Church Life
How to Think About Cooperation
What lines should Christians draw when it comes to their allegiances? How do we understand primary, secondary, and tertiary issues? I wrote about this at length in my forthcoming book, Agents of Grace which drops May 9th but I wanted to present this here because the way we cooperate with each other is increasingly a topic of…
Read MoreWhy I’m Hopeful About the Evangelical Movement – USA Today
In 1976, the cover of Newsweek declared that, with a presidential election that featured the born-again Jimmy Carter, it was the “Year of the Evangelical.” Forty-five years later, the news media fascination with my spiritual family has not abated. From the heady days of 2004, when once again evangelicals were crowned a defining political force, to this moment when a cottage industry…
Read MorePassing The Plate In a Digital Age
I saw an offering plate before I was even old enough to attend church. My father was a lay elder and church treasurer. This usually meant I got to stay and play with my friends long after the services were finished, because Dad was counting the offering. The offering plate is as indelible in my…
Read MoreHow Pastors Can Combat Conspiracy Theories
It came as a text from a very close friend: “Did you know Mike Pence is part of a global human trafficking ring?” I didn’t really even know where to begin. I know people who have worked closely with the former vice president and repeatedly vouch for his character and integrity. What’s more, if a…
Read MoreChristmas During COVID: What the Incarnation Speaks to Our Troubled World
As 2020 careens to a close and we limp into Christmas season, most of us aren’t feeling very jolly. It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but we’re just hoping to make it through December. Preferably with a vaccine. Few us thought last year when we celebrated the season, that in a…
Read MoreHow to Keep Your Friends In An Election Season
I recorded this video for Lifeway Voices on keeping your friends in an election season. I give four reasons: 1) Determine not to let politics be a litmus test for friendship. 2) Listen to those who disagree 3) Look beyond the election 4) Take the long view
Read MoreChurch Unity and The Presidential Election
We’re living in one of the most divisive years in American history, with a raging pandemic, racial tension and a contentious election. When I talk to pastors, they’re grieved at the way brothers and sisters in Christ are so divided—grieved at the way people are talking to each other and about each other. So how do pastors…
Read MoreEmbracing My Less than Spectacular Church
For nearly nine years I was on senior staff at one of the largest evangelical churches in the suburbs of Chicago. We were highly organized, and prided ourselves on excellence in all of our ministry outreaches. My drive to work every day was about 30 minutes, a commute that took me past many small churches,…
Read MoreThe Church That Saved Me
When a church looks for a pastor, in most cases, it is looking for a leader who can revive its witness and vitality in the community. So I supposed Gages Lake Bible Church, a small, struggling church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, was looking for a human savior. And while we had some successes…
Read MoreHow Did Jesus View the Bible?
When I pastored my small, theologically conservative church, I could safely assume the people sitting in the pews on Sunday morning to hear me preach believed that the Bible they held in their hands was God’s Word. But what exactly does that mean? Enter Pastor Kevin DeYoung. His book, Taking God at His Word: Why the…
Read More7 Times Your ‘Righteous’ Anger Probably Isn’t
When pastors get angry, things can get complicated. On the one hand, we know that anger is not always an indication of sin. After all, we say to ourselves, Jesus got angry. Paul also counseled the Ephesians on anger, saying, “In your anger do not sin” (Eph. 4:26): implying that anger is inevitable in human…
Read MoreHere is the Church, but Where is the Steeple?
Several years ago, a church I pastored went through a massive remodeling effort, updating a tired, ‘90s-era look with more modern, chic, 21st-century décor. Peeling wallpaper was replaced with fresh paint. Hideous brown siding was covered over with a beautiful new stone treatment. A landscaper transformed some tired and unkempt bushes into a beautiful garden…
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