Category Archives: Balance

Styx, My Son, & Me

Posted on November 17, 2016 by russellmckinney

My oldest son, Ryan, attends Johnson University, a Christian college located about ten minutes outside Knoxville, Tennessee. Johnson is a small, private school that has an on-campus attendance of approximately 1,000. Ryan is a sophomore there, lives in a dorm, … Continue reading →

Posted in Balance, Choices, Christian Liberty, Conscience, Fatherhood, God's Will, Guilt, Inner Peace, Parenting, Personal | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

J.C. Penney & Chick-fil-A

Posted on August 15, 2012 by russellmckinney

For eight-and-a-half years, I pastored a non-denominational church that I started. Some Sundays, as a part of our services, I would describe an everyday situation and ask, “What would Jesus have us do in this situation?” My original plan for … Continue reading →

Posted in Adultery, Balance, Bible Study, Church, Current Events, Discipleship, Doing Good, Evangelism, Faithfulness, God's Word, God's Work, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy, Marriage, Ministry, Personal, Preaching, Scripture, Sex, Sin, The Bible, Truth, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Little Too Much Separating

Posted on March 1, 2012 by russellmckinney

My buddy Malcolm Woody once forwarded something to me that someone had forwarded to him. It’s a word about religious groups and denominations. I have no idea who wrote it, but it hits a little too close to home. See … Continue reading →

Posted in Balance, Doctrine, Humor, Separation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Doing Church Differently

Posted on February 21, 2012 by russellmckinney

The churches of Asia greet you, Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. (1 Corinthians 16:19, N.K.J.V.) Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that … Continue reading →

Posted in Alcohol, Balance, Change, Church, Church Discipline, Giving, God's Work, Ministry, Money, Music, Prayer, Preaching, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Stewardship, Sunday School, Teaching, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Doing Church Differently

What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (9)

Posted on November 1, 2011 by russellmckinney

This post will finish up this series. I didn’t plan for the series to run quite this long, but as we’ve seen, this is a complex topic that brings in quite a bit of scripture. People certainly do it a … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiction, Alcohol, Balance, Choices, Christian Liberty, Influence, Personal Holiness, Series: "What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol?", Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (8)

Posted on October 26, 2011 by russellmckinney

Did you know that the early churches of the New Testament struggled mightily with an issue that we think nothing of today? I mean they got into heated disputes over it. Some Christians would separate themselves from other Christians over … Continue reading →

Posted in Alcohol, Balance, Choices, Christian Liberty, Personal Holiness, Series: "What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol?" | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (7)

Posted on October 25, 2011 by russellmckinney

Thus far in this series, I’ve made the case that the Bible allows for a certain amount of moderate drinking. However, we really need to understand that the alcoholic beverages of Bible times were nowhere near as potent as those … Continue reading →

Posted in Alcohol, Balance, Christian Liberty, Series: "What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol?" | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (4)

Posted on October 14, 2011 by russellmckinney

I used my previous post in this series to condemn the sin of drunkenness. Now I want to share a few thoughts on addiction to alcohol. All drunkenness is sin, but there’s a difference between getting drunk once at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiction, Alcohol, Balance, Choices, Christian Liberty, Drugs, Gluttony, Personal Holiness, Series: "What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol?", Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (3)

Posted on October 13, 2011 by russellmckinney

Now that we’ve taken the Bible and established that it does allow for some drinking of wine (see post 1 of this series) and other alcoholic drinks (see post 2), we really need to hit the sin of drunkenness hard. … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiction, Alcohol, Balance, Christian Liberty, Series: "What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol?", Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves

Posted on September 2, 2011 by russellmckinney

In Matthew chapter 10, we find Matthew’s account of Christ’s commissioning of His chosen twelve. It’s a marvelous chapter to study in terms of basic ministry, bold evangelism, and preaching for a decision. With that said, I’d like to draw … Continue reading →

Posted in Adversity, Anger, Attitude, Balance, Character, Discernment, Discipleship, Evangelism, God's Work, Ministry, Missions, Revenge, Service, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment