I hate to pray. It shouldn’t be so. After all, I’m a pastor. I’m supposed to love prayer, right? But—I will say it again—I hate to pray. Okay, maybe hate is a bit of an … Read More
The Tech-Wise Family
Ten years ago a little glowing rectangle was invented, and the world has never been the same since. I am talking about the iPhone or, more generally, the smartphone. In 2007 our computers moved from … Read More
Lent, Life, and Gratitude
We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. –Abraham Lincoln, 1863 If I were called upon to identify briefly the principal trait of … Read More
Post-Election Predictions
On Wednesday, November 9, most Americans will wake up in a state of disgruntled relief. We will have chosen our next president, and we will be relieved because the campaigning will have finally come to … Read More
For Whom Then Shall We Vote?
Maybe you heard the one-liner that has Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton stranded in the middle of the ocean on a tiny lifeboat. Who survives? Answer? America. The joke isn’t that funny, but it points … Read More
Thy Neighbor’s Wife
You shall not commit adultery… You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife… Exodus 20:14, 17 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. He will … Read More
Samson and Daleiden
Do you remember that story in the book of Judges? The one where the big strong guy was taken down by the persistence of a beautiful siren? This powerful Samson, you see, could tie together … Read More
The Goodness of Not Being Forgotten
I don’t want to ruin your day, but a few weeks hence and no one will know your name. Okay, I’m exaggerating! A bit more accurately, in two or three generations you will not be … Read More
Book Review
Same-Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life, by Ed Shaw (IVP, 2015) Ed Shaw is the pastor of Emmanuel City Centre Church in Bristol, England, and is concerned about how … Read More
Stop Grumbling-and Start Complaining!
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against … Read More