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Mar 25, 2020
3 min

A Call to Pastors: Don't Run

In the midst of the #coronavirus pandemic, and its continued spread in the United States, the debate is raging about which is going to end up being worse; the death toll from the virus or the economic repercussions from rising unemployment and social distancing practices. It is in this context that I want to call disciples of Jesus, and in particular the pastors, shepherds, and leaders of his church, to rise up and point the way in faith and love. To be faithful guides, walki

Mar 13, 2020
4 min

Coronavirus: What Christians Need to Know

In my context the eminent threat of the coronavirus (what the World Health Organization has deemed a world wide pandemic, and now President Trump has declared a national emergency for the United States) has caused a wide spectrum of reactions. Everything from the visceral hoarding and stockpiling of toilet paper and other goods (so the most vulnerable in our society are made even more so because those that have, decide they need to have more), to the lackadaisical, and even s

Nov 18, 2019
3 min

Fashionably Late to Kanye's "Jesus is King" Party

So obviously in our digital age where information travels at the speed of light, this post about Kanye's album "Jesus Is King" that dropped a month ago, is perhaps more than just a bit fashionably late, "but I'm just glad that I made it". (I hope the Kenny G fans see what I did there) At the urging of some friends of mine (thank you) I finally listened to Kayne's new album and wrote this post. I honestly don't know if I was reluctant to listen due to time and priorities, or i

Aug 28, 2018
4 min

Our Imaginary Heaven

Some ailment or chronic sickness ... a high pressure job or boss that creates enormous amounts of stress ... the struggle and difficulty to provide basic necessities for you and your family ... or an untimely and unexpected death of a loved one, God forbid a young child. These things and countless others at times can be overwhelming for us and create sorrow ... even sorrow to the point of death (c.f. Mat 26:38). At the same time however there are also many things in this life

Feb 15, 2018
2 min

Are New Year's Resolutions Evil?

How are you New Year's resolutions going so far? Are you still sticking with it, or have you found yourself already giving up? For many, the new year is a great time to make goals and plans and to set up New Year's resolutions, where we (supposedly) set out resolutely to accomplish something or to change some habit, or usually for American's - lose weight. But as Christians, could these types of New Year's resolutions be from the evil one? Jesus says in Matthew 5:37 (in a pas

Dec 26, 2017
4 min

White Privilege Part 2: Trying To Not Offend White People

In a recent article I wrote titled, White Privilege: The Ability To Walk Away, I received a lot of feedback (one of my most read articles of all time) and I wanted to continue the thread of the article in this follow up piece. Most of the feedback was positive, but some of it was negative. Some Christians believed it was divisive and unhealthy for Christ's church, even to the point of Christians "angry" facing it on Facebook. I guess I touched a nerve. While I personally find

Nov 22, 2017
4 min

White Privilege: The Ability To Walk Away

In Daniel Hill's new book released this year, White Awake: An honest look at what it means to be white , he explores and shares about his own "awakening" and understanding of white culture in America. It has been both a profoundly helpful, and a challenging read for me. His basic thesis of the book is that often times as white people (and perhaps especially white Christians?), we are unaware of our "white culture". We often don't think that we have one, and that is primarily

Oct 4, 2017
4 min

Single Use Church: A Short-Sighted Generation

Recently I was driving and I noticed an old church that had a fairly large cemetery off to the side. I think I noticed it primarily because I realized how unusual it was for me to see a cemetery on church grounds these days. Now it's more common for me to see a Starbucks, barista, skinny jeans, and a Madonna cheek mic with cool lighting and stage effects at church. This made me pause for a moment and think about the question, why aren't there more graveyards on church grounds

Aug 19, 2017
3 min

Calling Out Evil

There has been a lot of talk in the past several days about there being evil on "all sides" of the issue after the recent #Charlottesville tragedy. And while I generally don't get that involved in politics, news of this has reached even my ears. Yes I think we all inherently understand that evil is always on "all sides", as in "evil is in all of us" ... but that is like saying, "There certainly are a lot of grains of sand on the seashore." It's stating something so obvious t

Aug 9, 2017
4 min

The One Toy Your Child Should Not Play With

These days a child's primary toy and often best friend, closest companion, teacher, babysitter, and even sometimes a parent ... is a screen. Starting in the days of television, now further developed with the strength and opportunity of the Internet into computers in our pockets capable of shooting 4K resolution video with the touch of a button, screens are as ubiquitous as ever. And they are not going anywhere anytime soon. Even just a cursory search at Google about children

Jul 17, 2017
3 min

Sexy & Righteous?

In the modern west (and many other places following suite) that glorify youth, vitality, and beauty, is there a place biblically to be both sexy and righteous? Before I start to tackle this question, let me first begin with some explanations of what I'm meaning. When I use the term "sexy" I'm not meaning cute, handsome, or attractive in and of itself. What I am meaning by "sexy" is "sex appeal" ... to intentionally draw someone to that which is sexual. Now to answer the que

Jul 14, 2017
1 min

Becoming Tech Wise: an interview with Andy Crouch

In this interview with Andy Crouch (author of Tech Wise Family and former executive director of Christianity Today), we discuss how technology is shaping our world, and our lives, for good and for ill. In particular, what this means for us as a community of faith and for you as a believer. Andy has been gracious enough to allow me this interview with him about this issue. Quite frankly this isn't being talked about much by believers. Beware of the cultural tsunami. Referenc

Jul 10, 2017
3 min

Sex Is Good

In C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, the devil Screwtape tries to explain to his nephew Wormwood what he finds most appalling and disingenuous about God: that God is really out to make people happy, and that even the austere parts of his program, the spiritual disciplines, are really ruses, clever deceptions to make them more happy. "God is a hedonist at heart" says Screwtape. Screwtape goes on to explain to Wormwood about God that "all those fasts and vigils and stakes an