But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.  1 Peter 3: 14-16

David A. Gundersen - Apologetic Report
Sunday, 30 September 2018 22:00

Guided Where I Go

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Father, I know that all my life is portioned out for me; The changes that are sure to come, I do not fear to see; I ask thee for a present mind intent on pleasing thee. I would not have the restless will that hurries to and fro, Seeking for some great thing to do … More Guided Where I Go...

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Friday, 28 September 2018 09:13

Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh, and Something Greater than Solomon

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imageThe country has been riveted, conflicted, sorrowful, defiant, and divided as we’ve watched the Senate Judiciary Committee examine the formal allegations of sexual assault made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Judge Kavanaugh is President...

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Thursday, 13 September 2018 22:00

The Heart of Change: Four Emotions We Experience in Transition, and How We Can Respond

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imageSome people love change. Others hate it. For most of us, though, change is both a challenge and an adventure. There are many different kinds of change, of course. Some changes come in the natural progression of life, like moving from one grade to the next. Other changes come from leaders whose...

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Tuesday, 11 September 2018 05:21

Coming Home

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imageThere’s nothing like coming home. Sunday we celebrated our first service back in our church building after being displaced for more than a year. For months this day had been circled on our calendars, and it didn’t disappoint. Doors opened at 9:00am, and people began flooding into the...

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Wednesday, 05 September 2018 22:00

Relaunching in Houston

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imageIt’s been 375 days since floodwaters first slid beneath the doors of our church building in west Houston. Twenty-eight inches later, the adventure had begun. It cost nearly $500,000 just to gut the first floor, and we lost at least $500,000 in contents. Reconstruction has lasted nine months,...

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Thursday, 12 April 2018 10:02

Do Your Best Work in Private

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imageSometimes we wonder how certain people are gifted with greater opportunities to showcase their talents or contribute to a cause or increase their influence. How did someone pick up their work? How did they get connected, recognized, and known? Why are they being asked to step forward and use their...

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Sunday, 08 April 2018 22:00

Four Ways to Drop the Mic

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imageAmerican culture is obsessed with dropping the mic. YouTube is overrun with videos of Shapiro or Colbert or Peterson “destroying” or “embarrassing” or “shutting down” some allegedly outwitted opponent. We love the idea of leaving an adversary speechless,...

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Wednesday, 28 March 2018 22:00

Don’t Give Up

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imageI don’t know what day it will be for you. No one does. But there’s coming a day—it might even be today—when you’ll feel like giving up. I’m not talking about a momentary feeling, a hazy sense of discouragement, a wisp of doubt and trepidation. I’m talking...

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Tuesday, 27 March 2018 02:10

Be Still, My Soul

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I grew up singing the best old hymns of the faith. We sang them so consistently that their lyrics and melodies carved deep ruts in my memory. I couldn’t appreciate their doctrinal strength or poetic beauty as a child or a teenager, but now they resonate at a far deeper level. Now I can...

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Monday, 26 March 2018 04:08

Vision Impossible

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imageLast night was Vision Night at BridgePoint Bible Church. After singing “Amazing Grace” a cappella and hearing a stirring introduction from our Community Life Pastor, I was up. About 250 people were there to seek God’s leading for the future of our church. Earlier in the...

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Monday, 19 March 2018 22:00

Look to the East: 10 Christian Responses to Opposition

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imageOutrage. Fear. Confusion. Anger. Nostalgia. Withdrawal. Many of the ways we Christians respond to opposition are far from ideal. Peter knew what it was like to face opposition, to lash out in anger or draw back in fear, to be restored in love, and then to step out boldly with gospel...

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Thursday, 15 March 2018 01:30

12 Proverbs about Social Media

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Social media didn’t exist when the book of Proverbs was first published. But folly and wisdom did. Here are twelve proverbs, reformatted for our social media age. 1. Joining a stranger’s Facebook argument is like grabbing a stray dog by the ears (26:17). 2. Where there are...

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Wednesday, 07 March 2018 21:00

25 Tips on Writing

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imageIn my former life as a professor, I once spent a week grading 68 undergraduate papers, each 8–10 pages long. In the process, I noticed enough trends that I decided to throw together a series of writing tips. The number came to 25. I was focused on academic writing, but most of the principles...

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Wednesday, 28 February 2018 21:00

Shelter from the Strife

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In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men;  you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues. — Psalm 31:20 Ministry, sadly, can be filled with strife. The thorns of criticism and slander and disunity seem to mark the path of servant leadership....

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Monday, 22 January 2018 21:00

Grey Hair on the Front Lines

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I’m 36 years old, and I’m a new pastor. Our congregation has a lot of senior saints who’ve been faithful to Christ and to our church for decades. I want to maximize their wisdom, honor their legacy, and build on the foundation of all who’ve gone before me. But I also want...

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Thursday, 18 January 2018 21:00

Would You Say That to My Face?

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That thing you just said… would you say that to my face? Would you just drop that link, that GIF, that meme into a personal discussion, like all you need to persuade a fellow adult is a sarcastic five-word comment overlaying a Vin Diesel pic? Would you ever pass by a perfect stranger,...

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Tuesday, 16 January 2018 21:00

Do You Still Know How to Read?

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imageDo you still know how to read? Not just clickbait headlines. Not just sensationalist twenty-click articles. Not just the punchy all-caps lines in GIFs and memes. Not just a slew of video titles in the sidebar. Not just piecemeal Facebook arguments. Not just cable listings and Netflix titles. Not...

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Thursday, 11 January 2018 21:00

To All Who’ve Said Goodbye

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To all who’ve said goodbye to family, friends, and those they hold most dear… To all who’ve left grandmothers and grandfathers growing old, and nieces and nephews growing up… To all who’ve left churches, and ministries, and small groups, and meaningful roles in the...

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Tuesday, 09 January 2018 21:00

What Oprah Told Us About Ourselves

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On Sunday night at The Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey received the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award. Her rousing speech referenced her mother and Sidney Poitier, Recy Taylor and Rosa Parks, and culminated in a house-raising promise to little girls everywhere that the...

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Thursday, 04 January 2018 00:39

Three Qualities of an Effective System

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“Average leaders have quotes. Good leaders have a plan. Exceptional leaders have a system.” Thus says coach Urban Meyer in Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season. Building systems is a vital aspect of leadership. Any team can keep...

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Tuesday, 02 January 2018 07:22

No Small Moments

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I remember the last time I taught Introduction to Biblical Counseling in Rankin 101 on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. I finished the 1-hour 15-minute class, and about a third of the students lined up to say their goodbyes. They knew our family was moving to Houston. Near the end of the line was a...

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Tuesday, 28 November 2017 21:00

Starving to Write

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imageThe person you want to read is the person who’s starving to write. Anyone can string a handful of easy words into a recognizable sentence, like a Scrabble player with no patience. But the sentences you want to read are written by the guy who writes like he always has the impossible Scrabble...

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Saturday, 25 November 2017 21:00

Crawling to Sunday

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Every day, we’re crawling toward Sunday. Because every Sunday, the Christian church the world over gathers to celebrate the life, death, resurrection, and soon return of Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Scripture and prayer, songs and sermons, confession and supplication, joy and lament,...

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Friday, 24 November 2017 21:00

Each Subsequent Word

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There are ways to speak where each subsequent word means less. And there are ways to speak where each subsequent word means more. Society is filled with the former. God would have his people filled with the latter. Which is to say that God would have his people filled with the word of Christ, and...

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Wednesday, 22 November 2017 21:00

Thankful in Houston

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imageThe end of November marks six months we’ve been in Houston. Our kids haven’t completed a grade yet, we’re still looking for a house, and I’m laboring to match names and faces at church. But sometimes it feels like we’ve been here ten years. No one could’ve...

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