Spiritual But Not Useless
By 1517 Guest Contributor
09/18/25
11mins

Spiritual But Not Useless

Christian spirituality is not a flight from the world, but a deep dive into its brokenness.
When Silence Speaks: A Christian Call to Restraint in the Age of Opinions
Ryan Couch
Ryan Couch
09/17/25

When Silence Speaks: A Christian Call to Restraint in the Age of Opinions

At the end of the day, what do you want to be known for? Your opinions, or your Savior?
The Assassination of Charlie Kirk and the Promise of Christian Suffering
Caleb Keith
Caleb Keith
09/16/25

The Assassination of Charlie Kirk and the Promise of Christian Suffering

Charlie Kirk’s murder is a reminder that Christians will be hated for what we believe, teach, and confess about this sinful world and because of the God who has died and risen to save it.

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/17/19

Not Your Typical Virgin Birth Story

Mary’s virginity has to do with the story of a jackass king, two growling enemies, a young lady, and a big, bad Assyrian dog.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/12/19

Let This Little Nine-Year-Old Preach Round the World

If you're blocking Jesus, then for the love of God, get out of the way. Let Jesus show.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/10/19

The Anti-Self-Help Prophet

In the wilderness, God reaches down to show us that the only life is in one place: where there is water.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/04/19

Does Christmas Pass the “Smell Test” for Paganism?

There is no evidence whatsoever that Christmas was or is, by some outlandish stretch of the imagination, a pagan holiday, or a semi-pagan holiday, or that it doesn’t pass the “smell test” for paganism.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/30/19

The Thieving Christ

Come, Lord Jesus, and steal our navel-gazing worship, and replace it with love for our adversaries, ears to listen and mouths to shut up, and hearts brimming with compassion for all.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/28/19

A Hebrew Twist on Thanksgiving

Any day of thanksgiving is a confessional day—a day of expressing a short creed that sums up our entire existence: God gives, we receive. Thanksgiving as a day of confession becomes very obvious when we look at it from a Hebrew perspective.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/26/19

The God I Don't Believe In

When I hear people describe the god they don’t believe in, no longer believe in, or can’t bring themselves to believe in, I often nod in agreement. Yes, as a follower of Jesus, I do not and would not believe in that god either.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/20/19

The Preaching Thief on the Cross

The kingdom of God is not a place, a thing, a concept, a philosophy, a spiritual force, or a state of being. The kingdom of God is a person.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/14/19

How Do I Know I'm a Christian?

Look inside yourself to answer, “Are you a Christian?” and what will you find?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/07/19

Dear God, Leave Me Alone

David and Job both know that prayer puts a cigarette lighter to all prim and proper books of religious etiquette. It is honest. Heated. Emotional. Raw. And the psalms are packed with it.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/31/19

Church Trash, Cotton Candy Spiritualism, and God's Ongoing Reformation

All major and minor reformations happen not because people react but because God acts. He reforms. He looks down from heaven, has mercy upon his starving children, and ends the famine of the Word by sending the rain of the Gospel.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/28/19

You Can’t Be Late to Church—Here’s Why

We show up to this crowded sacred shindig on Sundays, all wings and halos and blue jeans, and shimmy our way into the sanctuary, late to church but not late to church, for how can we be late to a service that never ends?
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