Then said Evangelist, 'If this by thy condition, why standest thou still?' He answered, 'Because I know not where to go.' -Pilgrim's Progress Been There, Done That, Thank God Thirty one years ago I asked for help, and I got it. Continue Reading
April 24, 2015
Reparative Therapy: What it Is, What it Isn’t, Why it Matters (Part One of a Five Part Series)
January 5, 2015
Transsexual Tragedy
“No, of course, What really matters is the blame, Somebody to blame Fine, if that’s the thing you enjoy, Placing the blame, If that’s the aim, Give me the blame." -from 'Into the Woods' by Stephen Sondheim’ There’s a time for mourning and a time for finger pointing, and generally they shouldn’t mingle. Case in point: The recent and well publicized suicide of 17 year old Joshua Alcorn, a high school transsexual going by the name “Leelah”, who posted a farewell message via Tumblr on December 28, deliberately timed to be displayed Continue Reading
December 1, 2014
The Transsexual Dilemma: Part 1 of a 5-Part Series
Six years ago I wrote an article on transsexualism – a person’s identification with the opposite sex (“I’m a woman in a man’s body”) or the act of surgically or cosmetically living as if you were a member of the opposite sex. At the time I was concerned about the challenges it poses to the modern Church, so the Christian Research Journal, a publication for which I’m blessed to be a contributing writer, commissioned an article from me on the topic. Continue Reading
October 23, 2014
Your Dark Stinky Basement
Years ago I leased office space in a charming old historical building in our city. It was a three story affair with nooks and crannies everywhere, including a basement and, beneath the basement, a crawlspace for storage. Several different pastors, counselors and attorneys worked out of this building, all of us proud of its rustic charm. Until the day when we walked in and got a whiff of something nauseating. We couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but it permeated the place. We opened all the windows the air the rooms out, then searched Continue Reading
October 15, 2014
Houston, Homosexuality and Heavy Handedness
Since the Ebola scare is today’s top story, there’s a secondary item you may be unaware of: the City Council of Houston has subpoenaed the sermons of local pastors to review what they’ve been saying about homosexuality. Under any circumstances that’s at least outrageous; at most, frightening. But the events leading to this heavy-handedness only underscore what an abusive, arrogant move it really is. “Houston, We Have a Problem” It all began last June, when the Houston City Council passed the Human Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) also known Continue Reading
September 30, 2014
The Intimate Enemy
“Husbands, love your wives”, Paul admonishes in Colossians 3:19. Well, we’ve heard that before, but then he adds an interesting challenge: “—and be not bitter towards them.” Hmmm. As a former Pharisee, Paul had almost certainly been married at one time, then probably widowed. He knew something firsthand about men and women, and the dynamics that come between them, and from that knowledge sprang a command to men not to be bitter towards their wives – spoken, it seems, with the assumption that bitterness can be a common problem to husbands. Continue Reading
September 2, 2014
Time to Run?
“Should such a man as I flee?” –Nehemiah 6: 11 Nehemiah had it rough. His passion was to rebuild; the distractions and opposition along the way were relentless. First, since Israel’s enemies hated the idea of the Hebrews regaining their city’s fortification, they tried every trick in the book – mocking, threats, slander – to keep Jerusalem’s walls from going up. Second, in the midst of rebuilding he discovered that some wealthy Israelites were exploiting their own brethren through high interest mortgages; some had also intermarried Continue Reading
August 18, 2014
Armed
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. – I Peter 4:1 Continue Reading
July 29, 2014
You Want Her to Trust You Again?
The married man who uses porn, commits adultery, or gives himself to other kinds of unclean behavior breaks trust. He’s in a covenanted relationship with a woman he pledged himself to, probably with the best of intentions, but somewhere along the way he’s given himself permission to indulge. Sometimes there are problems in the marriage his wife is largely responsible for, and she’ll need to ‘fess up to that if things are to improve, but that can never excuse his sin. Other times (and I find this true more often than not) it’s a pretty good Continue Reading
April 21, 2014
Armed and Suffering
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. – I Peter 4:1 In 1982 I tried getting into some serious bodybuilding, putting my then 27 year old carcass through a tortuous regime which I came to really love. My trainer spent a good deal of time prepping me for the bodybuilding lifestyle, emphasizing what became an important, obvious point: If I could fully embrace the necessity of pain for the sake of gain, I'd succeed. I Continue Reading
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