulfed in flames, and many reportedly dove into the sea to escape the fires. The tragic story caused Dr. Jim Denison to ask: Why don’t we pray for miracles as often as we should? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily...
Aug 11, 2023•6 min
