Tie Your Flag to the Gospel Mast
July 5, 2013Today, for Leadership Journal, I interview Owen Strachan, former director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and current Assistant Professor of Christian Theology and Church History at Boyce College. Strachan is also the executive director of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Strachan is an extremely gifted and often provocative writer. I’ve enjoyed his essays on sports, manhood, and a variety of other subjects. One of the questions I asked him was the question I typically ask my interviewees: You’re a college professor. What is one piece of advice you’d like to give to a young…
Continue ReadingHow to Think On These Things
July 3, 2013I just got back from spending a few days away with my beautiful wife of ten years. Our agenda for the four days was simple: do nothing. We slept in, went out for dinner, read, watched movies, and sat by the pool. In a very busy season of life, this was a welcome respite. For me, it was nice not have to be somewhere or do something, though it was hard to discipline myself away from email. I mostly did okay, but at times Angela had to tell me to put the blasted phone away. For Angela it was nice…
Continue ReadingPlay to Your Strengths
June 28, 2013Today for Leadership Journal I interview the wildly popular author, speaker, and blogger, Jon Acuff. Besides being the proprietor of the very funny Stuff Christians Like blog, Jon is the author of several bestselling books, including his latest, Start. It was a wide-ranging interview in which Jon gave me some great thoughts. The first question I asked him was this: You’re known for writing humor that pokes fun at the evangelical culture. How important is humor for church leaders in their speaking ministry? I think it’s important. I would caution people this way: if you’re not funny or if it is not a gift,…
Continue ReadingDon’t Judge Me By My Worst Day
June 26, 2013I was driving home the other day and flipped on the local sports radio station here in Chicago. I enjoy listening to sports talk–particularly ESPN 1000, WMVP. For the most part the talk is lively, there are good interviews, and the discussion is about something that takes my mind off of the other pressing and important things of the day. On this particular afternoon, the hosts were interviewing the Chicago Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein. Now if you’re a sports fan (and if you are not, I’ll allow you time to repent right here), you’ll know that Theo…
Continue ReadingThe Invisible Line
June 25, 2013This post was inspired, in part, by an ironic blog post I recently written by a progressive evangelical on a controversial subject. You can guess which subject it is and when you guess, you will be right. But what was funny, ironic, and sad at the same time was this idea: The Church is too quick to declare certain behaviors right and wrong. That’s judgmental and just plain . . . wrong. So let me get this straight: You are absolutely sure that its wrong, sinful, terrible to tell someone that their behavior is wrong. This, my friends, is the…
Continue ReadingLaboring in the Word of God
June 21, 2013Today, for my Leadership Journal interview, I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Philip Ryken, President of Wheaton College. Prior to coming to Wheaton, Dr. Ryken was pastor at the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. I’ve enjoyed Dr. Ryken’s preaching and his books. They seem to combine excellent scholarship with an easy-to-read pastoral tone. Among my favorites are Solomon and Loving the Way Jesus Loves. I also enjoy his commentaries in the Preaching the Word commentary series coauthored with Dr. R. Kent Hughes. The interview was wide-ranging on a few topics. One of the questions I asked him was about…
Continue ReadingIt’s a Big Boy Game
June 18, 2013On Sunday I enjoyed a rare privilege: since it was Father’s Day, Angela and the kids allowed me to kick back and watch the NBA finals with the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. We don’t have cable, so I was able to watch the game on broadcast–ABC 7 being one of the few channels that comes over on my flimsy HD antennae. Since my team, the Chicago Bulls are out of the playoffs (next year, though . . .), I have no dog in this fight. For about two years after Lebron “took his talents to South Beach”…
Continue ReadingThe Story Overtook Me
June 14, 2013Today for my Leadership Journal interview, I spoke with Rebekah Lyons, cofounder of Q Ideas and the author of a new book, Freefall to Fly. In this book she shares her personal struggles with anxiety, depression, and tensions between motherhood and ministry. I asked her about the writing process and she told me this: This story overtook me. I never intended to write a book, but it was an earnest effort to get it down, for my own healing and processing. The week I began writing, I realized this wasn’t a story of my anxiety or spiral, but God’s story of redemption…
Continue ReadingCelebrating Father’s Day
June 13, 2013As we celebrate Father’s Day, I thought I’d link to some of my posts on fatherhood: 10 Things Nobody Tells You About Being a Dad This is, by far, my most popular post. In this I share some serious and some not-so-serious reflections on the surprises of fatherhood. 5 Things Every Daughter Needs to Hear From Her Dad There is something about having a daughter that softens a man, adds a certain tenderness to his soul. In that spirit, I share five things every daughter needs to hear from her father. 5 Things Every Son Needs to Hear From His…
Continue Reading5 People We Should Pray For Even Though We Don’t Want To
June 12, 2013Let’s be honest. There are certain types of people we are conditioned, by our culture, to not like. These are the people that nobody is going to give us credit for liking, the people we tend to distance ourselves from. For good reason. And yet, these are the sinners Christ most likely would have sought out to save, the people we should, at the very least, pray for. So here is a list of 5 People We Should Pray For Even Though We Don’t Want To: 1) Politicians (and really anyone in a position of power). Have politicians ever held…
Continue ReadingWhat Is the Lord Asking of Me In This Moment?
June 11, 2013I’m currently reading through Marilynne Robinsons’ beautifully written, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Here’s a quote from the main character, Congregationalist pastor, John Ames: This is an important thing, which I have told many people, and which my father told me, and which his father told him. When you encounter another person, when you have dealings with anyone at all, it is as if a question is being put to you. So you must think, What is the Lord asking of me in this moment, in this situation? If you confront insult or antagonism, your first impulse will be to respond in kind. But if…
Continue ReadingNo Balance is Necessary
June 7, 2013Today for Leadership Journal, I had the privilege of interviewing one of my favorite pastors and authors, Kevin DeYoung of University Reformed Church in Lansing, Michigan. If you haven’t read DeYoung’s books, Just Do Something, Why We Love the Church, and Hole in Our Holiness, well then you need to read them. You should also follow his blog, where he posts excellent, balanced content on the life of the Church. One of the questions I asked Kevin was related to the tension between grace and the pursuit of holiness: There is a tension in the New Testament. On the one hand we are…
Continue ReadingFive Common Mistakes Christian Parents Make
June 6, 2013My wife and I are in the throes of parenting and are surrounded, in our church and among friends, with other parents in the throes of parenting. So my parenting radar is hot. I’m learning, growing, repenting everyday as I ask the Lord to make me a faithful dad. It’s often easier to learn how to get better at parenting by observing and owning our mistakes. So here is a list of five tendencies Christian parents have. I hope it helps you think through this journey: 1) We overexpose our kids to the culture. The Bible doesn’t use the term, “culture”, but…
Continue ReadingCompassion for Those at the Back of the Line
June 5, 2013I watched this message by Larry Osborne on compassion for those who may not be as spiritually developed as we’d like them to be. And, well, it convicted me in a million ways. You really should watch it. Here’s a quote: “If our definition of a disciple doesn’t have room for a Joseph of Arimathea, then something is wrong with our definition of a disciple.”
Continue ReadingNew Book Trailer for Activist Faith
June 5, 2013Here is the slick new video trailer NavPress produced for our new book, Activist Faith, to be released in July. This is a new project coauthored with my friends, Dillon Burroughs and Dan King. Check it out: Resources: Preorder on Amazon Activist Faith Website Activist Faith on Facebook Activist Faith on Twitter
Continue ReadingResisting the Pound of Flesh
June 4, 2013One of the best illustrations of leadership in the Bible is King David’s refusal, twice, to kill King Saul (1 Samuel 24, 1 Samuel 26). You don’t have to be well steeped in Old Testament history to know that Saul was the jealous king who had disobeyed God and took out his anger and wrath on David. For many, many years he chased David around the land of Israel, trying hard to kill this shepherd boy-turned-King. Even Saul’s own son, Jonathan, knew his father was wrong and befriended David at the risk of his life. And yet, when David had…
Continue ReadingPeople Unlike Ourselves
May 31, 2013In my weekly Friday Five interview for Leadership Journal, I had the privilege of chatting with Trillia Newbell, a prolific writer and author. One of the subjects she frequently writes about is race and the Church. I asked her how pastors and church leaders can promote racial diversity: Pastors and church leaders can begin by relating—whether through hospitality or guest speakers—to those unlike themselves. This will send a message to their congregations. People are watching to see what their leaders are doing, and though we can and should pursue others regardless of what our leadership does, the truth is we…
Continue Reading5 Reflections on My First Year of Seminary
May 29, 2013Even though I’ve been in ministry for several years, writing, pastoring, preaching, I made the decision last year to apply at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. By some miracle of divine providence, I got in and by another miracle of divine providence, I finished a year. Because I’m doing this while I’m pastoring and writing, it will likely take me five years to complete my degree. So what do I think after a year of seminary? Here are five reflections: 1) To attend seminary is a privilege. One of the frequent prayers we make in our formation group is this, “Dear God,…
Continue ReadingFinding Joy In a Fallen World
May 28, 2013I’ve been deeply convicted lately, about my own writing and interaction on social media. I enjoy keeping up with current events, politics, and movements in the Church. I like writing in reaction to news stories, helping people think biblically about what is going on in the world. I’d like to think I do a fair job at doing this, but I know that because I see “through a glass darkly” even at my best, my view of the world is tainted by sin. It’s a good thing to help people size up the world biblically, but if we’re not careful…
Continue ReadingTruth Matters, But So Does Our Attitude
May 24, 2013Today I had the chance to interview one of my favorite pastors and authors, Joshua Harris. I’m a couple of years younger than Josh, so his books on dating I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl really helped me adopt a more Christ-centered view of dating and marriage when I was in high-school and in college. I’ve been reading his books and listening to his messages online ever since. His latest book is Humble Orthodoxy. I first heard him give this message the Gospel Coalition in Chicago in 2011. It really resonated with me. I had the chance, in this interview, to…
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