Nat Crawford - Executive Coach, Speaker, Leader

How did we get here? This is the question I have been pondering for some time and not just since the Supreme Court gave their landmark decision to redefine marriage. I have been pondering the question for years as I watch the American culture…and even the American “Christian” culture change. I know the answer is multi-faceted. There is no one reason why we are here. As far as a secular culture, we can expect nothing less. God has given mankind free will to choose what they think, believe, and behave. Since mankind is inherently sinful (Romans 5:12, Psalm 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9) we cannot expect the culture to behave any different.   When we as a society move farther away from objective morals and moves toward naturalistic thinking, a deeply amoral society emerges. So in short, the secular shift is expected. What I really am asking is, “How did we as Christians get here. How have we maneuver the path to secular Christianity. In other words, how have some Christians come t...

A common statement to defend an atheistic world-view is “There have been more massacres in the name of Christianity than any other religion. Religion is the cause of all our problems.” This is a straw man argument.  It is illogical and frankly worn out. Let me explain: The term Christian is quite loose now days. The term Christian blankets a wide variety of denominations, cults, agnostics, universalists, and pluralists. So what am I saying? There are “Christians” and then there are Christians. I may say “I’m a vegetarian.” But if you see me eating bacon double cheeseburger, you will call me on my hypocrisy.  When a “Christian” creates a heinous crime, rarely is authentic Christianity into question, rather the baby is thrown out with the bath water. Jesus Christ Himself knew His follower’s life would be under radar. That’s why in John 15:8 He said, “ This is to my Father’s glory,   that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” In the same way Ja...

In light of some recent tragedies, I have heard this discussion come up again. This is a sad debate, but one that rages on.  So, can a Christian lose their salvation? Some Christians argue that believers can lose their salvation and they must be born again and again and again. . Remember the words Jesus to Nicodemus in John 3:7 “…you must be born again.” It was not that you must be born again…and again…and again. Some use Matthew 10:22 “ You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” Others quote John 15:6 , “ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. ” There are other verses as well.  Let’s look at the Luke 13:27 “ and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers .’ ” What these verses are referring to are the false convert and not at true Chr...

Matthew 7:1, " Do not judge so that you will not be judged" is one of the most misunderstood and quoted used passages of Scripture by Christians and non-Christians alike. How many of us have either been told or have even said "Don't judge!" But what does that mean? For total perspective I encourage you to read the verses surrounding Matthew 7:1 to gain proper context. And for the sake of this conciseness of this blog, let me offer this insight. The term "judge" can mean " to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose." It can also be to the extreme as to condemn to hell. When Jesus said " Do not judge so that you will not be judged ", He was not saying to turn aside healthy discernment.  As John MacArthur states, "As the context reveals, this doe snot prohibit all types of judging (v. 16). There is a righteous kind of judgment we are supposed to exercise with careful discernment (John 7:24). Censorious, hypocrit...

There are skeptics out there who want to believe that the Bible condones and even promotes slavery. This is laughable at best. But to understand the Bible’s view on it, one must put to use good hermeneutics! Why? Because context is everything! We know that the Mosaic Laws were made up of moral, ceremonial, and judicial. When we know that we can start to see how application can be made. We realize the social pieces were unique for them in their time in for their culture. The ceremonial parts were mostly fulfilled in Christ. The moral elements are ones we need to pay particular attention to.  Look at Exodus 23:9. “ “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt” (NIV). The Israelites were once slaves in Egypt. They knew oppression. Here we see that oppression and treatment based on birth place was condemned. Look at Genesis 1:27 “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them...