Before Shane Hipps became a Mennonite pastor, he was a former strategic planner in advertising. In both vocations, he has learned a great deal about how technology quietly shapes people. His latest book, Flickering Pixels, helps Christians understand some of the spiritual dimensions of that shaping. In an interview with Christianity Today magazine, Hipps discussed the damage being done by the internet. ...

Not long ago, I read that a person my age should drink 16 glasses of water a day. The next morning I brought to my office a large pitcher filled with water. Throughout the day that pitcher on my desk frequently reminded me of my need, and I'd pour another glass and drink. Overall, it was a positive experience—other than having to go to the bathroom 27 times in a period of eight hours. Remaining ...

Maybe Lent is a good time to stop doing and try being. … Relinquishment lies at the heart of the Christian gospel and is a countercultural choice that hones our discipleship. If I let go of the assumption that my hard work will bring me all that I desire, I begin to look at the present moment, receive it with gratitude, and know what it asks of me. I learn when it is time to rest, time to plan, ...

In his book Are You Fascinated? management consultant Ken Tucker shares a story about the great lengths a person will go to find something of great value:

[Bill Adams, CEO of a large hospital in Virginia, received a frantic call from a woman.] "My mother came into your hospital with her wedding ring, and now we can't find it," [she] said. … "I want to make an appointment to discuss this with ...

In the daily round of life, dust and cobwebs accumulate in our souls. The hidden corners of our hearts become encrusted with grime or filled with forgotten debris. During the weeks of Lent, God's Spirit is given opportunity to clear away the clutter, sweep away the dust and wash us clean. We are invited to prepare ourselves—heart, soul, mind, and body—for the new life of Easter.

Your nature is a hard thing to change; it takes time…. I have heard of people who have life-changing, miraculous turnarounds, people set free from addiction after a single prayer, relationships saved where both parties "let go, and let God." But it was not like that for me. For all that "I was lost, I am found," it is probably more accurate to say, "I was really lost. I'm a little less so at ...

My daughter, Zoe, is two-and-a-half and loves to play hide-and-seek. Sometimes she hides, but usually the game involves hiding my cell phone. Unfortunately she doesn't yet understand the object of the game. She makes me close my eyes—that much she gets. But it's downhill from there. First of all, she always hides my phone in the same place: on the stairs, in plain sight. No matter how many times ...

Discernment involves listening with love and attention to our experiences, to each other, to the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit deep within ourselves and others, to Scripture and Christian tradition, to pertinent facts and information, to those who will be affected most deeply by our decisions, to that place in us where God's Spirit witnesses with our spirit about those things that are true.

—Ruth ...

A common theme in modern Christianity has been that head knowledge is how one becomes more adept at following Christ: the more you know, the better you'll do. But in fact, that hasn't proven to be true.

Instead, it seems the Christian life is more like being a baseball shortstop: A young player can watch videos, read books by the greatest shortstops of all time, and listen to coaches lecture on what ...

In Jack's Life, Douglas Gresham's book about his stepfather C. S. Lewis, Gresham comments on the great love that the young Lewis had for Lizzie Endicott, the Irish woman who helped look after Jack (as he was called) and his older brother Warnie. Gresham notes, "Jack was also fond of his nursemaid Lizzie, and she would tell him old Irish folktales and fairy stories."

In Prince Caspian, we find a comparable ...