This morning I read the verses of 1 Timothy 3, a passage that describes the qualifications of those who may be leaders within the church. And having read those verses, which tell of the kind of godly character that must be present in the life of one who would be a pastor or elder, I…
Manute Bol’s Radical Christianity – It was interesting to see an article like this one in the Wall Street Journal. “Manute Bol, who died last week at the age of 47, is one player who never achieved redemption in the eyes of sports journalists. His life embodied an older, Christian conception of redemption that has…
8 Writing Tips from C.S. Lewis – Here is a good list of writing tips from C.S. Lewis (some of which have been slightly modernized). “In 1959 an American schoolgirl wrote to C. S. Lewis asking him for advice on the craft of writing. He sent her a list of eight rules, and I add…
Mark Driscoll must be a busy guy. As if his ministry at Mars Hill isn’t enough to keep him busy every hour of the day, he has also written a long line of books, the most recent of which is titled simply Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe. Like several of his previous volumes, this one…
In Memorian, James Montgomery Boice – Rick Phillips writes about James Montgomery Boice who died ten years ago this month. “In my opinion, the reason for James Boice’s influence and legacy is seldom understood. What was it about him that drew so wide an audience of pastors and laypeople? The answer is that as a…
Here is a prayer for the sick or for the spiritually-distressed. It is drawn from the Canadian and American Reformed Church web site. This is a prayer that comes from the perspective of the one so-afflicted and I don’t think it is necessarily meant as a pastoral prayer. It is worth changing the first person…
A couple of weeks ago I announced that we’d be taking a slight diversion in reading classic books together and would instead be reading a biography. That project will begin in less than 2 weeks, so I wanted to offer a final reminder about it. In order to make this program work, I set about…
I had all sorts of wonderful plans on what I was going to write today. It was going to be witty and compelling and brilliant. But then I realized with a start that it’s Friday and that I’m due to speak at a men’s retreat this evening. There are several hours of driving between myself…
Increasing the Earning Power of Your Children – Andy shares an easy way of increasing the earning power of your children. “Want your children to go further in their education—high school, college, maybe more? Want them to earn more as adults? Here’s one key predictor of educational attainment and earning power. Is it IQ? Is…
It’s easy to grow discouraged at the state of the church. As a person who invests a lot of time and attention to studying the church, her health and what Jesus requires of her, I often find myself prone to lamenting her state. Writers from all backgrounds and denominations have written about the church, and…
Email and Offline Relationships – TIME has a worthwhile article on the way email can potentially damage offline relationships. “It’s possible that instead of fostering real friendships off-line, e-mail and social networking may take the place of them — and the distance inherent in screen-only interactions may breed feelings of isolation or a tendency to…
“I look back upon him with awe, as on the saints and martyrs of old. A holy man, in spite of all his delusions and errors. He is now with his God and Saviour, whom he wronged so much, yet, I am persuaded, loved so sincerely.” So said Robert Murray McCheyne of Edward Irving. And…
Ligonier Valley Study Center – This article discusses the early years of Ligonier Ministries (or The Ligonier Valley Study Center as it was known at its beginning). It’s always amazing to see what God can do with such small beginnings. Learning to Lead – Melissa shares a heartfelt video from Matt Hammitt of the band…
As you read this, I’m on my way home from Orlando, Florida. I’ve been here with the family for nearly a week now, first to take in Ligonier Ministries’ National Conference and then to grab a few days’ vacation. This is part one of our two-part vacation this summer–a bit later on we’ll be headed…
It strikes me often how life is cyclical; how things I wrestle with and ponder and pray about will come to the forefront of my life and faith a month or a year or two years later. One of the biggest blessings of having a journal (which is often how this site functions for me)…
Yesterday I posted a brief summary of Al Mohler’s answer to “why does the universe look so old?” Today I want to provide the answer to another tough question. In this case I’m summarizing Derek Thomas’ thoughts on how a good God could command a just holy war (as he did in the Old Testament).…
As you know I’m at Ligonier Ministries’ annual conference this week. I was going to give you some thoughts on the conference today but maybe I’ll do that another time. Today Al Mohler spoke on an exceedingly difficult topic–why does the universe look so old? And I think he did an exceptional job of providing…
This weekend I am away down south in Orlando taking in Ligonier Ministries’ 2010 National Conference. I spoke yesterday at the pre-conference and am now blogging about the rest of the event (which lasts until Saturday at noon). I’ll tell you more about the conference tomorrow. But in the meantime, I’ve got another edition of…
The Reading Classics Together program has proven quite a success over the past couple of years. The impetus for this project was the simple realization that, though many Christians want to read through the classics of the faith, few of us have the motivation to actually make it happen. I know this was long the…
Jesus Statue Destroyed – I found this story strangely amusing. That giant statue of Jesus along the I-75 just outside Cincy was struck by lightning and destroyed. “Earlier this morning and late Monday night, motorists were stopped along the highway and along Union Road in Monroe to watch the 62-foot King of Kings statue burn.…