Sin Catches Up
May 30, 2011If you know the storyline of David’s life, you know that his big sin was his affair with Bathsheba. You don’t even have to grow up in church to know the story. He’s the King of Israel. The men are out at war. He should be there with them, but he he stays back. David sees Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop and so desires her that he overrides the warnings of his servants and gets her. We all know that this story doesn’t end well. David had Uriah put in a dangerous position in battle, essentially ordering this good man’s…
Continue ReadingMaybe It Does Take a Village
May 29, 2011Vanessa Van Patten of the popular parenting blog, Radical Parenting, is featuring a guest post of mine, entitled, “Was Hillary Right?” I’m discussing the growing movement in churches to affirm a “village” approach to raising the next generation, where parents assume primary responsibility but lean in on churches and other institutions to fill in the gaps. Here’s an excerpt: When it comes to parenting, the evangelical pendulum has always swung from one extreme to the other. On one side is the casual parenting philosophy, where Mom and Dad outsource character development and spiritual training to the church and to the…
Continue ReadingFriday Five Interview: Micah Fries
May 27, 2011Micah Fries spent time on the mission field in Africa and now pastors the growing Fredrick Boulevard Baptist Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. He’s an influential blogger and leader in the Southern Baptist Convention. I’m grateful he’s taken time to chat for today’s Friday Five: You spent time as a missionary in Africa and now pastor a church in America. How has your time on the foreign mission field affected your ministry as a local church pastor?
Continue ReadingSpecial Offer from Covenant Eyes
May 26, 2011A few months ago I signed up for Covenant Eyes, what I consider the best Internet filtering system available. I signed up for three reasons: I love my marriage enough to protect it. I love my family enough to protect them. I love my church enough to protect what God has given me in them. I don’t trust myself online. I do most of my work on a laptop and a lot of work researching, reading, writing, etc online. And while I honestly don’t have a problem with pornography, I don’t ever want to have one. And I don’t trust…
Continue ReadingShooting the Gaps
May 25, 2011I’m a huge sports fan, and when the Cubs or Sox are actually good, I’m a huge baseball fan. I’m not sure there is another sport where each move, each pitch, each play can carry so much significance. Especially when you get the the playoffs. Well if you’re building a good baseball team you need a few kinds of players. Of course you need a solid pitching rotation. You need a decent, if not good, bullpen. And you need good hitters. Most fans think that you have to have big boppers–home run hitters. And you do need power. But you…
Continue ReadingWhy I Still Like Paper Books
May 23, 2011photo © 2007 Wonderlane | more info (via: Wylio) Not long ago I wrote a post on the importance of reading books, even in the 21st Century. I want to follow up on that by sharing why I still prefer paper books to e-books, even in the midst of the e-book revolution. Recently Amazon revealed that e-books for their Kindle reading device now outsell paperback and hardback sales of books. I also have quite a few friends who speak of enjoying their reading experience on their Kindles and iPads. And yet, I’m one person that has resisted the revolution. That’s…
Continue ReadingFriday Five: Jared C. Wilson
May 20, 2011If you’re a fan of Twitter (as I am), you’ll know that Jared C. Wilson is one of the great “follows.” He’s alternatively funny, serious, and poignant. Jared is a prolific writer, church planter, and conference speaker. He blogs regularly at his blog, The Gospel-Driven Life and at his group blog for writers, Thinklings. He’s currently the pastor of Middletown Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont as well as the author of Your Jesus is Too Safe and Gospel Wakefulness. Jared was kind enough to stop by for today’s Friday Five: You’re a guy from Texas pastoring a church in Vermont. You talk often…
Continue Reading10 Things I’m Not Looking for in a President
May 18, 2011Primary season (that silly time when potential aspirants for President schlepp around Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina in an attempt to win their party’s nomination) is upon us. As a fairly conservative Christian, I’m anticipating the primaries. I do respect our current President and feel he’s done an admirable job on some tough issues. I also admire his dedication to his family. But I’m likely to choose a more conservative alternative, mainly because of the issues like abortion, traditional marriage, and government spending. I’m not under the illusion that a change in party will fix all the problems…
Continue ReadingHow to Act Like An MVP
May 16, 2011A few years ago, one of my childhood heroes, Michael Jordan stood on a stage in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was giving a speech after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. I was expecting the usual words of acceptance, thanking parents and teachers and coaches. But instead, Michael shared a bitter rant against anyone who ever doubted his basketball ability. He was cruel and petty. Jordan’s speech was so cringe-inducing I turned it off. But most commentators excused it because the greatest basketball player in the history of the world can, in their words, “say what he wants.” In…
Continue ReadingFriday Five: Michael Kelley
May 13, 2011If you’re involved with a small group, attend Sunday-School, or attend a Bible study in your area, it’s likely you are dependent on Bible study curriculum, produced by Lifeway, Group, or other evangelical organizations. Well, who write this stuff? Today, we peel back the curtain as my friend, Michael Kelley, editor of Lifeway’s adult curriculum line, stops by for today’s Friday Five: What distinguishes Lifeway’s resources from the plethora of small-group/Bible study stuff out there? Hopefully a few things. Lifeway has a reputation of being first and foremost biblically sound. That’s something we take very seriously and will, by God’s…
Continue ReadingChristians and Conspiracy Theories
May 11, 2011Most of Americans rejoiced at the swift justice we unexpectedly witnessed on Sunday with the capture of terrorist mastermind, Osama Bin Laden. Many gave important cautions against too much celebrating about the eternal damnation of a soul once created in God’s image. In the days since, as with any news story, there are conflicting accounts of what happened in the raid by our brave Navy SEALS, including how involved the President was, why they buried Osama at sea, etc. And as such, there are a raft of conspiracy theories emerging. I won’t get into these here, but I think it’s…
Continue ReadingFriday Five – John Dyer
May 6, 2011What is the effect of technology on our souls? And how do people of faith discern what is good and what is harmful? Today I’ve invited my friend John Dyer for a thoughtful discussion on the intersection of faith and technology. John Dyer (Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary) has been a web developer for more than ten years, building tools for Apple, Microsoft, Harley Davidson, and the Department of Defense. He currently serves as the Director of Web Development for Dallas Theological Seminary and lives near Dallas, Texas with his wife Amber and two children, Benjamin and Rebecca. He has written…
Continue ReadingA God in My Head but a Hole in My Heart
May 2, 2011Twice the Psalms tells us, in identical language, “ a fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God’” (Psalm 53:1;Psalm 14:1). I have loved these passages most of my. They are a wonderful rebuke to atheists such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. But the last time I read them, I realized they may not simply be written to expose the foolishness of those who rule out the presence of God. Perhaps they’re written for those who do believe in God.
Continue ReadingFriday Five – Alex Chediak
April 29, 2011Today more kids go to college than ever before and yet many wonder if kids are truly ready. How do parents and pastors and influencers prepare young people for this important phase of their lives? Today I’m blessed to chat with Alex Chediak, author of the newly released book, Thriving at College. Alex is an Associate Professor of Engineering and Physics at California Baptist University. I think Alex has written a powerful and much-needed book. What like about it is that it is so comprehensive. I’d highly recommend it to any high-school senior or college freshman (or their parents, for that…
Continue ReadingMini Book Reviews
April 28, 2011I’ve been reading a lot lately. Here are two mini-reviews of two rather excellent books: A God Sized Vision by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge. I loved this book for many reasons. It’s a novel idea–to present a basic history of revival. Revival is a subject I had little knowledge of, other than being part of “revival meetings” at times. What Hansen and Woodbridge describe are historic movements of the Spirit upon a nation or group of people. What I love is that they don’t whitewash the warts of the leaders in each movement, they chronicle the excesses of movements,…
Continue ReadingCan We Retire This Word?
April 27, 2011I’ve only been preaching for three years, so technically I’m a “rookie pastor.” But already I’ve seen some tendencies I’m working to correct. One I find in myself and also see in other Christian communicators is an over- use of the word, “most.” We arrive at a countercultural truth in our study, perhaps a doctrine nobody seems to want to hear and we easily transition to, “You won’t hear that in most churches.” Or we say, “In most churches . . . .” or “many Christians . . . .” It’s an easy thing to do. I not only hear…
Continue ReadingEaster Meditation: What Am I Doing With Jesus?
April 23, 2011I’m writing this as I’m meditating on the most beautiful moment in the history of the world. It is the moment when the risen Jesus says, “Mary.” Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows the names of his sheep. And Mary was a most earnest seeker of Jesus. She had a past to be ashamed of, baggage that would embarrass most of us, things we wouldn’t talk about in polite company.
Continue ReadingGood Friday Meditation: Psalm 22
April 21, 2011This Good Friday I’m preaching on perhaps the most powerful passage regarding Jesus on the Cross. It’s actually found in the Old Testament in Psalm 22. What I found amazing about this passage is that it is the psalm of David, a mixture of lament and celebration. But none of the details David describes are events that happened in his life. He was never crucified. And nothing David did caused the entire nation, much less the entire world to bow before the Lord. So this is clearly a Messianic passage, God superintending the lament of King David and employing David…
Continue ReadingWhy Reading Books Still Matters
April 20, 2011photo © 2008 ladyb | more info (via: Wylio)One of the big questions we’re facing in the 21st Century is the question of books. Will we still need books? Or does everyone simply read blogs. In a world of iPads, Kindles, and Wii, are books important or are they an analog relic of the ancient past? It is true that the digital revolution has transformed the way we learn and process information. But I want to make an argument that books still matter. Why Reading Matters I’m not sure who said it, but it’s a good piece of wisdom. Readers…
Continue ReadingMy Books Available in New Formats
April 19, 2011excited to announce that my books are available in some new formats. First, my two teen devotionals, Teen People of the Bible and Crash Course are now available in the popular Bible study program, WordSearch. I have long used WordSearch for Bible study for preaching and writing. It is an indispensable tool for me. I highly recommend it. If you’re a WordSearch user, you can purchase my books as “ad-ons.” This might be really useful in preparing lessons for youth groups. Secondly, Teen People of the Bible is available in the Spanish language. You can order it from christianbook.com or other…
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