Why bother with cultural and literary contexts when we can read scripture and understand its “obvious” meaning? In concise terms, shortcuts can be dangerous.
Will We Hold Tightly to Our Wish Dreams of Christian Community?
Sometimes Christian community and reconciliation fails because good people do nothing.
“What Is Truth?”
The question hangs in the air because the answer will come not through the words of Jesus, but through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Shoplifting and Living Forgiven
Here is what I learned that day about living forgiven, and what I am still trying to live out in my life.
Jesus, TED Talks, and Conversation
I love TED Talks. These short, informative and often witty lectures allow me to peek into the professional world of some highly influential and inspiring thinkers of our day.
Tattoos, Gibberish, and Homosexuality
When reading Scripture we face some questions: does this text state a principle that transcends time and culture? Or does this text wrap cultural clothing around primary principles?
Running to Trust God
I stopped trusting God with my kids a while ago because of the accident, because of the C-section, because of the therapy, because of all the pain, all the fear, all the brokenness in the world.
The Path to Church Renewal Leads through the Desert
As a weary and wounded church pastor, I'm warning that the journey toward missional renewal isn't easy.
Why the Church Needs Feminism (Part 3)
Even if we start teaching from the pulpit that women have value, it’s in the pews that a toxic view of women often resides.
Could Our Loss Be the Kingdom’s Gain?
Could it be that small, rural churches might be great incubators for young leaders to develop? Could it be that they are even uniquely equipped by God for that role?
Preaching in the Age of PowerPoint
Once upon a time before PowerPoint, sermons were rarely preached with visuals.
Why Silence? It’s Weird (Part 1)
Silence and solitude are the crux of where God’s transformative work has taken place in my own life.
The Timeless Wisdom of Youths
We need the vision, energy, and passion of our children and young adults, particularly because the church of the future is the church they are destined to be a part of and to lead … or not.
Wisdom and the Emperor's New Clothes
What does wisdom theology have to do with questions surrounding same-sex attraction?
On Being Elders
In seeking to find the essence of what it means to be an elder for a local congregation, it is helpful to focus on three things—being, doing and process—framed in three key questions.
Without Vision, Ministry Perishes (Part 1)
It is easy to talk about churches not having a vision … but I think many ministers often lose sight of their calling because we’ve gotten too tied up in our calling.
What Not to Wear, Deuteronomy, and the Clarity of Scripture
I admit that it’s easier to read a text a quickly assume we know it’s “clear teaching”; after all, the text says what it means and means what it says, right??
Without Hope or One in Christ?
But we were created in Christ Jesus for good works. Created to be reconcilers in a hostile world. Created for God’s beautiful light to shine through.
Coaching the Team
I have found my mind dwelling on the similarities between coaching and pastoring, between a team and the church.
When Insecurity Parades as Certainty
Our fear of being wrong leads us to the worst kind of wrongness—the kind that clusters and alienates.