Christian Life
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Regaining a Sense of the Kingdom, A Way Forward
by Alexei Laushkin Yesterday I gave a mostly political analysis on the state of the white Evangelical and Pentecostal community as it relates to 2017 and the President. I also addressed a bit of the significant response from African American, Hispanic, and Asian American Evangelicals and Pentecostals. Today, I want to shift gears and talk…
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A Christmas Prayer for Troubling Times
by Alexei Laushkin In the coming days we will celebrate the birth of our Savior. There are few songs more poignant to the Season than “Silent Night” and if we’re lucky we may get an add in with these lines: peace, peace, peace on earth and good will to all this is a time for…
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The Sin of Christian Disunity
by Alexei Laushkin In the Fall of 2017, KMS participated in and hosted various events to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. Many of these events used the series This Changed Everything to help be an anchor for discussion. As an aside, the series includes Bishop Robert Barron of Word on Fire, Michael Horton of the White Horse Inn and several others. There are few…
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Why We Are Working on Medicaid
by Alexei Laushkin The church has historically been engaged in caring for the medical needs of the poor. In fact, missions to the poor have often been the catalyst for Christian movements across the ages. From St. Francis to John Wesley to the Salvation Army many of the great movements of Christianity have been dedicated…
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St. Francis and the Freedom to Follow Christ
by Alexei Laushkin I can remember on my most recent trip to Assisi spending an afternoon climbing from the valley up to the main basilica. That journey from valley to summit is I think the arduous journey that God’s people are currently on. Climbing upwards toward the heavenly city, seeking to leave and turn from…
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Reflecting on the week of Christian Unity
by Alexei Laushkin God often meets us in unexpected ways. As we pray, advocate, reflect, and engage we are shaped by our experiences and time spent doing kingdom work. Two points of reflection. Last Tuesday I was part of a prayer service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Kingdom Mission Society (KMS) had…
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Thanksgiving as a Christian Discipline
by Alexei Laushkin Thanksgiving around a common table. There are very few moments in American culture where we gather around a common table and spend time with family near and far. Spend time with those we are close to and those we aren’t close to. Time with those we love and those we do not…
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A Brief Lament for 2016
by Alexei Laushkin The 2016 election was deeply troubling for me as a Christian, and post 2016 looks to be more of the same. The same kind of tension between our cities and our rural areas, between our neighbors around ethnic and cultural lines, and in our politics, where our ability to talk to each…
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Aiming for Higher Ground
by Alexei Laushkin Hymn writing has fascinating origins. Take this hymn by Johnson Oatman Jr. (1856-1926). He’s a clergyman from New Jersey, a bit of a journeyman as a pastor but wrote over 3,000 hymns. As the debates were starting last night. One of his more famous ones caught my attention. I’m referring to “I’m…
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Hope in the Midst of Troubling Times
by Alexei Laushkin You can watch events in Tulsa, Oklahoma or events at Hofstra University with the first debate and feel a bit hopeless. Perhaps God is actually judging America. People who aren’t prone to such language, find themselves wondering, surely now it is our turn to understand how far we have fallen. What is…