Drew Downs
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Bible Study
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5 min read
It feels like we don’t respect the Bible. We use it as a weapon. As justification. As a tool. We use it as a litmus test and a crutch. We use it as means of separation and as a means of distinction. We use it to gather people to us and to turn them away. Our…
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Adult Formation
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9 min read
A friend recently said that the church is always 10 years behind. When he said this, I nodded as I thought through all the ways we are behind the world. Technology, marketing, human rights, anti-institutionalism, shifting political landscapes, family trends including divorce rates, break-ups, and coupling outside of marriage. I frequently point out that many of…
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Children’s Sermon
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6 min read
I didn’t grow up with a regular children’s sermon. Sometimes, we’d be brought up to the front two pews and there was something, maybe it was a children’s sermon…I know we had picture books. Dad likes to read picture books to the children sometimes. That usually is after finding some new ones at Barnes &…
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Children
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6 min read
Any conversation about children in church must begin with children. I say this knowing that it is rarely the case. Much more likely that we begin with how adults handle children or what adults want for their children or what adults can have without children present. I know that this is a touchy subject. But…
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Sunday School
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6 min read
If you talk to certain people, you would get the impression that children were never in church. That church isn’t really for them, anyway. It’s for adults. Kids need to learn about church before they can be in church, they argue. This certainly is not true. Sunday School was only created at the end of…