Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15). “Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and the common circumstances which attend death” ~ Jonathan Edwards ____________________________________________ They say gray hair...

“You’re just a nice-looking boy, a bit slight, well scrubbed and well mannered. All that is fine, but it’s your existence I love you for, mainly. Existence seems to me now the most remarkable thing that could ever be imagined” ~ Marilynne Robinson[1]...

Countless books on pastoral ministry flood the Christian market each year. My guess is only a few are worth reading—and perhaps even less worth remembering. Amid the torrent of this year’s releases, one came hot off the presses with much fanfare and many a...

Note: Fred Sanders's book The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, prompted the following thoughts. _____________________________________________________________________ Evangelicals yearn for immediacy and practicality, not necessarily prolonged...

As a lover and occasional writer of poetry, the following words by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) remain emblazoned in my mind, although I first read them years ago: “What is a poet? An unhappy man who hides deep anguish in his heart, but whose...

With his retirement on the horizon, my mentor/friend, Steve McLean, was asked to speak to a group of a missionaries on the topic “Three Verses That Kept Me in the Ministry.” As you can tell, the topic spurred me to consider the same question for myself. After some...

What do churches want in a pastor? This question has swirled around in my mind for years. Given that no pastor can or will be a second incarnation of Jesus Christ, no church will find or select a sinless man to lead their church. This means every search committee will...

If you had told me as a kid that I would spend my life pastoring a church, I may have punched you in the face. Not really, but I certainly would have thought you were crazy. (I suspect my friends would have as well, since they somewhat routinely tell me they can’t...

“There is no effrontery in burning to know, out of faithful piety, the divine and inexpressible truth that is above us, provided the mind is fired by the grace of our Creator and Savior, and not inflated by arrogant confidence in its own powers” ~ Augustine...

If the small group Bible study you’re attending is ever in need of some scintillating conversation, bring up the intent and extent of Christ’s atonement. In my experience, the next five or six hours should be filled with lots of interesting discussion. And if you’re...

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15). “Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and the common circumstances which attend death” ~ Jonathan Edwards ____________________________________________ They say gray hair...

“You’re just a nice-looking boy, a bit slight, well scrubbed and well mannered. All that is fine, but it’s your existence I love you for, mainly. Existence seems to me now the most remarkable thing that could ever be imagined” ~ Marilynne Robinson[1]...

Countless books on pastoral ministry flood the Christian market each year. My guess is only a few are worth reading—and perhaps even less worth remembering. Amid the torrent of this year’s releases, one came hot off the presses with much fanfare and many a...

Note: Fred Sanders's book The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, prompted the following thoughts. _____________________________________________________________________ Evangelicals yearn for immediacy and practicality, not necessarily prolonged...

As a lover and occasional writer of poetry, the following words by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) remain emblazoned in my mind, although I first read them years ago: “What is a poet? An unhappy man who hides deep anguish in his heart, but whose...

With his retirement on the horizon, my mentor/friend, Steve McLean, was asked to speak to a group of a missionaries on the topic “Three Verses That Kept Me in the Ministry.” As you can tell, the topic spurred me to consider the same question for myself. After some...

What do churches want in a pastor? This question has swirled around in my mind for years. Given that no pastor can or will be a second incarnation of Jesus Christ, no church will find or select a sinless man to lead their church. This means every search committee will...

If you had told me as a kid that I would spend my life pastoring a church, I may have punched you in the face. Not really, but I certainly would have thought you were crazy. (I suspect my friends would have as well, since they somewhat routinely tell me they can’t...

“There is no effrontery in burning to know, out of faithful piety, the divine and inexpressible truth that is above us, provided the mind is fired by the grace of our Creator and Savior, and not inflated by arrogant confidence in its own powers” ~ Augustine...

If the small group Bible study you’re attending is ever in need of some scintillating conversation, bring up the intent and extent of Christ’s atonement. In my experience, the next five or six hours should be filled with lots of interesting discussion. And if you’re...