Jerry Riendeau

May 5, 2024 | thegospelcoalition.org | Jerry Riendeau |John Beeson |Rebecca McLaughlin |Laura Spaulding

When I was a college student, I had a weird relationship with the concept of “home.” As I approached the end of a semester, I longed to go back home to my parents’ house for break. I looked forward to the familiarity, the family, and the rest. After some time at my parents’ house, though, that longing for home would return. My sense of home had shifted from my parents’ house to my college dorm or apartment.

Feb 9, 2024 | theaquilareport.com | Jerry Riendeau

The view that Christianity and Islam are more similar than different is mainstream within the Muslim community. And though many Americans live in areas with relatively small Muslim populations, that’s likely to change in coming years. It’s important to be ready to engage our Muslim neighbors in meaningful conversations about our faith. A helpful first step in any such conversation is to explain just how pessimistic Christians are about human nature.

Feb 6, 2024 | thegospelcoalition.org | Brett McCracken |Jerry Riendeau |Jen Oshman |RaShan Frost

Everyone in the city seems to hustle just to survive. Sometimes the word “hustle” has a positive connotation: it’s a way to make a living. In the sports world, “hustle” refers to effort—moving with maximum intensity, purpose, and speed. Or it can have a negative meaning, referring to a con used to make money. Someone misrepresents what he’s offering in an attempt to get ahead, taking advantage of the hope of a person too innocent to know better.

Feb 6, 2024 | thegospelcoalition.org | Steve McAlpine |Brett McCracken |Jerry Riendeau |Jen Oshman

You’re standing outside church one Sunday morning, the early-spring sun warming your back as you chat with a newcomer about what he liked about the singing. Suddenly, the screeching of tires and an electrical crackling sound swivels your head. In the shrubbery—dangerously close to the glass sliders of the new foyer—a gray sports car, smoking and steaming, has come to a halt.

Jan 31, 2024 | thegospelcoalition.org | Jerry Riendeau |Bernard N. Howard |Brett McCracken |Trevin Wax

“Christianity and Islam worship the same God and are fundamentally the same at their core.”I regularly encounter this assertion in my church-planting efforts in Dearborn, Michigan. (Dearborn has the distinction of having the highest concentration of Arabs in North America.) Most commonly I hear this phrase, or one like it, coming from the mouths of young Muslim men and women. Their intentions are wonderful. They’re trying to bridge the gap between our cultures and religions.