Culture
Human Dignity, Spiritual Leadership, and Madame Secretary: Some Recent Articles
Here are some recent articles I’ve published: Stop Pitting Pro-Life Causes Against Each Other For Relevant on the unfortunate tension between those who advocate for pro-life justice and those who advocate for racial justice: Back in January, those of us in the U.S. celebrated both Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday and Sanctity of Life Sunday. What would…
Read MoreGood Men Are Hard to Find: Lessons from the Life of George H.W. Bush
I just finished reading Jon Meacham’s magnificent biography of the 41st President of the United States, George HW Bush, a book I thoroughly enjoyed, from cover to cover. Bush’s election to the presidency in 1988 was the first presidential election I paid attention to. I was ten years old, already a budding politics and history nerd.…
Read MoreThe Way Home: Episode 34 featuring Vincent DiCaro
Today I am glad to be joined by my friend Vincent DiCaro, Chief Outreach Officer for Carenet. Prior to that Vincent worked at The National Fatherhood Initiative. Carenet is a national organization with over 1,100 crisis pregnancy centers. Vincent is going to talk to us about the effectiveness of Pregnancy Resource Centers, particularly in light of…
Read MoreThis World is Not Our Home . . . Or Is It?
“This World is Not My Home” was one of my favorite songs growing up. I sang it as part of a quartet that won first at the state convention in Illinois. (Relax, it was a Christian school competition, not exactly American Idol). But was popular song theologically right? In some ways, yes. The world system, run…
Read MorePastors, Don’t Be Passive on Planned Parenthood
This is my latest piece for Leadership Journal: how pastors can lead their churches to fight for life in this cultural moment: Pro-life activism has been a part of Christian witness throughout church history, but has received particularly focused attention by evangelicals and Catholics since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Now, though, we find…
Read MoreHow to preach on race
Today, at the Lifeway Pastors blog, I have an article encouraging white pastors to preach on racial reconciliation. It’s not a subject we’ve often addressed from the pulpit, for a variety of reasons. I also give three ways to do this. The first is the most obvious: preach on race when the biblical text in…
Read MoreHere We Stand: An Evangelical Statement on Marriage
Today the Supreme Court issued its ruling, making same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states. I am honored join a broad coalition of evangelicals to sign my name to this statement in dissent: As evangelical Christians, we dissent from the court’s ruling that redefines marriage. The state did not create the family, and should not try…
Read MoreA Primer on Southern Baptists
Just who are the Southern Baptists? When I did ministry in the Chicago area (not an SBC stronghold), I often heard evangelicals talk about Southern Baptists in ways that I knew were either caricatures or just plain wrong. This is why I was so glad my boss, Dr. Russell Moore, penned this great piece for OnFaith…
Read MoreWhat Dad taught Me: 5 Invaluable Principles I Use Every Day
My dad is a quiet man, more comfortable working with his hands than delivering a speech or writing an essay. But this doesn’t mean Dad wasn’t a teacher. Dad’s life spoke to me in ways that I still think of today. Most of these lessons were simply by following his example.
Read MoreGeorge Yancey on the Rise of Anti-Christian Bias
There has been a lot of recent debate over the shape of Christianity in the West and how it will cause the Church to rethink it’s posture. What nobody is debating is the increasing antagonism toward evangelical faith, both in the West and, in violent and murderous form, overseas. I had the chance to speak…
Read MoreThe Way Home – Episode 22 featuring Collin Hansen
What are the major blind spots of the evangelical movement? How should Christians read the latest Pew Report on Religion? Collin Hansen serves as editorial director for The Gospel Coalition. Hansen is the author of the seminal book on the young reformed movement, Young, Restless, and Reformed, and the coauthor of a terrific book on revival, A God-Sized Vision. We will…
Read MoreWhere the Next Great Christian Apologist Might Come From
Luke describes a poignant scene or series of scenes in Acts 9:19-21: For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in…
Read More