Skip to content ↓

Explore October 2005

  • Oh, How Long Till I Become Holy?

    In the past several days I have found myself turning time and again to a particular song, a song that has been in my collection for many years and which I have always enjoyed. Sung by a short-lived band named “Doulos,” the title of the song is simply, “Again.” The song seems to capture something…

    5 min read
  • Articles Collection cover image

    The Shallowness of Evangelicalism

    It was just about two years ago that I came to a rather disappointing realization. After much reflection and soul-searching I came to realize that much of what I believed as a Christian was mere cliché. I wrote about this last year and said “I believe it is important that we investigate words we frequently…

    7 min read

  • Reflections on the Desiring God Conference

    I returned safely from Minneapolis last night. The journey home was quick and uneventful. While I had a wonderful time at the conference, I am always glad to return to the comforts of home and family. Today is Thanksgiving Day (yes, we celebrate it on a Monday unlike our American neighbors who prefer Thursday) so…

    6 min read

  • Desiring God Conference – Final Session

    Today’s message is “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, Part 2” by John Piper. The purpose of this message to to magnify Christ in His suffering and in that process to venture what is the ultimate biblical explanation for suffering. Further, we will do it in a way that would free us from the paralyzing…

    9 min read

  • Desiring God Conference – Session Seven

    At lunch time today Doug and I had lunch with Adam (aka Ochuk) who lives nearby. It was great to eat with him (and witness Adam eating his first-ever Big Mac). Ochuk is every bit as well-read and intelligent as one would assume from reading his web site. At dinner we ate with Jack, a…

    5 min read

  • Desiring God Conference – Session Six

    Today’s fourth session, featuring Steve Saint, is entitled “Sovereignty, Suffering and the Work of Missions.” Steve is the son of a missionary who was killed by natives in Ecuador some forty years ago. His father was part of the missionary group of which the better-known Jim Elliot was also a member. Steve has since become…

    3 min read

  • Desiring God Conference – Session Five

    The third session of the day features David Powlison who will be speaking on “Christ’s Grace and Your Sufferings.” David is editor of the “Journal of Biblical Counselling.” He wants to put us to work by asking the following question: in your life, what is the single most significant experience of suffering that you have…

    4 min read

  • Desiring God Conference – Session Four

    The second session of the day will be led by Mark Talbot who will be speaking on “‘All the Good That is Ours in Christ:’ Seeing God’s Gracious Hand in the Hurts Others Do Us.” A fact you may not know is that Mark broke his back when he was seventeen years old and walks…

    7 min read

  • Desiring God Conference – Session Three

    After a sleep which was far too short (Doug likes to talk), we wandered downtown Minneapolis for a while before finally finding a place to eat breakfast. Having done that, we returned to the convention center and I was privileged to meet readers Jack,Boyd, Dave, Andrew and Marc as well as John Piper who let…

    5 min read

  • Desiring God Conference – Session Two

    Just an update for anyone who is attending the conference and looking for Doug or myself. We’re the guys with the laptops (but you already knew that). We’re sitting by the sound table in the back of the auditorium. Whenever there is a break we’ll be out in the lobby uploading our stories. Drop by…

    4 min read

  • Desiring God Conference – Session One

    As you know, I was asked to live-blog the Desiring God National Conference. This evening, Saturday and Sunday morning I will bring to you updates from this conference. You can also check coffeeswirls.com as Doug is blogging right beside me. I apologize in advance for spelling errors, grammatical errors, and the like. Because of the…

    9 min read

  • Friday Frivolity

    I have a question of ethics that I’m sure is unique to our technologically-advanced age. It concerns one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century and one that has been updated for the twenty-first. I am talking about, of course, Tupperware (which I use as a generic term for reusable storage containers). Now it…

    3 min read
  • Articles Collection cover image

    Where is God in the Storm?

    I cut my teeth on this site by discussing controversial topics. Of course when I began I really had little idea that these topics were controversial. I just began to write about The Purpose Driven Life, The Passion of the Christ and authors like John Eldredge without realizing that anyone other than myself really cared…

    13 min read