The Catholic church has been a massive influence on religion and even on pop culture throughout the world for longer than most people can remember.  

The Protestant Reformation of the 1500's caused a significant split in the church with many choosing to leave the organized Catholic church and plant various other "Protestant" churches.  

Martin Luther is widely accredited with starting the Protestant Reformation with his "95 Theses" which he nailed to the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517.  (Next year is the 500th aniversary) This document, composed in Latin, challenged the Popes authority and the churches selling of indulgences among other things.  

Luther's attempt to reform the Catholic church led to his excommunication and separation from the church and ultimately the creation of a new kind of church called the Protestant church.  The Protestant movement has led to many different denominations including but not limited to Baptists, Anabaptists, Calvanists, Lutherans, Methodists, and Pentacostals.  

Many popular church denominations today have originated from this Protestant movement and still hold to the positions that Luther and others like him espoused.  

The Catholic church has resisted many of the changes that Luther recommended and has held to the many of the original traditions and practices but both groups have evolved slightly over the years.  

This massive split within Christendom has led many people to ask, Who's right?  Is Catholicism a truer expression of Christianity than Protestantism? Are Catholics even Christian? Are Protestants?  If I choose to follow Jesus, will I be better off following him in a Catholic church or a Protestant church?  Does it even matter?  What are the actual differences between the two?

If you have questions about Protestantism or Catholicism, you are in luck.  Pastor Brian Reed gave a seminar which you can listen to here.  Also feel free to follow along with the downloadable notes.  

Understanding Hell is a big part of understanding God, ourselves, and our purpose on earth.  The things we believe about God must be reconciled with the things we believe about hell and those beliefs color the way that we live our life.  

The Bible has a surprising amount of information about the afterlife but it's not exactly easy to understand.  Apocalyptic literature is often hyperbolic and figurative.  It often leaves us with more questions than answers. 

Is hell an actual lake of fire?  Is it a physical place?  If it is physical, where is it?  If it's not physical, what is it?  What does the Bible actually say about hell?

If God is good, how does a place like hell even exist?  What moral purpose does eternal torture serve?  How could a person blissfully enjoy heaven, knowing that some of their loved ones may be in Hell? 

If you have questions about hell, you are in luck.  Download the free ebook now or listen to the simar by clicking below. 

In the last couple years the church has seen a massive decline in attendace, especially from Millenials.  

Many have left to get away from conservative values that they don't find personally relevant.  

Others have left due to hurt or or dissolusionment with church as an establishment.  

Some of us have just gotten busy.  Between work, school, dating, and friends something had to get dropped and church just wasn't the priority.  

The list of reasons to not go to church could go on forever but rather than focus on the reasons not to go.  What if we examine a couple reasons to go. 

Why should a 20 something go to church?  Maybe to hear a sermon but the internet has given us access to a huge amount of sermon content that we can consume from anywhere in the world.  

Mybe it's to worship, but technically, we can do that pretty much anywhere too.  

So why go?  

In his sermon titled, "Half bald, Half Smart" Andrew Linderer talks about the 3 reasons that we should all go to church.  Check out the preview below or find the full sermon here. 

Have you ever wondered what Heaven will be like? 

Cartoon images of naked angels floating arround on clouds playing harps can't be a real thing.  And if it is do we really want to go?  

The concept of a beautiful place in the sky where all the nice people who ate their vegetables go when they die can be comforting for some but for others it just seems way too fairy tale.  The idea of heaven and hell seems like a thing invented by frustrated parents trying to persuade thier kids to not act like demons.  

Almost all cultures and religions have a beliefe about the after life or the beyond.  There are themes that seem to cross generational and cultural boundaries when it comes to beliefs about heaven but is there anything that we can actually know for sure?  I mean, once you do know for sure, you can't really tell the people that don't know.  Or maybe you can but who's going to believe a ghost?

The Bible actually has a lot to say about heaven.  While it wont answer all the questions, it can give us a pretty good start.  If you are interested in hearing what the Bible says about Heaven, check out this  seminar by Pastor Brian Reed titled, "What the Bible Actually Says about Heaven", or download the eBook. 

The arguments about seperation of church and state and the attacks from both the religious right and the non-religious left are rediculous.  

With Politics constantly raging many conservatives claim that our country was founded as a Christian Nation and that we ought to return to that glorious ideal. 

But was it really?  

Were the founding fathers trying to establish a Christian Nation?  Did they actually believe in the Judeo-Christian faith and call themselves Christian?  Would they have fought the same battles that modern conservatives chose to fight? 

If they were Christians, what does that prove?  If America was founded as a Christian nation, is it still?  If it's not, but it used to be,  do we really want to go back to how it was in America's early history that just so happens to also be marked by slavery, war, and various other hardships? 

​What if the founding fathers weren't actually Christians?  Does that change America?  How should we live now if America isn't or wasn't a Christian nation?

If these questions interest you, take a seccond to check out the new eBook by pastor Brian Reed.  It it you will find an overview of 12 of the founding fathers including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.  The eBook provides a bulleted list of facts about each man as well as quotes that indicate his beliefe system.  The eBook is based on Pastor Brians seminar titled, "In what sense can we speak of America as a 'Christian Nation'"?

You can download the eBook here.


If you enjoyed this post, you may also like this one titled "How should Christians Relate to Government" 

The single best way to ruin a dinner party is to bring up either religion or politics.  If you really want to cause a rukus, bring up both.  

These topics are emotionally charged, and intelectually complex.  For Christians, they create questions that are foundational to our worldview and to our understanding of how we ought to live like Christ.  

How should Christians relate to Government? Should we embrace government?  Should we pursue political careers?  Should we avoid government altogether or even fight for the seperation of church and state in an effort to protect what is Holy?  

These foundational questions affect how we answer the more practical questions like: How should we vote?  Who should we vote for?  Is it ever okay to dissobey the government?  What do we think about Police?   

The bad news is that answering the questions about Christians and Government doesn't come easy.  Historically, Christians have been on both sides of the "church and state" fence.  Some have even built new fences and set up camp in completely different places.

The Good news is that Pastor Brian Reed has developed a resource that can help.    

In this seminar and downloadable eBook Pastor Brian examines the 5 most popular approaches to Christians in Government and then walks through the relevant Biblical passages leaving you with a solid foundation so that you can make an informed decision.  

Take some time to listen to the mp3 and feel free to download the eBook and follow allong.  You won't be dissapointed.  



If you liked this article you may also like, "Is America Really a Christian Nation". 

Well, the short answer is that Islam is a religion who's followers are called Muslims.  The long answer is a bit more complicated.  

A 2011 survey estimated that there are over 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide making Islam the 2nd largest religion in the world. 

1.6 billion is roughly 22% of the world’s population which means that for every 10 people in the world, 2 of them are probably Muslim.  That’s massive. 

A religion this large is difficult to put in a box and understand succinctly.  If you don’t believe me, ask two different people to explain the religion of Islam and you’ll quickly see that they either don’t know, or don’t agree. 

The American media has done very little to help us understand the complexities that naturally arise within a group of 1.6 billion people from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds.  Politics has muddied the waters even further which has led to misunderstandings and radical views based on false information. 
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Racism plays a huge role and replaces a lack of understanding with a fear of the unknown which has led to violence and hatred and even more racism.  American politics has drawn lines between peaceful Muslims and Radical Islamist Terrorists which has caused division even among Americans but it’s baffling to think that as much as Muslims are in the American news and as often as they are talked about, most Americans know very little about Muslim beliefs, practice, or history. 

It is important to remember that Islam is a large religion and the 1.6 billion followers are multi-faceted and complicated human beings.   If we want to understand, we should probably QUIT watching the news and START doing some research. 

But where do we start. 

Thankfully, Brian Reed has put together a fantastic eBook called "A Christian response to Islam", packed with information including:

• The Story of Muhammad
• Evaluation of Muhammad’s prophetic claims
• Muslim History after Muhammad
• Muslim Communities and Sects
• Muslim Beliefs and Practices
• The 5 core Beliefs and 5 Pillars of Islam
• The Muslim State
• The Meaning of Jihad
• A list of resources for further study
• And much more 

​You can download the eBook by clicking Here. 





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​We live in a world where divorce no longer caries the stigma that it once did.  Meeting someone that's divorced, or whose parents are split up, isn't nearly as shocking as it was 50, 30, or even 20 years ago.  

It's become common and for the most part, society has learned to cope. 

Inside the church, divorce statistics aren't any better or worse than outside.  The statistics are all the same.  People are people.  

And yet, divorce in the church can be much more difficult to understand because we run into a clash of culture and theology.  Many people, who've grown up in or even around the church have heard that "God hates divorce."  (Malachi 2:16)  

We know that it's a bad thing and yet, it happens... so now what.  

Different pastors and theology gurus have taken different approaches ranging from allowing no-fault divorce and remarriage all the way to kicking people out of their churches!  But what does God think?  

We know he hates divorce but he loves people (John 3:16) so does he love divorced people?  Does he have a plan for them?  Is that plan for them to stay single?  Get remarried?  Pursue their previous relationship?  

These are all extremely tough questions but Pastor Brian Reed has done an incredible job of simplifying and explaining the relevant biblical passages and theological positions.  Take a look at the downloadable notes and feel free to listen to the seminar to learn more.  You won't be disappointed.