10 Most Popular Blog Posts
This was a great year for my blog, the best ever. I’m still fairly unknown compared to heavyweights like Tim Challies or Jon Acuff, but I’m proud of the fact that my number of visits nearly tripled as did my number of visitors, while my pageviews more than doubled. I also added quite a few […]
What Advent is and Why We Should Celebrate
There is something really wonderful about the word, advent. When you Google the word, one of the definitions you get is: the arrival of a notable person, thing or event. We know this word from other contexts besides religions. We say things like, “Since the advent of the automobile . . . .” Or “Since […]
Evangelism as a Journey Instead of a Deal
I’ve been reading quite a few books on evangelism lately for some of my Mdiv work at Trinity. I don’t agree with all that I have read, but one of the things that I think I’m learning is the simple idea that evangelism is less of a “deal” that we must close and more of […]
5 Things I’ve Learned in Ten Years of Marriage
Last month, on November 22nd, Angela and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. I’m not an expert on marriage and by some standards I’m still a rookie. But I have learned a few things in these ten wonderful years. Here they are, in no certain order: 1) I’m not naturally a good husband. Before I tied […]
A God For Every Part of this Tragedy
Thus says the LORD: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15 ESV) As a father of four young children, it was hard for me to process the horrific news of the […]
Three Kinds of Christians Who Should Always Keep Their Cool
I was struck this week as I studied 1 Peter 4:7-11 as part of our Exiles series at church. I was struck particularly by this phrase: “Be self-controlled and sober-minded.” (v 4 ESV). There are differing ways translators have translated this. HCSB says “Be serious and disciplined.” NASB: “of sound judgement and sober spirit.” NLT: […]
Friday Five: Tyler Ellis
Today I’m pleased to welcome my friend Tyler Ellis to the blog. Tyler serves as a Campus Minister at the University of Delaware. Tyler also partners with One Verse and the Seed Company which translates the Bible into new languages. Tyler and his family live in Newark, DE. Tyler has a just-released book, Question Everything. The book […]
What You Don’t Like About Your Church (And why that’s good)
I have this conversation quite often with members of my church and with believers outside of my church. It is usually sparked by a discussion of something this person doesn’t like about our church or about the church they attend. Now, let’s assume the disagreement is not related to doctrinal purity, moral integrity, authoritarian abuse (issues I […]
The Lincoln Movie and the Importance of Racial Reconciliation
I’m not a critic, so you won’t often find here substantive, intelligent movie reviews. I do enjoy cinema, however and occassionally a movie comes along that is more than something to pass time while eating popcorn. Movies like this are conversation starters. “Did you see it? If not, you must!” Movies like this stay with […]
Three Pitfalls for Young Evangelical Leaders
I’m young. I’m an evangelical. And I’m a leader (at least of my family, my church, and in some disconnected sense, to my small audience of readers). It’s exciting to be a leader, but it’s also sobering and carries many responsibilities. As I interact and read some of the work of the evangelicals in my […]
What We Really Should Be Teaching Our Kids
Last Thursday, during the Thanksgiving meal we hosted at our house, my son, Daniel Jr (age 4) had an epic meltdown over a superheros costume. My brother, Tim, was the recipient of much of this. After dealing with Daniel’s tantrum, we both went our way, sharing times with our family members, eating more pie, and […]
Celebrating 10 Great Years
Ten years ago, today, I held hands and looked into the eyes of a beautiful girl from Texas named Angela Sullivan. I didn’t know much, but I knew I was in love with this girl. I fell in love with her beauty, her vivacious, sweet spirit, her love for the Lord and her zest for […]