“Oh, how weary I am, how weary I’ve been for many years already, of this need to live twenty-four hours every day!” ~ Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) Silence, solitude, and a slower pace of life. I yearn for more of all three. In a bustling and busy world where voices...

Life in a post-Genesis 3 world ensures both heavenly and hellish days as we march toward the New Jerusalem. Whether we're basking in the warmth of God's blessings or trudging through the snow of a difficult season, notes of grace are all around us. An unexpected note...

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...

“Oh, how weary I am, how weary I’ve been for many years already, of this need to live twenty-four hours every day!” ~ Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) Silence, solitude, and a slower pace of life. I yearn for more of all three. In a bustling and busy world where voices...

Life in a post-Genesis 3 world ensures both heavenly and hellish days as we march toward the New Jerusalem. Whether we're basking in the warmth of God's blessings or trudging through the snow of a difficult season, notes of grace are all around us. An unexpected note...

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...