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I’m Tom Nicholas — a pastor, teacher, and community builder living in Billings, Montana. My life and ministry flow from one heartbeat: to see the Church alive — Spirit-filled, rooted in Scripture, and moving with Jesus into the world. I serve as a pastor, chaplain, and mentor, helping people grow in faith, leadership, and everyday discipleship. Whether around a campfire, in a coffee shop, or through digital spaces, I believe the gospel belongs where life happens — in the field, among the people, and around the table. Through The Church Alive, I write about biblical leadership, spiritual formation, and building vibrant, missional communities that reflect the love and courage of Christ.

Author: Tom Nicholas

  • REDEEMING THE SONG OF A PEOPLE: WHAT I WITNESSED ON THE COLVILLE RESERVATION

    INTRODUCTION — When Biblical Missiology Meets a Living Culture Up to this point in the series, we have explored how God reveals Himself within human culture—through story, covenant, wisdom, sacred space, ritual, symbol, and apocalyptic vision. In every era of Scripture, God meets people in the real world of their own time and place. Anthropological missiology is…

  • THE GOD WHO REVEALS: APOCALYPTIC SYMBOL, CULTURAL IMAGERY, AND THE MISSION OF CHRIST (Article #4)

    INTRODUCTION — When Ordinary Language Cannot Carry Divine Reality Throughout this series, we have seen a remarkable pattern: But there is a point in Scripture where ordinary communication cannot bear the weight of divine revelation.Law cannot carry it.Wisdom cannot contain it.Narrative cannot frame it.Poetry cannot hold it. When God wishes to unveil the great conflict…

  • THE GOD WHO SHAPES A PEOPLE: WISDOM, WORSHIP, AND SACRED SPACE AS MISSIOLOGICAL LANGUAGE (Article #3)

    INTRODUCTION — God Does Not Only Speak to His People; He Forms Them In Article One, we saw that God speaks human—entering real human culture to communicate clearly.In Article Two, we saw that God binds Himself to humanity through covenant, using the deepest relational structure of the ancient world. Now we face a new question: Once God…

  • THE GOD WHO MAKES COVENANT: HOW GOD USES ANCIENT CULTURE TO REVEAL HIMSELF. Article #2

    INTRODUCTION — Covenant: God’s Most Missional Act Anthropological missiology begins with a simple but profound truth: God meets people where they actually are—not where we imagine they should be. In Article One, we saw God communicating with humanity in Genesis—walking with Adam and Eve, reasoning with Cain, speaking through the Flood and its sign, directing…

  • THE GOD WHO SPEAKS HUMAN: ANTHROPOLOGICAL MISSIOLOGY IN GENESIS (Article 1)

    INTRODUCTION — What Anthropological Missiology Is, and Why It Matters Every Christian wonders at some point: How do I share Jesus with people who don’t see the world the same way I do? How do I speak the gospel into the real cultural world my neighbors, friends, and community inhabit? Those questions lead us into…

  • SATURDAY — JOHN 1:14

    “The Word Became Flesh… Full of Grace and Truth” Compassion Restores Dignity — Doctrinal & Prophetic Exegesis **The Final Word: Compassion Is Not a Concept. Compassion Is a Person.** John 1:14 is not merely a Christmas verse.It is the theological center of the entire Bible: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,full of grace and…

  • FRIDAY — JAMES 1:22–25

    “Doers of the Word, Not Hearers Only” Compassion Restores Dignity — Doctrinal & Prophetic Exegesis Where Compassion Begins: Not in Emotion, but in Obedience James gives us one of the most clarifying, confrontational truths in the New Testament: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”(James 1:22) James warns of a very…

  • THURSDAY — EPHESIANS 4:14–15

    “Speaking the Truth in Love” Compassion Restores Dignity — Doctrinal & Prophetic Exegesis The Mature Christian Refuses to Be a Spectator Paul writes: “We are no longer to be children, tossed to and fro…but speaking the truth in love,we are to grow up in all things into Him who is the Head—Christ.”(Ephesians 4:14–15) Ephesians 4…

  • WEDNESDAY — ISAIAH 5:20

    “Woe to Those Who Call Evil Good and Good Evil” Compassion Restores Dignity — Doctrinal & Prophetic Exegesis The Prophetic Warning Against Counterfeit Compassion Isaiah 5:20 contains a thunderous, covenantal warning: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,who put darkness for light and light for darkness,who put bitter for sweet and sweet…

  • TUESDAY — ROMANS 1:18–25

    “The Exchange of Truth for a Lie” Compassion Restores Dignity — Doctrinal & Prophetic Exegesis The Moment a Culture Rejects Truth, It Loses Compassion If Sunday and Monday taught us that compassion and truth belong together,Tuesday shows us what happens when they are ripped apart. Romans 1:18–25 is not simply Paul’s analysis of pagan Rome.It…