I’ve been at this blogging thing for quite a long time now—a bit over 9 years. I’ve been at the daily blogging thing for almost as long. This means that I’ve got an extensive backlist of articles from years gone by. I thought it might be fun to pull out some of the articles I wrote in previous Februarys, stretching all the way back to 2004.
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2011
Running the Race and Finishing the Race – This is a two-part biographical sketch of Eric Liddell that was based on an evening service message at my church.
A Short History of Communication – This article was a combination of writing on technology and preaching through Genesis 3. Because those things are so obviously similar…
2010
On Endorsements – I wrote this to answer questions people had about how book endorsements work. I should probably revisit this topic; when it comes to endorsements it’s usually helpful to understand that most of the blurbs you read were written without the person actually reading the book he’s commending.
2009
25 Stupendously Boring Things You Didn’t Want to Know About Me – I am an amazingly boring person, and I guess this post proves it. This was my response to a Facebook meme.
2008
Is Forgiveness Conditional or Unconditional? – The conditional or unconditional nature of forgiveness is always an interesting subject to discuss. This was my take on it a few years ago; I think it still summarizes my view.
2007
The Christian and Birth Control, Parts 1 and 2 – I think I probably wrote this one largely to sharpen my own thinking on the subject.
Defining Discernment – This was written almost a year before The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment released, which means I had probably just written something like this as a chapter in the book. I sometimes cheat like that.
2006
A Valentine’s Day Reflection – “Valentine’s Day may be a contrived holiday. There is no objective reason that I should celebrate love in a special way today rather than yesterday or tomorrow. But if this is a day where people celebrate love, should not I, as a grateful husband, celebrate my wife? Should I not model to my children a love, a passion, a joy in my wife? Should I not reflect today on my intoxication with her love? Should I not praise, honor and bless her for being just who she is: a precious, beautiful, excellent gift from God?”
Submission – Does It Precede the Fall? – Articles like this one have always surprised me in the venomous responses they generate (though many of those responses are on other blogs more than in the comments section). It all seems pretty straightforward to me and it took me some time to understand how other people could view the issue so differently.
2005
Total Depravity: The Great Equalizer – This was one of those articles that for some reason was really important in my spiritual development. (It also reflects my old and embarrassing habit of using the word “for” too often!)
2004
Unbelievers Must Be Stupid… – I sounded mad: “If I were to use the average church outreach program as a guide, I would have to assume that the average non-Christian is lazy, stupid, ignorant, unwilling to learn and suffering from attention deficit disorder. He has two kids that he loves but never spends any time with, leaving him racked with guilt. He is trying to hold a marriage together but his wife ranks a distant second to his career.”