Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. - Romans 12:15 Continue Reading
April 15, 2015
Digested But Untested
“Believers think of themselves as individuals first, Americans second, and Christians third. Until that prioritization is rearranged, the Church will continue to lose influence, and biblical principles will represent simply one more option among the numerous worldviews that Americans may choose from." - George Barna “Prove all things; hold fast what is good.” - I Thessalonians 5: 21 Ask a roomful of believers if they’re all on the same page, and they’re likely to say yes. Ask them to then read aloud from the page they’re on individually, Continue Reading
March 11, 2015
The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Should I?
Maybe we've had it too easy. Continue Reading
November 12, 2014
Sound Doctrine: Endangered Species, Essential Structure
All a man, a church or a denomination needs to guarantee deterioration of doctrine is to take everything for granted and do nothing. The unattended garden will soon be overrun with weeds. -A.W. Tozer I once heard a wise Rabbi say, “It’s no mystery how things happen. They’re allowed to happen, that’s how.” Continue Reading
November 3, 2014
The Unnatural Drifter
“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom ---” - D.A. Carson I’m an unnatural man, and I hope my life shows it. At least, that's I try to be. How else can I explain some of the life-changing and seemingly radical decisions I’ve made over the years, or some of the things I say “no” to when everything in me Continue Reading
August 27, 2014
When the Young and the Restless Leave Church
My son had some disturbing news to share the other day. He attended an event where several of his old friends who had graduated from his youth group showed up. When he asked how they were doing, too many of them explained that, since moving on from the high school ministry, they’d left the faith for various reasons. Of course, others still had their relationship with God intact, but he was understandably sad. I’m understandably disturbed. And the worst of it is, the ranks of older adolescents shifting from church to unbelief seem to be Continue Reading
August 15, 2014
Keeping it Real
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many part." -Poem by Shakespeare Believe it or not, that tow-headed 17 year old is me playing Oscar Madison in a 1971 production of The Odd Couple at Wilson High School of Long Beach, California. Continue Reading
June 26, 2014
Some ABC’s We Can’t (But Often Do) Ignore
Certain words – important ones - simply don’t mean what they used to. “Christian” traditionally meant born again, believing in the authority of scripture, and seeking to have one’s life conformed to God’s will and teachings. Now it’s become an ambiguous label for all things nice or spiritual. “Evangelical” referred to those believing the essentials of the faith while striving to share the Good News wherever they could. But like “Christian”, it too is fast losing its defining features, as more and more of those using the term are simultaneously Continue Reading
May 29, 2014
You Said It
“Words are like eggs dropped from great heights; you can no more call them back than ignore the mess they leave when they fall.” ― Jodi Picoult, Salem Falls You’re leaving a trail. It goes all the way back to when you first learned to speak, and it represents your beliefs, feelings and priorities over the years. It’s a trail that’s blessed some, offering comfort and inspiration, and laid a wounding curse on others. It’s also veered from left to right, I’ll bet, changing direction at times and sometimes even contradicting itself. Continue Reading
January 31, 2014
Twinkie Salad
It’s become chic to say Christians should be known more by what we’re for than what we’re against. Usually the phrase is employed to criticize believers who openly stand against abortion, homosexuality, pornography or unclean entertainment. (Though interestingly enough, if the same believers stand against human trafficking or child abuse, no one pulls out the For and Against line.) And to a point I agree. If our primary message has been a one-note tirade against select sins, then yeah, we blew it. That’s Law without Gospel, obsession with one Continue Reading
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