Without a doubt, the most impactful book I read last year was A Book of Comfort for Those in Sickness. I’m sure its significance was partly due to some medical struggles I’ve been having recently, but also simply because life is full of difficulties. We all go through difficult times in these difficult lives in…
This was my year of travel–so much travel. I touched 24 countries and every continent in my search for Christian history. And along the way I stopped to take some photos. I thought I’d share some of my favorites here. Pretty much everywhere I traveled I was accompanied by Stephen McCaskell and his drone; I…
Every few weeks I like to share an example of one of our worship services from Grace Fellowship Church. I hope it serves as simply one model of how we can worship the Lord in a distinctly biblical way. This service’s cast of characters included Steve as our service leader, Brian as our lead worshipper,…
I love blogs and believe in them as a medium. I followed hundreds of them this year, scanned tens of thousands of their headlines, and both read and shared thousands of their articles. They were a great blessing to me and today I want to pause to honor a few by sharing my top blogs…
It’s early on Christmas morning and the house is quiet. I’m waiting to hear the sound of children waking and whispering and giggling with excitement as they anticipate the day to come. I’m waiting to hear their feet pound their way down the stairs as they come racing to see their stockings and gifts. I’m…
There is a lot bound up in every sin. Sin is missing the mark—an arrow that has veered so far to the left or the right that it has flown past the target. Sin is transgression, disobedience toward a known law or standard. Sin is iniquity, premeditated rebellion against God. And lately, especially as I’ve…
For the past couple of weeks my RSS feeder has been humming with list after list of the best books of 2018 (or, if not the best, the favorite books of 2018). It seems that just about every avid reader I follow is eager to share his or her picks for the year that was.…
Last week I shared a sample pastoral prayer–one I prayed during one of our worship services at Grace Fellowship Church. In the coming weeks and months I will be sharing some more of these, some prayed by me and some by others. I am doing this primarily as a resource that may help inspire or…
One of the missing elements of modern worship is prayer, and especially prayers that are more than perfunctory. Especially lacking is the traditional pastoral prayer in which a pastor represents the congregation in praying for their needs and concerns. At Grace Fellowship Church we maintain this element and attempt to give it good effort. I’ve…
Today I’m glad to share an article by Paul Carter, a friend who has contributed to my site a couple of times in the past. He is passionate about reading and teaching God’s Word and I’m glad to have him lay down the challenge to read the Bible fast and slow in 2019. One of…
Over the past few weeks I’ve encountered a number of articles about diversity in church leadership. Specifically, I’ve seen discussions about whether churches should make diversity in their pastoral leadership a matter of priority or even consideration. Not surprisingly, given the medium of the internet and the current cultural context, many of these discussions have…
Christmas is coming and with it a special season for Christians. Or most Christians, anyway. As we get into the season and as so many people begin their month-long reflections on the birth of Jesus Christ, it’s probably a good time to consider our Christmas imperatives. What are Christians commanded to do in the Christmas…
Suddenly the whole world is talking about Christian missions. In his own way, John Allen Chau has sparked a conversation that now rages within the church and outside of it. I’ve spent the past week gathering my thoughts about his situation, and would like to offer a few points I hope you find helpful. First,…
What Christian hasn’t been moved by the beautiful vision of Revelation 7? John sees a powerful display of what God means to accomplish—and, indeed, what he is accomplishing and will accomplish—through the gospel of Jesus Christ. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all…
There are times when a kind of weirdness settles over evangelicalism, when for a while people are swept away by strange and flawed ideas. This usually happens when Christians are attempting to counter ideas that are prevalent outside the church. Instead of reacting in a measured way, we collectively over-react. I think the purity and…
It’s a question I’m asked often: What are the top book reviews you’ve written? I take that to mean this: Which of the reviews you’ve written have been read the most? I suppose it’s not surprising that the most popular book reviews are all for books I disagreed with in various ways. Here’s the top-five.…
While there are many places you can go today to find deals on electronics and other big-ticket items, I like to provide a place for Christian retailers to make their deals known to Christians who are trying to kick-start their Christmas shopping. I will update this list regularly throughout the weekend, so check back often.…
It’s the age of the expert, the age of the specialist. And sure enough, there’s a growing theme in the Christian world that experience is a necessary prerequisite to authority. If you want to know about parenting, you need to talk to a parent. If you want to know about marriage, you need to talk…
So much of the Christian life comes down to the matter of identity. At heart, who are we? Who or what has the right to define us? What is our deepest identity? Identity is at the core of many issues, not the least of which is same-sex attraction. In her book Gay Girl, Good God,…
Every few weeks I like to share an example of one of our worship services from Grace Fellowship Church. I hope it serves as simply one model of how we can worship the Lord in a distinctly biblical way. It’s been a joy to hear from people around the world as they tell how they’ve…