Interviews

COVID-19, Pandemics, and Ventilators: Chatting with a Doctor on the Front Lines

We are now many weeks into an international lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This situation has introduced us to a whole new vocabulary and given us a whole new level of respect for frontline workers. A friend of mine, Ewan Goligher, is a doctor and scientist who has dedicated his career to the intricacies of mechanical ventilation (specifically, characterizing the mechanisms and impact of injury to the lung and diaphragm during mechanical ventilation). He was willing to take a …

Speaking with a Pastor in Italy’s Coronavirus “Hot Zone”

Over the past few years I’ve had a number of opportunities to interact with Pastor Andrea Artioli who pastors Chiesa Sola Grazia in Mantua, Italy. His recent newsletter told that he lives in the “hot zone” of the coronavirus outbreak in Northern Italy. He told as well that his church has been instructed by local authorities that it may not meet for at least the next two weeks. I thought it might prove interesting to ask him a few questions about …

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Get To Know CityAlight (and Their New Album)

For the past few years I’ve been enjoying the music of CityAlight both on a personal and congregational level (as we’ve added several of their songs to our worship services). They have just released a new album and, to mark the occasion, I asked them (Richard Thompson and Jonny Robinson) a few questions. I’ve interspersed their new songs throughout the interview so you can give them a listen. The album is available now wherever good music is sold or streamed. …

The Incredibles, Cars … and The Pilgrim’s Progress: Interview with a Pixar Artist

Generation after generation, Christians have devoured John Bunyan’s great allegorical work The Pilgrim’s Progress. It remains among the most-read books in all of human history. Among those who have been influenced by it is Garrett Taylor, an artist who works at Pixar Animation Studios and has been involved in some of their most important films. As a side project, he developed some beautiful maps of Christian’s journey to the Celestial City, and we are thrilled to now offer them in our Visual …

Protecting Children from Abuse: An Interview

It happens. We wish it didn’t happen and perhaps even try to pretend it doesn’t happen. But the tragic and undeniable reality is that there is abuse within the church. I recently spoke with Boz Tchividjian to ask some key questions for every Christian and every church. How prevalent is child sexual abuse in the Christian community? In the Protestant community specifically? Research has consistently found that approximately 1 in 4 females and 1 in 6 males will be sexually victimized …

Writing Great Books for Kids (and Reading Great Books To Kids)

Parents love to buy their children good books. Christian parents love to buy their children good Christian books. Thankfully, we are well-served with excellent titles geared to children. Many of them come from the pen of Marty Machowski. I recently asked him about writing great books for kids (and reading great books to kids). I hear often from people who dream of writing a book for kids. Yet I know from speaking to publishers that it’s one of the toughest …

Talking About Circle: A Device to Protect Your Family Online

For a long time now I have had a burden to help parents do something–anything!–to train, protect, and oversee their families online. This burden grows every time I speak on the subject of pornography and am approached by another group of young people who want to talk about how they came across pornography at a young age and the effect it has had on their lives. It grows still further when parents tell me of the difficulty they have in …

Ask (The Other) Pastor John

You are familiar with the name John Newton, I am sure, and with the broad strokes of his life–how he went from captaining a slave trading ship to becoming a Christian and composing the great hymn “Amazing Grace.” What fewer people know about is his 40 years of pastoral ministry. Newton the pastor is the subject of Tony Reinke’s new book Newton on the Christian Life: To Live Is Christ. I recently asked Tony to tell us why he wrote this …

The Tragic Prevalence of Sexual Assault

Sexual asssault is all over the news today. Headlines in the United States tell of a long list of woman who have accused Bill Cosby of assault, and tell of college campuses where rape is shockingly common. Headlines in Canada tell of reporter Jiam Gomeshi and his ugly history of sexual violence. It is my sincere hope that these stories spark new and better discussions about the prevalence of sexual assault, how we can prevent it, and how we can …

Growing Up in a World Like This

A short time ago I shared some resources meant to help parents as they prepare to have “The Talk” with their children. But even after looking at those resources I had some questions I wanted to ask, so I spoke to Dr. Chris Richards, who together with Liz Jones has authored Growing Up God’s Way, a book with editions for both boys and girls, that helps prepare young people and their parents for adolescence and adulthood. Dr Chris Richards is a …