Mini Reviews #9
December 29, 2011Thanks to my new NOOK, I’ve been on a reading tear lately. So here are two more mini-reviews: The Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado I appreciate Lucado’s unique gift at taking difficult concepts and making them easy for lay people to understand. In The Cure for the Common Life, Max shares a winsome, wise, and thoroughly biblical case for living a life of maximum impact. He encourages people to discover how God has gifted them, skills, abilities, opportunities, background, and leverage that for maximum Kingdom purpose. He grounds it in God’s desire to see His glory revealed…
Continue ReadingMy Favorite Books of 2011
December 27, 2011I had the opportunity to read quite a few great books in 2011. Not quite as many (101) as my friend, Aaron Armstrong, but I read quite a few. Here are my top ten books. You’ll notice they are not necessarily all books that were published in 2011, but books I had the chance to read this year. Unbroken by Lauren Hildenbrand Lou Zamperini’s His life as told inUnbroken is a powerful story, a reminder of the sovereignty and grace of God in the life of one man, lived during one of the most ominous periods of world history. Bonhoeffer by Erik Metaxes Bonhoeffer is a book…
Continue ReadingMini-Reviews #8
December 27, 2011Just finished another great batch of books: Work Matters by Tom Nelson. This is a terrific book on a subject not explored fully enough in contemporary evangelicalism: a theology of work. As usual, Nelson (pastor of Christ Community Church in Leawood, Kansas), shares a comprehensive, balanced, biblical view of the doctrine of work. A Christmas Journey Home by Kathi Macias Kathi Macias, a friend, is a gifted writer. The last few years she has devoted herself to writing what she calls “bold” fiction. She tackles a thorny social issue and weaves a story around it, opening up the reader’s eyes to issues…
Continue ReadingFinding Christmas Joy
December 22, 2011I’ve always loved the Christmas season. When I was a kid, my parents always made the season great. Our traditions were simple, but wonderful. I especially enjoyed the two weeks off of school. Usually we chilled out at home or would go to a Christmas party or two at friends’ homes. When I was in high-school, I’d join with some other friends and go caroling in our neighborhood. Then we had to take care of our last minute Christmas shopping. My parents gave each of us some allowance and let us choose gifts for the family. On Christmas Eve, we typically…
Continue ReadingWhy Your Pastor Shouldn’t Be Your Podcast
December 21, 2011Trevin Wax recently wrote a widely distributed post entitled, “Why Your Podcast Shouldn’t Be Your Pastor.” He raised some important points about the proliferation of content over the Internet. Its easy today to consume the best of contemporary evangelical pastors simply by downloading them through iTunes or listening online. While this is a wonderful blessing of 21st Century technology, Trevin had some concerns about it’s erosion of the local pastor’s ministry and authority. He writes: But just because we cannot and should not point fingers at each other regarding the problem of celebrity does not mean that we shouldn’t carefully…
Continue ReadingI was honored to have an article chosen as one of Crosswalk.com’s top ten articles of the year. It is the article: “Elijah, Jack Bauer of the Old Testament.” Here is an excerpt: There’s a part of Elijah’s life that doesn’t often get told. This is the scene that would get left on the cutting room floor. This is the chapter the editor would delete. You turn to 1 Kings 19 and you can hardly believe what you read. This is just after Elijah’s epic spiritual victory on Mt. Carmel, so you’d think you’d find Elijah celebrating. But there’s no postgame champagne for…
Continue ReadingHow I Found My Preaching and Speaking Voice
December 19, 2011Growing up, public speaking was something I both enjoyed and dreaded. I enjoyed the preparation for a speech (still do), but always got the intense butterflies in public. Especially in school where one Rick-Perry like flub could ignite the snickering chorus in the front row of our high-school. I know because when I wasn’t speaking, I was a charter member of that chorus. Before I became a pastor, I spent almost a decade as a writer and editor for a Christian organization. This meant I did very little public speaking, though towards the end of my tenure there I had…
Continue ReadingFriday Five: Kim Vogel Sawyer
December 16, 2011Christmas is the time when a lot of folks take some time off to rest and catch up on their favorite novels. Today I have the privilege of featuring bestselling novelist, Kim Vogel Sawyer. Kim’s books have received numerous fiction awards, including: ACFW Carol Award Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Inspirational Readers Choice Award, Heartsong Presents Contemporary Story of the Year (2006), and the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence. Her latest books are A Whisper of Peace and Katy’s Decision. Today, Kim was kind enough to stop by and chat about fiction and the writing life: How did you get your start as a…
Continue ReadingBible Reading Plans for 2012
December 14, 2011In 2012 our church is going thru the Bible in a year. To help, I gathered resources and some Bible reading plans and put them out at our information table at church. I thought I would post the information here as well as a help to those considering reading the Bible thru in 2012. This is not comprehensive by any means, but it points to some nice tools and links: Digital Tools: 1. Youversion.com – This is perhaps the easiest and best online Bible. You can find your Bible reading program and have it remind you every day via email…
Continue ReadingGuardrails and Grace | Covenant Eyes
December 13, 2011I wrote a guest blog for the Covenant Eyes blog on the interaction between guardrails and grace. Here’s an excerpt: A few years ago, Angela and I decided we were going to vacation somewhere in the Carolinas. We settled on Myrtle Beach. So our journey took us through the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and on through North Carolina. The view was breathtaking. Steep gorges. Waterfalls. Lush valleys. We actually stayed in Asheville for a few nights. I told Angela that I could easily live there.But there is one caveat about visiting the mountains. Sometimes the drive up can be a…
Continue ReadingTeen Devos for the New Year
December 12, 2011If you’d like to get encourage your young person to develop a study of the Scriptures in 2012, you can help them along the way with some resources I’ve developed. I’d like to share about two of them here: Teen People of the Bible, Celebrity Profiles of Real Faith and Tragic Failure This was my first book and it continues to sell well. It’s a unique, 100-day devotional that features the stories of 29 young people in the Scripture. Each day shares a bit about the Biblical teen, offers a contemporary story about a teen and/or a few practical life…
Continue ReadingFriday Five: Charles Powell
December 9, 2011Earlier this week I posted a review of Kathi Macias’ explosive new novel that puts a human face on human trafficking here in America. It’s a book I encouraged every believer to read. Today, I continue the discussion about human trafficking with an interview of Charles Powell, coauthor with Dillon Burroughs of Not in My Town (also published by New Hope). Charles is a justice activist, film producer, conference speaker, and founder of Mercy Movement, a grassroots movement to abolish human trafficking and slavery. Over the past three decades Charles has been trained in counterterrorism and police investigation, worked as…
Continue ReadingReturn to Christmas Joy
December 8, 2011I had the privilege of writing a piece on Christmas Joy for New Hope Digital. There is a tendency to either be cranky about commercialism or be caught up in it at Christmastime. Here’s an excerpt: I think both approaches miss the majesty of Christmas. Yes, the Western world is increasingly secularized and dismissive of Jesus. But that’s why we are still here. We are the ones who have been eternally transformed by the Incarnation. And we are to bless others in His name.If we want the guy at the checkout to be excited about the real story of Christmas, why not let the…
Continue ReadingA Novel Every Christian Should Read
December 7, 2011I realize that there are many Christians who are ambivalent or even opposed to Christian fiction. I’ve never shared that belief, because I think fiction has a way of bringing important issues to light in a way that may be impossible for straightforward treatises. But even if you are someone who eschews novels, I’d urge you to take a look at Deliver Me From Evil a powerful and disturbing new novel written Kathi Macias, an accomplished author who also happens to be a great friend. I’ve known Kathi for a few years and she has become a great friend. We also…
Continue ReadingFree Christmas Music
December 7, 2011I don’t know about you, but I enjoy Christmas music, especially new and creative ways to sing the timeless old carols. But maybe you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford that brand-new CD. Well, you can still enjoy the new sounds of the season. There is a variety of free Christmas offerings available online, so you can add to your Christmas playlist. Here are a few: Life Church TV (HT: Jonathan Howe) These are the folks who created the YouVersion Bible app that is so popular and useful. They are offering a free CD called Carols on iTunes. This is a…
Continue ReadingMini-Reviews #7
December 6, 2011Okay, I’m back with another installment of mini-reviews. Today I review four books, including a children’s book and an older biography. Bloodlines, Race, the Cross, and the Christian by John Piper This is a profound work by the gifted theologian. I know there are a lot of Piper-files, who soak up all of his books. I haven’t been one of those, though I respect his impact on the body of Christ. There are also quite a few who dislike Piper, because they dislike his Calvinist theology. I’m not one of those either. Regardless of you are on that spectrum, you…
Continue ReadingPastoring the People You Have
December 5, 2011I have been meditating on 1 Peter in my own private devotions for sometime now. This is a habit I began last year. Rather than rushing through a book, I’ve been taking books and just spending days and weeks and months on the same passages to get familiar with them. Next year I plan on reading thru the Bible in a year so I’ll spend less time on each passage. Nevertheless, this has been a good practice for me, because it allows me to see things in the text I wouldn’t normally see. Such is the case with 1 Peter…
Continue ReadingStruggle Versus Snuggle
December 2, 2011I found this word on sin by Barnabas Piper to be especially convicting. We tend to mask our love of sin by telling people we “struggle.” (at least I do). Barnabas cuts through that by looking at Paul’s honesty in Romans: (HT: Justin Taylor) In true struggle, honesty is brutal. It’s brutal because it admits to weakness, proneness to badness, active pursuit of that badness. Instead of saying “I struggle with anger” it says “I lose my temper and hurt people with my words.” Instead of saying “I struggle with doing my devotions” it says “I don’t think enough…
Continue ReadingFriday Five: Jennifer Schuchman
December 2, 2011Jennifer Schuchman is a bestselling author and speaker. Her recent work includes a collaboration with former NFL MVP, Kurt Warner on his New York Times Bestseller, First Things First and a collaboration with Brenda Warner on her latest, One Call Away. Jennifer has written or co-written numerous books, has contributed articles to leading evangelical publications and has garnered several prestigious writing awards. I met Jennifer several years ago at the Write to Publish Conference where we were both sort of exploring the idea of publishing. It’s amazing how far God has brought her ministry. Today I asked her to stop…
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Preaching Through James
December 15, 2011This last year I finished a series through the book of James entitled, Authentic Faith. I divided up this book into 15 messages and gave the congregation the entire outline of the series before we began. It was a terrific study, one that challenged me as a preacher and offered a great challenge for our church. James is one of those books that is not very difficult to figure out in that it is written directly to the church. Sure there are some cultural considerations to consider, of course, but not as much as other books. James was plain-spoken, speaking…
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