HNW Blog

Meet Rose Rodriguez
November 21st, 2023
Serving students provides us with a front-row seat to watching young people grow in their relationship with Jesus. ...
Important Days by Steve Bezner
February 9th, 2023
Certain days change your life. And other days help you understand the change. February 9th, 1996 was a day that changed both me and Joy. ...
Ministry in a Post-Roe World by Steve Bezner
June 24th, 2022
Just hours ago, the Supreme Court officially handed down a ruling that effectively overturns the legal precedent set by Roe v. Wade, meaning that abortion laws must be determined by individual states, barring a law passed by Congress. Christians and churches historically have opposed abortion, focusing the bulk of their legal and political energies on Roe. (I wrote about that historical and theolo...
On Christians and Abortion by Steve Bezner
June 24th, 2022
This morning the Supreme Court handed down a ruling effectively overturning the fifty year-old precedent of Roe v. Wade and thereby sending abortion laws back to the individual states. I wrote these thoughts regarding Christians and abortion in 2015. (Original link here.) I’ve edited this version some. I hope to come back shortly with thoughts on how the church should proceed in a post-Roe world.*...
When Evil Visits by Steve Bezner
June 22nd, 2022
Evil in the world is far worse than any fairy tale villain.Evil is real. And it will come calling.You might bristle at the thought. You may not have experienced evil firsthand. But millions of our neighbors have no such luxury. Those in Ukraine who have seen their nation razed by Russian artillery know that Putin is an evil man. Those in Uvalde who grieve the loss of grade schoolers murdered know ...
When You Feel Like A Failure by Steve Bezner
April 27th, 2022
Memory is a cruel mistress.When I was in seventh grade, I tried to be funny. It failed. I still physically wince when I remember what I said in front of my friends. It was not funny. It was awkward, at best. More honestly, it was terrible. Offensive, even. I still can’t believe I said those words.Even odder is that I still remember it. I regretted the words the moment they left my mouth, and now, ...
Stop Being Productive by Steve Bezner
April 12th, 2022
I have chased a desire to be remembered, to be admired, to have my name on the spine of a book that someone might read a hundred years hence. I have yearned for permanence, to live beyond my body, for people to seek out my words, my thoughts. I have sought immortality—not spiritually, but to achieve a sort of legendary status among people.I share this as a confession. I am not proud of this fact. ...
When Holiness Seems Pointless by Steve Bezner
February 18th, 2022
“Do not quench the Spirit.”—1 Thessalonians 5:19Somewhere along the way, holiness lost its luster.The priests in the Bible wore a sign on their foreheads inscribed with the words, “Holy Unto the Lord.” The wording made it plain—the priests were to do the work of the Lord, and to do his work alone.When I was younger in the faith and in life, I took this understanding of holine......
When You Are Tired by Steve Bezner
January 29th, 2022
I do believe; help my unbelief!—Mark 9:24I wanted to quit in June of 2020. I was tired, for a number of reasons. Our church had just emerged from a 26 month-long rebuilding process in the wake of a hurricane. Our campus was devastated (along with the neighborhood). COVID argumentation was at its peak. George Floyd’s death sparked a national response. It was an election year, and rhetoric was heate...
When You Feel Hard-Hearted by Steve Bezner
January 21st, 2022
But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.—Revelation 2:4The world feels harder these days.I don’t use the word “harder” in the sense of more difficult, although you could certainly make that argument. I use “harder” to mean cynical, grizzled, and suspicious. We are, on the whole, meaner these days—hardened by two years of pandemic living, partisan division, and pla...

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