Jeff Goins
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Originally from northern IL, Jeff Goins lives in Nashville, TN with his wife and dog.

  • Tuxedoes and Missionaries: Do the Two Mix?

    December 11th, 201103:47 PM ET
    By Jeff Goins
    "Why y'all dressed up?" the African-American man asked me, waiting for his drink at the bar. "We're missionaries," I said, unbuttoning the coat of my tuxedo and leaning on the bar. "Y'all are missionaries?" he asked, his eyes wide as he sipped his martini. "Yep." I couldn't help but grin. I looked around to see if anyone else was nearby. Nope. I...

  • Thoughts on Advent (and Christmas)

    December 07th, 201005:28 PM ET
    By Jeff Goins
    We evangelicals don't do a very good job of celebrating Advent, something many mainline denominations and the Catholics have been doing for quite some time now. But recently, I've fallen more in love with the liturgical calendar. I've come to relish the importance of the seasons of Advent and Lent and the symbolism they represent. I love that they...

  • Is Christianity About Going to Heaven?

    October 13th, 201011:05 PM ET
    By Jeff Goins
    Lately, I've been hearing people talk a lot about Christianity in terms of dying and going to heaven. It's especially prevalent from the evangelical pulpit. You hear things like, "When we go to heaven..." or "In heaven..." -- phrases that are usually followed by some great human conflict resolved. But I'm struggling with this paradigm. I fail to s...

  • Jesus and the Good News about Suffering

    June 18th, 201009:56 AM ET
    By Jeff Goins
    It's about time that we in America were a little more honest -- about life and about our spirituality. Let's face it: life is hard. There are lay-offs and kids with runny noses and sleepless nights and stupid bosses. This should be no surprise to you that times can be tough. No, that's not to say that every day is an insurmountable challenge to o...

  • Is the Gospel of Jesus Still Relevant?

    June 19th, 200906:18 AM ET
    By Jeff Goins
    I recently had a debate with a friend, regarding sharing the gospel and cultural relevance. He asked me, "What's the worst that could happen if you unwaveringly shared the gospel with someone, not caring about being sensitive to their situation or culturally relevant?" His reasoning was sound, and it challenged me. I had grown up in an irreligious...

  • Why Discomfort Is Not a Christian's Enemy

    March 29th, 200903:31 PM ET
    By Jeff Goins
    Today at church, we had a discussion about praying "dangerous prayers." A few people in the class admitted that they were afraid of asking God to do certain things in their lives, because they didn't trust him. This is a pretty bold and unapologetically honest group, so I appreciated the candor. We talked about how tough it is to trust God sometim...

  • What Does Missional Mean?

    January 31st, 200910:50 AM ET
    By Jeff Goins
    There is a lot of talk in churches and in the blogosphere these days about being "missional." We used to call it being "outreach-oriented," but now there's this new buzzword: missional. It sounds cool, but what, exactly, does it mean to be missional? One blogger explained being missional like this: There was a day when people believed in i...

  • Revolutions and Kingdoms: Why Jesus was more than a revolutionary

    January 14th, 200903:45 PM ET
    By Jeff Goins
    There is a major difference between a revolution and a kingdom. Revolutions come and go every few decades. Kingdoms often last for centuries. Every generation seems to have its own revolution of sorts, but when was the last time a generation established an entirely new kingdom? It takes a lot of gumption to turn a revolution into a kingdom. There...
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About this blog
An ongoing discussion on the current state of the Church in America, how it got there, and where it is going. This blog will tackle tough issues for the Church in uncompromising terms while continuing to meet the challenges posed by a widening body of unbelievers.