Culture
Is Orthodoxy Causing Young Evangelicals to Flee the Faith?
Today I’ve got a post up at the CNN Belief Blog, debunking the narrative that holding fast to the truth is causing evangelicals to leave the Church: Yes, it is true that Christians should be known more for what they are for than what they are against. But if you move past the rhetoric, you’ll…
Read MoreFaith at Work: More than Evangelism
A recovery of the doctrine of vocation is one of the most encouraging things I see in the evangelical church. In the last few years, there have been some really good books written on the intersection of faith and work. Work Matters by Tom Nelson and Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller are two notable ones. Recently,…
Read MorePray for Hobby Lobby
Tomorrow is a consequential day in the history of religious liberty. The United States Supreme Court is taking up a case involving two Christian-owned businesses: Hobby Lobby Stores and Conastoga Woods. Hobby Lobby, of course, is the most prominent of these two companies. The conflict is this: can the government compel a business to endorse…
Read MorePreaching and Baseball
In an article for Leadership Journal, I compare ministry to baseball. Pastors have a tendency to “swing for the fences” with every sermon, but we’re better off working hard on the little things of preaching in order to give our people a lifetime of good spiritual food: Ministry is very much like baseball in this way.…
Read MoreChristians on Computers Talking Cakes
You probably don’t want to read one more article on the religious liberty, cake-baking, gay marriage controversy. But let me diverge from the important legal and spiritual implications of this discussion and talk about the actual discussion itself. How should the discussion among Christians be driven around the public water cooler of social media? Here…
Read MoreA word to husbands on Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that sneaks up on you. Well, at least it sneaks up on me. The winter is rich with holidays for the Darling Family: Angela and I were married the week before Thanksgiving, two of our four children have December birthdays, and my birthday is in late January. It…
Read MoreBeware of Backdoor Legalism
Last week, during an apparent display of debauchery at the Grammy’s (I don’t usually watch award shows. It’s just not my thing. Other folks feel that way about NFL football, which I love). This caused award-winning singer, Natalie Grant to walk out. She was, from all accounts, not self-righteous or judgmental about it, but just…
Read MoreCelebrating Sanctity of Human Life Sunday In Your Church
Sunday is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. If you are a pastor or church leader, I encourage you to celebrate this in your church. Here are a few resources you might consider: 1) Here’s an oped I cowrote with my colleague Andrew Walker for Christianity Today. A snippet: As evangelicals who came of age during…
Read MoreThe Last Evangelical Hipster
Yes, here is one more blog post opining on the Duck Dynasty kerfuffle. Like the man I work for, Dr. Russell Moore, I’m not fan of reality TV. And as a child of suburban Chicago, I don’t really fit the Duck Dynasty demographic, though it’s widespread appeal clearly shows that the show resonates with more…
Read MorePreach the Gospel and Forget Politics?
Evangelicals are evaluating their posture in an increasingly post-Christian age. This is good, but there are some myths we’ve adopted that are unhelpful. In my weekly post for ERLC, I tackled five of these. Here is a common one: We should only preach the gospel and make disciples and not worry about politics. Here is my…
Read MoreShaping Minds Thru Fiction – A Conversation With Trevin Wax
I had a chance to interview my good friend, Trevin Wax about his brand-new book, Clear Winter Nights. Trevin is one of my favorite bloggers and authors. He’s also the managing editor of The Gospel Project curriculum from Lifeway, a fantastic tool that I highly recommend churches use for all ages. In this video conversation, I talk to Trevin…
Read MoreThe horrible social costs of gambling
I’ll never forget the one time I visited Las Vegas. I was in town for a wedding and was awed by the amazing architecture. It seemed to me, at the time, that no expense was spared by the developers. But while Christians can admire the beautiful architecture of Vegas, we must admit that there is…
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