The more time you spend reading history, the more you see how things that are considered normal by one generation are often considered scandalous by the next. The moral laxity of one age often gives way to the moral clarity of the one that follows. I’m convinced an area of moral laxity among today’s Christians…
You’ve probably heard it said that it takes a village to raise a child. Parenting is so difficult, so complex, so relentless, that it is more than any two people can successfully handle. Children thrive under the responsibility of loving parents but also under the watchful eye of a caring community. I have always believed…
I suppose I could be on dangerous ground here, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot and have been eager to “write it out,” (which is how I work through ideas in my mind). I’ve been thinking about why some people don’t become Christians. Why is it that some people aren’t saved even though…
The year is still young, but already it has involved a lot of travel—before the end of February I had already spent time in six different countries. This is largely related to my EPIC travel project which, since January 1, has taken me to Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, the United States and, of…
Many years ago, long before blogs and social media and YouTube, Neil Postman asked this question: “How often does it occur that information provided you on morning radio or television, or in the morning newspaper, causes you to alter your plans for the day, or to take some action you would not otherwise have taken,…
Every Christian believes. Belief, faith, is the gateway to the Christian life and we mark our conversion from the moment we first believed: I have heard the gospel, I have put my faith in Jesus Christ. I believe! Belief is the gateway to the Christian life but it is far more than that. I believed…
Friday morning was the funeral for evangelist Billy Graham, one of the most famous men in the world. Two thousand people attended the invitation-only event. On the guest list were presidents, cardinals, celebrities, and megachurch pastors—an A-list of significant and accomplished people. Friday morning was the memorial service for Irene Morrison. A couple hundred people…
We did it! Aileen and I successfully got one of our children through childhood and into adulthood. Today Nick, our oldest, celebrates his eighteenth birthday. He is now an adult, and a pretty good one, too. Pretty good? Nah, far better than that. He’s amazing. He is intelligent and witty and mature and well-read and…
Every few weeks I like to share an example of one of our services at Grace Fellowship Church. I hope that by doing this others will follow suit! I love to learn how other churches worship and often find myself both challenged and encouraged as I see how other congregations worship God in their unique…
We are often called upon to help. We, who are a bit more seasoned, a bit more experienced, a bit more knowledgeable about God, his ways, and his Word—we are called upon to answer questions, to resolve concerns, to solve dilemmas. And rightly so. The younger should rely upon the wisdom of the older; the…
Why aren’t men reading women writers? Jen Pollock Michel recently asked the question and it’s rather a good one. Though she provided an early answer (which you can read here) she was clear that her foremost desire was to provoke discussion. Since I spend so much time thinking about Christian books, I thought I’d take…
This weekly column is devoted to discussing some of the themes that were common topics of discussion among Christians the week before. This week began with many discussions of the film Black Panther, but very quickly turned to Billy Graham upon the news of his death at age 99. Billy Graham I landed in Sydney,…
This is the fifth and final article in a series penned by Joel Kim, President of Westminster Seminary. In each entry he is reflecting on the Olympics from a Korean-American perspective. I want to thank Tim Challies for the opportunity to use this platform to share my thoughts. I’ve enjoyed my time and I hope…
My friends and I recently visited Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in Seoul. As the name indicates, this is where 145 foreign missionaries to Korea and their family members are now buried and remembered. Among them are the families of Henry G. Appenzeller, Horace G. Underwood, and William D. Reynolds. Reynolds was a professor at Pyongyang…
Where do the Olympic athletes representing other countries worship in South Korea? Christian leaders in South Korea have called upon churches to make the Winter Olympics a “Missions Olympics,” encouraging congregations and pastors to be active in evangelizing to the thousands of athletes and officials visiting South Korea. For instance, the many fans of skating–whether…
In advance of my upcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand, I’ve been studying all I can find on the early history of Christianity in those two nations. Australia was settled by the British first, of course, and served as a kind of staging point for missionaries to reach New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.…
I am, for the most part, an organized person. I actually wrote a whole book on productivity in which I laid out the system I used (and still use) to remain organized and, hopefully, effective in what I do. I have begun my days in roughly the same way for many years now, and have…
“The Pyongyang Olympics” is how some are referring to the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. This can be a humorous play on words, drawing our attention to the similarity of the two names. But for most, the phrase sums up the attention that North Korea has received at the Olympics. Like the recent Wall Street Journal…
I have preached the truth a hundred times to others and a thousand times to myself: You can’t sin without consequence. That’s not the way God has structured his world. It’s not the way God has structured his people. For Christians, the ultimate consequences have been fully paid by Jesus Christ, but this does not…
I recently rediscovered Sojourner Songs, a volume of poems by Ben Palpant. Once again I was struck by the quality of the poetry and the joy of reading it. Here’s a favorite example titled “Shall I Bare My Arms?” What can I offerfor the expiationof a lifetime’s sin? Shall I bare my armsand count the…