Painting or Palette? Thoughts on Suicide and the Meaning of Life

by Steve Murrell | Blog

NASHVILLE—A few years ago, when my youngest son Jonathan was in high school, I came home and found him painting in our garage. As usual, he was covered in paint, as were several large canvases. I noticed a smaller one that looked like an abstract painting. The colors...

The Pain of Prophetic Preaching

by Steve Murrell | Blog, Church

NASHVILLE—Because I live in two nations, I get to be part of two local churches, one in Manila and one in Nashville. For obvious reasons, Victory Manila is 99% Filipino. For reasons that are not as obvious, Bethel is approximately 55% black (African American and...

Whoever Strikes First

by Steve Murrell | Blog, Leadership

LONDON—Deborah and I are in London this week for our annual Every Nation International Apostolic Team (IAT) meeting and Every Nation’s Build Conference for Europe. Every year, our regional team leaders from every region of the world gather together to...

Should the Church be More Inclusive or Exclusive?

by Steve Murrell | Blog, Church

NASHVILLE—One of the biggest challenges that Christians face today is reconciling the seemingly exclusive claims of Jesus with the postmodern cultural value of inclusivity. Whether you are at a Starbucks or a law firm, a university campus or a preschool, inclusivity...

The Necessity of the Cross

by Steve Murrell | Blog

NASHVILLE — For almost a month, I have been blogging about the importance of preaching (and singing) the cross. But as we begin Holy Week, I want to take a closer look at the importance of the cross itself. When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, just a few hours...

Singing the Cross

by Steve Murrell | Blog, Church, Worship

MANILA — A few days ago, I retweeted this quote from theologian and New Testament scholar Gordon Fee: “Show me a church’s music, and I’ll show you their theology.” The sobering implication is this: your church’s theology will more closely mirror the music you sing...