I never met my father’s father. He died several years before I was born and I knew him only as the mysterious “grandpa,” a tall and powerful figure in black and white photos and old newspaper clippings. But my mother’s father I knew well. He was “Bapa” to his grandchildren, a name bestowed upon him…
I Hate Porn – There are a lot of people who hate porn, but who still look at it every day. I’m hoping they read this and learn to really hate it. Vulnerable to Attack – Chuck Lawless: “Based on years of my studying spiritual warfare, here are eight ways I’ve seen leaders allow themselves…
I do not read a lot of fiction. It’s not that I have anything against a good novel, but more that there is just so much I want to know and so many facts I want to learn, that time dedicated to story feels like it is taking me away from a more urgent pursuit.…
God is Faithful – It is good to be reminded again and again that God is faithful. Because otherwise we somehow begin to doubt it. Punishment and Discipline – “God does not punish His children—He disciplines them. There is an enormous difference between punishment and discipline…” Removing My Children from the Internet – A father…
Every guy has received a warning about “the second glance.” Here’s how it works: When you see an attractive woman, you are morally responsible for the second glance, not the first. Because you cannot help seeing what is there in front of you, the second glance is the one where you will display sin or…
Strange Fire – It has just been announced that since the Strange Fire conference sold out so quickly, it will be live-streamed to anyone who wants to watch it. It runs from this Wednesday to Friday. Would you be interested in having me live-blog it and making this a place we can discuss it? I…
John Davison Rockefeller was a Christian, an industrialist and a great philanthropist who founded, among other institutions, the University of Chicago and The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now known as Rockefeller University) in New York City. Born in 1839 to William and Eliza Rockefeller, John was the second of their six children and their…
Appreciating Our Differences – There is value in reading this article about appreciating differences in marriage; there may be a bit more value in actually filling out the assessment and talking it over. A Slow Death to the Soul – I think the best part of Mez McConnell’s article on mercy ministry comes near the…
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by Christian Statements, sister company to Missional Wear. They are offering 5 prizes, each of which is a $50 gift certificate to their store. Christian Statements offers removable decorative wall vinyl with a focus on scripture verses, inspirational phrases and quotes from your favorite theologians. They are ideal…
I spent a couple of days this week speaking at a conference at the Creation Museum—my first time visiting it. (Note: this article is dated October 2013.) Before I arrived I decided to put a little bit of thought into why I am a six-day creationist. I wanted to affirm in my own mind that…
Mourn Over Your Sins – “Spiritual mourning is laden with blessing and we are to go after it and get as much of it in our lives as we possibly can. The more you know of this mourning, the more joy you will experience in your life. How does one receive the comfort that comes…
Over the past few weeks Dr. Joel Beeke and I have been teaming up to work our way through a portion of his massive new work A Puritan Theology. We have not been reading the whole book, but just the final eight chapters which deal with practical theology, the “so what?” of systematic theology. This…
The Ayres Family Buried Eight Children – “Recently, we walked through the oldest cemetery in New Albany, Indiana, where the founders and many of our town’s first settlers are buried. We happened upon the family plot of a father, mother, and their eight children. These parents buried all of their sons and daughters before their…
Counting the Cost of a Church Website Hello again from Church Plant Media! In our Web Stuff Wednesdays Introduction we asked you, the readers of Challies Dot Com, to comment on that post with your church website questions. Carl asked the following: If I understand correctly, there are two kinds of web sites: sites you…
We are handing power tools to children and acting surprised when they get badly hurt. If I had any doubt about the potential evils of the Internet, they were permanently erased when I wrote a book about pornography, and followed it with one on life and faith after the digital explosion. In the aftermath I received…
Do I Have to Know the Date? – “Pastor John, I was greatly troubled in a service recently when the preacher said that unless each person could identify the specific day that they prayed ‘the sinner’s prayer’ they were not converted. … I feel sure I am converted but this preacher has unsettled me enormously.…
Jefferson Bethke is a YouTube sensation who exploded onto the scene in January 2012 when he released a spoken word poem titled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” Within three days it had been viewed 6 million times and as of today it has been viewed 25 million times. He went from unknown to…
The Reformation and the Press – “This article is the first of two that will consider the importance of Johann Gutenberg’s movable type printing technology for the Protestant Reformation and how the new technology was employed effectively by Martin Luther in Germany.” Your Pastor Needs You – Since I have become a pastor, articles like…
I am typically pretty disciplined in avoiding memes as they make their way around the Internet. Today, though, I made an exception when I saw the hashtag #AddaWordRuinaChristianBook showing up all over my Twitter feed. (After all, it’s my day off.) It’s simple: you add one word to a book and see how badly you…
In some Christian traditions they are emphasized to the point of exhaustion; in others they are so diminished as to barely exist at all. Whatever we believe about the spiritual gifts, we at least need to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit gives a great range of gifts to his people and that they are given…