Posts of Dan Beaty RSSSun, 19 Apr 2026 12:00:02 GMTDuring the pandemic, I dreamed of a fresh musical arrangement for The Lord's Prayer. Since then, another popular version has been released by Matt Maher. I hope you will be inspired by this recording from my home studio.https://livingtruth.com/new-musical-arrangement-our-father/

]]>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:00:02 GMThttps://livingtruth.com/movie-review-a-great-awakening/We recently saw this movie in the theatre and would highly recommend it to everyone. It is a dramatization of an important part of our American history that is not very well-known.  I fully appreciate the fact that there is just too much history to cover in this period. Instead, the creators chose to skillfully weave stories and events together to capture the energy, the impact and the essence of the characters and their times.The story begins with the meetings of the original Continental Congress in the early formation the United States. The tension in the air and the difficult issues the young country was facing are clearly seen. Then the scene changes to a weary Benjamin Franklin with his grandson, recalling the previous decades in the 13 colonies.As he begins recalling his relationship with his old friend and preacher, George Whitefield, those early days are shown to us on the screen. Whitefield’s story begins in England, and his desire to enter the profession of stage acting. Ultimately his goals change as he later experiences the true grace of God in Christ. Now, most of all his passion is to share the Gospel to others. His transformation alone is worth the price of admission.After that we quickly get a glimpse of the great crowds of people who gathered to hear the preaching of the wonderful grace of God, calling all people unto Himself. I like that they included John and Charles Wesley in the story as they were important in the revivals of that day. Jonathan Edwards was briefly mentioned. I would point out that his part and others in previous revivals leading up to this were also very important. Finally, my hope is that this movie will expose more people to the wonderful things that God was doing in the days before and after the American Revolution, and that this would lead to further research into that rich history.Go see it. You might even get a revival fire in your heart as well!... Read more

]]>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:23:47 GMTThirty years ago, my wife and I, along with some dear believing friends were drawn together by the Lord to find a simpler way of walking together in Him. At the time I believed that this would be the beginning of a great change for many of God's people around the world. We met and made friends from all over the world who were also excited about the freedom that meeting in homes instead of dedicated buildings could allow. It was a very exciting time.For us it was not just about the building but the need for every member of the body of Christ to serve God and others in the capacity that He had in mind for them. The majority of traditional church practices did not seem to encourage this at the time.The movement did not take off as I had expected. Many house churches did not continue for very long. Our fellowship continued for about 15 years. We made many mistakes, but basically the people in our area could not see the point. In fact, the mega church model actually exploded in this same time period.It was a helpful time in that we "got the church system out of our system." Now we know that we can honor Christ where ever we are. We must simply remember that we are called to serve one another in love. Jesus set the example in word and deed. I am encouraged to see that a new generation of Christians are being challenged to meet in a more biblical setting. I am eager to encourage them as I have the opportunity to do so.At the same time, I hope to continue to show that following Jesus is still the primary goal.

]]>Wed, 18 Feb 2026 19:49:14 GMTThroughout the nineteen eighties, I was an elder and teacher in a small congregation of about 60 people in Central Ohio in the US. We had some ups and downs over the years but by 1990 we had become part of an interesting network of churches and ministers from all over the US, and had contacts in Canada, Mexico and Australia and South Africa. At least once every October we would hold conferences where people from many areas would come to hear preaching and teaching by the men and women in this circle of fellowship.In this period we had a visiting pastor from Sidney, Australia who suggested we hold a minister's conference for several days before the weekend meetings that we had always planned. In our case, the conference was not limited to ministers. Anyone could come, but those who did come were there because they desired a deeper understanding of God.The sessions would last from about 10AM to 4PM. After a key-note speaker we would break up into small groups to discuss the message. This particular group of meetings and at this particular time was a revelation to me. It wasn't what we had previously thought in the sense of a revelation of understanding from the Scriptures. It was a revelation of how wrong I was about Christian ministry.My assumptions were that we as pastors and preachers were actually building up the members of the body of Christ with our knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, with our insights and cliches we picked up from one another, with our oratory skills. What I found out in these small groups was that many were simply confused by them. These individuals were just too polite, or might have been too embarrassed to admit this.This was a real shock to me. It seemed, however that my wife and I were the only ones in leadership that were affected in this way. I kept hearing Jesus saying to Peter, "feed my sheep. Feed my lambs." Then I also remembered Paul's instruction to the elders at Ephesis, to "shepherd the church God, which He has purchased with His... Read more

]]>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 17:42:28 GMTMy background is in the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement. I believe there is a wealth of misunderstanding concerning the people in this movement. However, I am not here to defend it. In fact I have some serious concerns for the churches of our day.I grew up in a family of traditional Pentecostals and have attended some fairly wild meetings. On the other hand we also attended some churches where the bible was front and center. In more recent years, I have spent more time in fellowship with believers with different backgrounds. I would add that the average member of some Pentecostal churches read, understood and quoted the Bible much more than those in some of the Evangelical churches I have attended.My time in Evangelical churches has caused me to appreciate my Pentecostal background even more than before. There is a joy in these meetings that is difficult to describe. The advent of the Charismatic movement of the seventies when it came into the mainline denominations had a positive effect on us. We were able to see that God was moving everywhere and not just among the hardline and often legalistic Pentecostals.When we entered the House Church environment we began to be exposed to many different backgrounds. It was really exciting to learn from them all. After having been out of the Charismatic world for many years, I have become more aware of the strange ideas that have crept in since the advent of the Prosperity Gospel.Now I am sort of in the middle. I still believe that there is more joy among those who believe the supernatural gifts are still in the church today and are willing to experience them. I also understand the hesitation others feel when the excesses are seen on the national level.My experience is that the House Church environment is a healthier place to experience the spiritual gifts. There is much less the tendency of exaggeration and a better place for testing our experiences against the Word of God. However, to my dismay, many Charismatics are drawn ... Read more

]]>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 16:33:59 GMTThis quote from Dave Hunt came up in my Facebook newsfeed today:"Nowhere does the Bible tell us to reform this world. Those who seemed to be in a position to do so (Joseph as second only to Pharoah, Esther and Mordacai under Emperor Ahasuerus, and Daniel under several kings) were used of God to preserve His chosen people, but never to reform godless societies. Christ never attempted to reform the evil world of His day, nor did the Apostles or early church engage in marches or demonstrations either for Jesus or against evil. They "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) by preaching the gospel, not by preaching "traditional morals" or protesting the world's evil practices."In the 20th Century a movement arose to awaken Christians to their responsibility for the social issues of that time. It was called the Social Gospel. After two world wars and the Great Depression, the hope of the first two hundred years of Christians in America had diminished. Historians know that the Christians of that earlier time had an optimistic hope for the New World that empowered them to endure great hardship and help to build this great country, the USA. This new emphasis, the Social Gospel, appealed to those who thought Christians had become "so heavenly minded that they were no earthly good."Previous generations of Christians did not normally disengage their faith from political and social action. The Underground Railroad in the 1800's is an example of co-operation between believers and unbelievers fighting against injustice by helping to free African slaves in the South.Now it was time for the pendulum to swing back in that direction. Sadly, it was mostly the liberal churches in America that responded to this challenge. The more conservative denominations saw leaving this earth and ascending to heaven as the only hope for humanity. This was part of a pessimistic view of the "Endtimes" that became very popular and continues to be popular today. It eventually became mainstream in ... Read more

]]>Mon, 22 Sep 2025 14:40:38 GMTAfter decades of enthusiastic involvement in non-denominational church, denominational church as well as house church I am wondering what might be next for my wife and I. We love the Body of Christ, and have no desire to bash what others are doing. At the same time there are issues in many areas where I cannot give approval.Yet I am absolutely convinced that Christ has His Church, and that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. I can't help but wonder if there is something better and greater ahead for the people of God. If there is, I hope to be a part of it.

]]>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:58:20 GMTThe Young Church in ActionAll Christian groups that consider themselves orthodox agree on 2 things. It is absolutely necessary to them to acknowledge that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. His birth was miraculous. They also insist that Jesus was literally and bodily resurrected from the grave. These and other amazing signs are proof that Jesus is the Son of God, and not simply a wise teacher or a very good man.The stories of the miracles that Jesus performed are well known even among unbelievers today. In Luke's second volume of Gospel history many miracles are recorded as well. These are not nearly as well known. In a previous article I shared a quote from the British minister and bible translator, J. B. Phillips. He suggested that the modern church world has reason to become disturbed or uncomfortable by what we see in the New Testament book of Acts.Could it be possible that we hear less preaching and teaching from the book of Acts because of the challenges the Early Church presents to us? It is so wonderful to think of our lovely Savior and His power to forgive, heal, control nature, atone for our sins and rise from the grave. We quickly cry "heresy" when anyone denies that His miracles were real. He was the Son of God! However, in Acts we see the same power to heal and work miracles in ordinary humans like us!Not only do we see them healing the sick but we also see other strange behaviors. Today if someone claims that God talked to them we might roll our eyes or even begin to avoid them. In Acts, as in many other biblical passages, it appears very normal for God to give counsel and direction to individuals in various unusual ways. Again, conservative Christians can be very dogmatic in proclaiming that we have a book that came into being by the very fact that God spoke to and through men. Interestingly, some of those same people claim that God would never, ever do that again!As I look around I have to admit that miracles like those we see in the bible are not a... Read more

]]>Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:30:38 GMTThe Western World has the story of Jesus Christ embedded in its culture and its history. The four accounts of His life in the New Testament are among the most well-known books in the world today. But what of the events that followed His life, His teachings, His death, resurrection and ascension to heaven?Today I would submit that the second volume of this story that began in Luke's gospel has the potential of shaking modern Christianity down to its foundations! In our bibles this book is entitled "Acts," or "The Acts of the Apostles."In the preface of his translation of Acts, "The Young Church In Action," J.B. Phillips wrote: "It is impossible to spend several months in close study of the remarkable short book, conventionally known as the Acts of the Apostles, without being profoundly stirred and to be honest, disturbed. The reader is stirred because he is seeing Christianity, the real thing, in action for the first time in human history. The newborn Church, as vulnerable as any human child, having neither money, influence nor power in any ordinary sense, is setting forth joyfully and courageously to win the pagan world for God through Christ. The young Church, like all young creatures, is appealing in its simplicity and its singleheartedness. Here we are seeing the Church in its first youth, valiant and unspoiled — a body of ordinary men and women joined in an unconquerable fellowship never before seen on this earth. "Yet we cannot help feeling disturbed as well as moved, for this is surely the Church as it was meant to be. It is vigorous and flexible, for these are the days before it . . . . became fat and short of breath through prosperity, or muscle bound by over organization. These men did not make 'acts of faith' they believed. They did not 'say their prayers,' they really prayed. They did not hold conferences on psychosomatic medicine, they simply healed the sick. But if they were uncomplicated and naive by modern standards, we have ruefully to admit that the... Read more

]]>Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:20:42 GMTIn the modern church the most important role in most congregations is that of the person who does most of the preaching on Sundays, the traditional pastor. Beside the preaching and providing most of the direction for the community, this person is expected to perform baptisms, the dedication of babies, weddings, and funerals whenever the occasion calls for them.However in the New Testament book, the Acts of the Apostles, no such person is found. Of course, the apostles who were personally chosen and trained by Jesus were front and center in this history of the Early Church. After that, we see prophets and evangelists in action and important in establishing the churches.The congregation at Jerusalem was organized and led by the 12 apostles. The second major center was North in Antioch of Syria, and was led by prophets and teachers, which were mentioned by name in Acts 13:1. This group was led by the Holy Spirit to send Saul and Barnabas out as missionaries. Saul, also called Paul preached the Gospel with Barnabas and later Silas, on many journeys across the Mediterranean Sea.Whenever converts to Christ came together in any area, Paul appointed elders to lead them. This practice goes all the way back to Moses, who had taken upon himself more responsibility than was necessary. The Lord instructed Moses to gather seventy men of the elders — the older men of Israel, so He could impart the Holy Spirit's gifting of Moses to them. These unnamed men were to share the load with Moses. (Numbers 11:16)Many historians believe that this was less of an office, but more of a charge. The appointment of an elder did not make one an elder. He was already an older man, but he was to be blessed and ordained to fulfill the duties that were already his.Examples of this are found in both Acts 20:25-35 and 1 Peter 5:1-4. In Paul's last address to the elders at Ephesus, he charged them to: "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, t... Read more

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