The Most Misunderstood Woman in the Bible | Kyria

I was pleasantly surprised to find that an article I wrote for the Kyria online magazine (Christianity Today) was among it’s most popular articles. This was one I enjoyed writing, a sort of contrarian take on the typical depiction of Job’s wife: Her name was never revealed and yet she may be the most infamous […]

Mini Reviews #9

Thanks to my new NOOK, I’ve been on a reading tear lately. So here are two more mini-reviews: The Cure for the Common Life  by Max Lucado I appreciate Lucado’s unique gift at taking difficult concepts and making them easy for lay people to understand. In The Cure for the Common Life, Max shares a […]

My Favorite Books of 2011

I had the opportunity to read quite a few great books in 2011. Not quite as many (101) as my friend, Aaron Armstrong, but I read quite a few. Here are my top ten books. You’ll notice they are not necessarily all books that were published in 2011, but books I had the chance to read […]

Mini-Reviews #8

Just finished another great batch of books: Work Matters by Tom Nelson. This is a terrific book on a subject not explored fully enough in contemporary evangelicalism: a theology of work. As usual, Nelson (pastor of Christ Community Church in Leawood, Kansas), shares a comprehensive, balanced, biblical view of the doctrine of work. A Christmas Journey […]

Finding Christmas Joy

I’ve always loved the Christmas season. When I was a kid, my parents always made the season great. Our traditions were simple, but wonderful. I especially enjoyed the two weeks off of school. Usually we chilled out at home or would go to a Christmas party or two at friends’ homes. When I was in […]

Why Your Pastor Shouldn’t Be Your Podcast

Trevin Wax recently wrote a widely distributed post entitled, “Why Your Podcast Shouldn’t Be Your Pastor.” He raised some important points about the proliferation of content over the Internet. Its easy today to consume the best of contemporary evangelical pastors simply by downloading them through iTunes or listening online. While this is a wonderful blessing […]

Elijah: Jack Bauer of the Old Testament, Spiritual Living, Christian Faith

I was honored to have an article chosen as one of Crosswalk.com’s top ten articles of the year. It is the article: “Elijah, Jack Bauer of the Old Testament.” Here is an excerpt: There’s a part of Elijah’s life that doesn’t often get told. This is the scene that would get left on the cutting […]

How I Found My Preaching and Speaking Voice

Growing up, public speaking was something I both enjoyed and dreaded. I enjoyed the preparation for a speech (still do), but always got the intense butterflies in public. Especially in school where one Rick-Perry like flub could ignite the snickering chorus in the front row of our high-school. I know because when I wasn’t speaking, […]

Friday Five: Kim Vogel Sawyer

Christmas is the time when a lot of folks take some time off to rest and catch up on their favorite novels. Today I have the privilege of featuring bestselling novelist, Kim Vogel Sawyer. Kim’s books have received numerous fiction awards, including: ACFW Carol Award Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Inspirational Readers Choice Award, Heartsong Presents Contemporary Story […]

Preaching Through James

This last year I finished a series through the book of James entitled, Authentic Faith. I divided up this book into 15 messages and gave the congregation the entire outline of the series before we began. It was a terrific study, one that challenged me as a preacher and offered a great challenge for our […]

Bible Reading Plans for 2012

In 2012 our church is going thru the Bible in a year. To help, I gathered resources and some Bible reading plans and put them out at our information table at church. I thought I would post the information here as well as a help to those considering reading the Bible thru in 2012. This […]

Guardrails and Grace | Covenant Eyes

I wrote a guest blog for the Covenant Eyes blog on the interaction between guardrails and grace. Here’s an excerpt: A few years ago, Angela and I decided we were going to vacation somewhere in the Carolinas. We settled on Myrtle Beach. So our journey took us through the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and on […]