Friday Five
George 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 MoreShort-Term Missions Trips: Good or Bad?
There has been a lot of discussion and debate among missiologists about the validity of short-term mission trips. Some view them as an impediment to long-term, rooted gospel work in cross-cultural contexts and others still see mission trips, used well, as a great tool to engage God’s people in His work in different cultures. I posed…
Read MoreFinding the Story Behind the Story
Every story, whether in movie or music, has a story behind the story. I’ve learned a lot about this from the work of my friend Mike Cosper, who I’ve interviewed several times. Another voice is Kevin Harvey, who has written a new book, All You Want to Know about The Bible in Pop Culture: helping Christians see…
Read MoreWhen I was hungry
One of the more interesting books I came across lately is written by Daniel Ryan Day: 10 Days Without. In this book, Day chronicles his experiment in experiencing the suffering of those who are less fortunate. Each day he gave up a personal item, such as a coat, a meal, technology. The items were carefully chosen, items that are luxuries for people in the developing world, items first-world people easily take for granted. I had the chance to interview Day for my weekly Leadership Journal blog. Here was one of the questions:
Read MoreJosh McDowell and The Reliability of Scripture
One of the most popular apologetics resources in the 20th Century was the classic Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. In many ways, Josh set the standard for apologetics work that would follow. Perhaps the most compelling evidence for the validity of the claims of Christianity is the increasing volume of manuscripts continually discovered by archeologists.
Well Josh McDowell is back with some new manuscript research. I interview him about this new discovery, about inherency, and his perspective on the future of the evangelical movement. Here is one of my questions:
The Church As the Answer for Loneliness
We are be the most connected generation ever, with no shortage of ways to communicate with our fellow man. And yet, we may be the most isolated, individualistic generation ever. In some ways, Facebook, Twitter, IM, texting–has brought us closer together. And in other ways it’s kept us apart.
I talked about this interesting paradox with Erin Davis, author of an important new book, Connected. Here is one of the questions I asked her:
Read MoreTeens and Screens: Advice for Parents
As a father of four children under ten, I am constantly thinking about our kids’ interaction with technology. On the one hand, I want them to be read and equipped to leverage technology to fulfill their God-given mission in this age. On the other hand, I see technology as a kind of loaded weapon that…
Read MoreThe Surprising Advice Max Lucado Gives to Young Pastors
Max Lucado has been one of the most popular evangelical leaders for many years. His books have sold in the millions and are a regular fixture on the bestseller’s list. I had the chance to interview Max for my weekly blog with Leadership Journal. As with all interviews, this one had to be trimmed for publication. Leadership Journal featured the questions I asked Max about his new book on prayer. But I also asked him about his hopes and concerns for the evangelical movement and the surprising advice he gives to young pastors.
Read MoreFinding God in the Darkness
Praising God when everything is going well–that’s one thing. But what about praising God, or even finding God, when life gets dark. Let’s face it, if you’ve lived long enough you’ll experience seasons of crushing, hopeless despair and wonder where God is in the midst of it. That’s why I’m glad to see AJ. Swoboda’s…
Read MoreLee Strobel’s Crisis of Faith
Lee Strobel is a world-famous apologist who has presented arguments for the Christian faith in a variety of popular venues and has debated the sharpest secular minds. But what happened when he had his own personal crisis of faith, when a sudden illness brought him close to death? In a new and unusually personal book, Strobel talks about a fresh understanding of grace. I asked him about this in an interview for Leadership Journal:
Read MorePastors Who Press On
Discouragement: it maybe the leading cause of failure in pastoral ministry. How do pastors keep from growing weary in their work? I had the chance to talk to an experienced ministry practitioner, Travis Collins. Travis has held a variety of ministry roles and is the author of a new book: For Ministers About to Start or…
Read MoreTwo Things We Need: Comedy and Rest
I want to highlight two recent articles that are related to each other, I think. First, I wrote a column for Christianity.com about the need for comedy. I thought of this in light of the death of Robin Williams. Here’s an excerpt: The Scriptures tell us that laughter is a kind of medicine for the…
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