I just ordered the Patrick Kavanaugh book, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers. I can’t wait to read it. I love biographies and this one promises a collection of them in one place. But what really intrigues me is the “back story” approach to examining the spiritual lives of some of the greatest composers in history. … More A History Correcting Story That Must be Read
Stunning survey of seminary graduates now serving in the pastorate. “A leading seminary recently surveyed its graduates to discover where it might better address any deficencies in its program. The questionaire asked its alumni to identify the one area in which they wish they had received better instruction. After three or four years of intenses … More How Do Such Men Lead the Church?
In January of 1974, I became a follower of Christ. Unfortunately, it was lusty path that led me to Jesus. My girlfriend was pregnant and the weight of my sin and selfishness sat heavily on my spirit. Ken Frech, a brother twice, first in the Sigma Chi house at the University of Maryland, and then … More Sometimes, Conversion is Slow
Reading with the Pastor Psalms 64-65 “Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.” Psalm 64:1 (ESV) I am reading a book written by one of my professors from seminary. For years I have looked upon him as one of the great gifts to the … More Fighting Depression and Anxiety Well
The American Church is losing the war. I’m not thinking of the cultural war, or the war against abortion, or the war against same-sex marriage, or the war being waged against the faith of our children, or the war for respect among the elites in the media. I’m thinking of a much more important war … More The American Church is Losing the War.
While meditating on Psalm 105, some simple lines to remind my soul that there is such a thing as glory. With apologies to Rich Mullin, there is glory in every page of Scripture if we rightly discern its subject. However circuitious, the subject is always Christ. God’s glory is on display and we all need … More There is Such a Thing as Glory
Four days before the World Trade Center Bombings I was meditating on Psalm 42. Sometimes God is preparing our hearts for things we don’t even know we need. So for all of you who are fine right now, there’s no tragedy you are fighting against, no illness you are seeking to overcome, no relationship that … More When Wounded Hearts Heal
You probably have never heard of it before but this story about a Ukrainian baptist family in World War II should thrill your soul if you love Jesus. I suspect it also might start to make the rounds as a children’s sermon at Christmas time in churches that have them as a part of their … More Have You Heard About the Room UNDER the Manger?
Tragic truth: 90 percent of this post was written before the shooting in California occured in anticipation that it was only a matter of time before it would be needed. More evidence of a deep sickness at the core of American society in these shootings in California. It is yet another indiscriminate shooting by a … More Before the Shooting in California
“Visit a church on Sunday morning—almost any will do—and you will likely find a congregation comfortably relating to a deity who fits nicely within precise doctrinal positions, or who lends almighty support to social crusades, or who conforms to individual spiritual experiences. But you will not likely find much awe or sense of mystery. The … More The Trivialization of God (and the Church)
