Back in another decade, I was engaged in a number of chat-rooms where ideas and conversation was more free flowing than it is today. In one of the those chat rooms I met a guy named Zach. He was a non-Christian who identified himself as “progressive” and seemed to be genuinely interested in creating a … More Engaging the Non-Christian Mind
No comment necessary except to say, Bonhoeffer’s little book Life Together is worth reading over and over again. (Confession: I have probably read it half a dozen times myself so I am an unabashed fan.) “The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to … More Learning to Listen — a Christian Duty
“Three key Hebrew verbs are used for leading a flock. Nahal means leading with tenderness and can refer to bringing a flock to a place of rest and refreshment. Nakhah is a straightforward guidance verb. Nahag suggests the kind of directive herding accomplished best from the back of the flock, when the will of … More The Lovingkindness of the Shepherd of Israel
Awesome image isn’t! That blue whale is soooooo big and that diver is sooooo small in comparison! The size and power of that blue whale is huge. It needs no breathing apparatus to swim the ocean deeps, unlike the diver with his oxogen tank and flippers. But as awesome and wonderful as that blue whale … More Perspective and Focus Changes Everything
Gather your family and let’s do this together. Five steps. Have each of them write these verses on a 3 x 5 card. Put the “cheat sheet” letters on the opposite side of the card. Everybody read their card out loud once. Pair off and quiz one another for 3-5 minutes. Read the verses every … More Let’s End the Year Well: Join Me
Tuesday is for Bonhoeffer “The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ. Such a man knows that the call to discipleship is a gift of grace, and that the call is inseparable from the grace. But those … More How Does Grace Become Cheap?
It looks simple on the surface. Someone holds out two pills. Chose the one on the right and you live. Chose the one on the left and you die. It looks simple. But it’s not. What do you need to know to chose the pill on the right? You need to know right or left … More The Choice that Means Everything
The king was evil and powerful. He knew what he wanted and was willing to do anything to get it. He was a fist-in-the face-of-God leader and was willing to pay for the answers he wanted. Four hundred of his lackeys were flattering his ego. And one lone prophet of Judah stood up to him … More For the Love of Christ, Give Us Men Like This!
“Whenever a man is praised it is meet for him to think about his sins and then consider, he should say ‘I am unworthy of the things that are said about me.” —Anonymous One of my professor colleagues at the seminary I taught at in California had a raw bluntness that cut through false modesty … More The Awkwardness of Praise and the Cancer it Feeds
8 Ideas for Fall and Winter Outreach to Your Community Footballs will soon be flying through the air. The NHL season starts in three weeks. The NBA season starts a month after that. College football is already playing games. College Basketball is about to start. And after that, the World Series will start. Whether you … More Fall and Winter Outreach Ideas
