John Piper once wrote, “Books don’t change people; paragraphs do. Sometimes even sentences.”[1] Though true in every dimension of my life, three sentences related to pastoral ministry have been meaningful to me that I would like to share with you. Sentence 1 The first...

Introduction I love reading John Owen (1616–1683). Like other Puritan pastors, he wrote theologically weighty tomes and spiritually affecting treatises. Over the past three years, I have read three of Owen’s theological works—his Discourse on the Holy Spirit, The...

A concerned family member recently asked me to intervene in a political discussion gone sour on Facebook between two relatives. “I can’t,” I responded, “I have a root canal scheduled.” “Really?” she replied. “No, but I’d rather have that than log on to Facebook,” I...

Christianity Today’s (CT) documentary “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is all the rage these days in the evangelical world—and understandably so, given the influence of Mars Hill and Mark Drsicoll, and the quality of CT’s production. The host, Mike Cosper, skillfully...

One of the books we recommend in our weekly Gospel Encouragement is Paul Tripp’s devotional New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional. Each morning provides readers with a dose of conviction and encouragement. The last two Mondays (September 6 and 13) were...

Jane Kenyon (1947–1995) penned one of my favorite poems. It’s titled “Man Eating,” and goes like this: The man at the table across from mine is eating yogurt. His eyes, following the progress of the spoon, cross briefly each time it nears his face. Time, and the world...

Confessions of an Enneagram 3 Mentioning the Enneagram (pronounced any-a-gram) is controversial in Christian circles. Some love it while others loath it. The lovers say it can improve self-knowledge and lead to personal transformation. The loathers call it the...

During my sermon “Unfailing Love for a Faithless People” (Hosea 14:1–9)—which Vinnie preached for me!—I noted that the path to restoring our relationship with God is through repentance and reliance on Christ. Besides a brief glance at the Hebrew and Greek words, my...

I still remember the first time I read this sentence by J. I. Packer: “God’s purpose in revelation is to make friends with us.”[1] I marveled at the thought that the God of the universe wanted to be friends with me. Could it be true? I now know that through the means...

Enjoy! “[B]y framing the abortion dispute as essentially a clash of raw interests between strangers—a person and a nonperson—Justice Blackmun [1908–1999] embraces the narrative of expressive individualism: a universe of lonely atomized wills each seeking their own...

John Piper once wrote, “Books don’t change people; paragraphs do. Sometimes even sentences.”[1] Though true in every dimension of my life, three sentences related to pastoral ministry have been meaningful to me that I would like to share with you. Sentence 1 The first...

Introduction I love reading John Owen (1616–1683). Like other Puritan pastors, he wrote theologically weighty tomes and spiritually affecting treatises. Over the past three years, I have read three of Owen’s theological works—his Discourse on the Holy Spirit, The...

A concerned family member recently asked me to intervene in a political discussion gone sour on Facebook between two relatives. “I can’t,” I responded, “I have a root canal scheduled.” “Really?” she replied. “No, but I’d rather have that than log on to Facebook,” I...

Christianity Today’s (CT) documentary “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is all the rage these days in the evangelical world—and understandably so, given the influence of Mars Hill and Mark Drsicoll, and the quality of CT’s production. The host, Mike Cosper, skillfully...

One of the books we recommend in our weekly Gospel Encouragement is Paul Tripp’s devotional New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional. Each morning provides readers with a dose of conviction and encouragement. The last two Mondays (September 6 and 13) were...

Jane Kenyon (1947–1995) penned one of my favorite poems. It’s titled “Man Eating,” and goes like this: The man at the table across from mine is eating yogurt. His eyes, following the progress of the spoon, cross briefly each time it nears his face. Time, and the world...

Confessions of an Enneagram 3 Mentioning the Enneagram (pronounced any-a-gram) is controversial in Christian circles. Some love it while others loath it. The lovers say it can improve self-knowledge and lead to personal transformation. The loathers call it the...

During my sermon “Unfailing Love for a Faithless People” (Hosea 14:1–9)—which Vinnie preached for me!—I noted that the path to restoring our relationship with God is through repentance and reliance on Christ. Besides a brief glance at the Hebrew and Greek words, my...

I still remember the first time I read this sentence by J. I. Packer: “God’s purpose in revelation is to make friends with us.”[1] I marveled at the thought that the God of the universe wanted to be friends with me. Could it be true? I now know that through the means...

Enjoy! “[B]y framing the abortion dispute as essentially a clash of raw interests between strangers—a person and a nonperson—Justice Blackmun [1908–1999] embraces the narrative of expressive individualism: a universe of lonely atomized wills each seeking their own...