Love is a big word in everyone's vocabulary, but not everyone means the same thing when we use the word. Indeed, the modern world has adopted a notion of love that is completely different from the love taught and modeled by Jesus Christ.

Modern and postmodern thinkers differ in their approaches to education. The differences are reflected in their beliefs, goals and values.

A chart outlining the basic differences between modernism, postmodernism, and Biblical theism and how they see human nature, free will, reason, etc.

God calls on Christians to disclose their problems to one another (Gal 6:2; Jas 5:16). But is it ever right to discuss another’s problem with a third party? The Bible lays out key principles, the biggest being love. The best way to love someone is not one-size fits all. Believers are supposed to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading while growing in their own discernment.

This paper seeks to unite sending churches, mission organizations and field teams on the nature and extent of contextualization among Muslims. We believe that the strongly held consensus of these three parties is essential to long-term effectiveness. We consider models of contextualization as it relates to Islam, critical problems with these models, and strategic application of the model we advocate.

Covenantal Theology is typical of reformed theologians. This includes the Reformed and Christian Reformed, the Presbyterian, the Anglican (or Episcopal), and to some extent, the Lutheran. The Catholics also recognize the same approximate divisions of scriptural history, while differing on the question of man's responsibility in the covenant of grace. Taken together then, the covenantal view must be considered by far and away the predominant view.

The dispensational view is of more recent origin, arising from the evangelical awakening in American and England. Through the work of Jesse Penn-Lewis, T. Austin Sparks, J.N. Darby (who is given credit for formally bringing the view to light), Dwight Moody, C.I. Scofield (who included it in the Scofield Bible), Watchman Nee, and Lewis Sperry Chaffer, this view has become widespread and popular today. It is the view of most pentecostals, Brethren, many Baptists, and most independent Bible churches.

Christian workers who actively engage in invading the world system are well aware of the need for toughness. Those who think they can accomplish God's agenda as soft, or weak people are in for a surprise: Christian work is rough!

Paul characterizes serving God as a spiritual war (Ephesians 6:12). In other passages, he compares the rigors of serving God to the pain, discipline, and self-denial experienced by athletes (1 Corinthians 9:25). He reminds younger workers that reaping a harvest for God takes as much hard work, patience, and persistence as farming (2 Timothy 2:6). Jesus warned that following him in radical discipleship meant first shouldering your cross (Luke 9:23).

Gary Frieson's book by this title is controversial, and, in our view, extreme. The following points represent a measure of agreement as well as difference. We advance these points for discussion and debate.

The notion that leadership neglect is abuse, for instance, suggests an understanding of leadership that is analogous to parents and children. This is out of order. Children are entirely dependent on their parents, and must be supervised closely at all times. Therefore neglecting them is abusive. This argument cannot be applied to church leaders and their members without accepting a dependency model that conforms somewhat to the descriptions of addiction in Toxic Faith.

The biggest problem with many of us is that we are soft from too much success. We are like a child riding a bike on training wheels who thinks he has actually learned to ride. His parents warn him, "It's a little harder when you take the wheels off," but until you actually do take them off, the kid continues to enjoy a false sense of mastery. Once the wheels come off, the child may have to endure a few nasty crashes that could lead to tears, and even a refusal to ride anymore. But without removing the wheels, he will never learn to ride.