The church of Jesus Christ hosts the only repository of pure truth that exists in our world. God’s Word is ours, the Spirit of Christ resides in us, and the knowledge of God illumines our hearts and minds. We know the truth, and the truth has set us free. Why then is the church the … More Open Church
We sure do want a lot out of life. By now your social media feeds have been filled with articles about New Year’s resolutions and 2020 goals—mind, body, and spirit; work, rest, and play; personal, professional, and relational. There are the optimists aiming high, and the pessimists decrying the overambitional impulses that leave people disappointed … More How to Prosper in All of Life: The Main Thing You Need to Do in 2020
How do you listen to a sermon that’s not about you? How can I benefit from a talk on anxiety if I’m not worried, marriage if I’m not married, or depression if I’m not down? I’m currently preaching through 1 Peter, and coming across some passages with specific target audiences—like Christian wives, many with non-Christian … More Six Reasons to Listen to Sermons That Aren’t About You
Sometimes we wonder how certain people are gifted with greater opportunities to showcase their talents or contribute to a cause or increase their influence. How did someone pick up their work? How did they get connected, recognized, and known? Why are they being asked to step forward and use their skills in growing ways? There’s … More Do Your Best Work in Private
American culture is obsessed with dropping the mic. YouTube is overrun with videos of Shapiro or Colbert or Peterson “destroying” or “embarrassing” or “shutting down” some allegedly outwitted opponent. We love the idea of leaving an adversary speechless, their intellectual sails in tatters, the foundations of their confidence shaken and (we like to think) irrecoverable. If … More Four Ways to Drop the Mic
I don’t know what day it will be for you. No one does. But there’s coming a day—it might even be today—when you’ll feel like giving up. I’m not talking about a momentary feeling, a hazy sense of discouragement, a wisp of doubt and trepidation. I’m talking about full-blown disillusion—the wholesale evaporation of hope. I … More Don’t Give Up
Outrage. Fear. Confusion. Anger. Nostalgia. Withdrawal. Many of the ways we Christians respond to opposition are far from ideal. Peter knew what it was like to face opposition, to lash out in anger or draw back in fear, to be restored in love, and then to step out boldly with gospel courage. It took him years to learn, … More Look to the East: 10 Christian Responses to Opposition
Do you still know how to read? Not just clickbait headlines. Not just sensationalist twenty-click articles. Not just the punchy all-caps lines in GIFs and memes. Not just a slew of video titles in the sidebar. Not just piecemeal Facebook arguments. Not just cable listings and Netflix titles. Not just one-line iPhoned emails. Not just … More Do You Still Know How to Read?
He was “all in,” they said. “Larger than life,” they said. “Big Daddy,” his grandkids called him. He leaves behind a loving family and an outsized legacy. His name was Ralph Watts. He was a member of our church, and his funeral was Monday. Ralph Watts graduated to glory at 96 years of age. He … More All In: The Legacy of Ralph Lee Watts (1921-2017)
The safest place to be is at the center of God’s calling, no matter how difficult or dangerous. The most dangerous place to be? Anywhere else. When God calls a man to a vocation, God is not primarily concerned with the things the man himself was concerned about before receiving that call. God is concerned with … More The Calling
The best way to read a book is one page at a time. Sure, if you’ve been through grad school or seminary or a PhD in the humanities, you know there are many different ways to read. But if you want to read a good book with an intricate plotline and a meaningful ending, the … More One Page at a Time
Dear Boyce College Graduates, This morning you’ll rise with a rush of excitement mixed with a few unnecessary nerves. You’ll mentally rehearse the big event as you dress in your regalia, get your hat and tassel properly arranged, and somehow get over that momentary feeling of silliness that always fades as graduates start feeling like medieval … More Pierce the Darkness: A Charge to the Graduates of Boyce College
Every time, the news hits closer to home. Every time, either the boy seems younger, or my boys seem older. Every time, I wonder what I can do to keep it from happening. I can feel that curly hair, because I cup my 11-year-old’s head in my left hand whenever I buzz his hair with … More For the Life of Our Sons
If you want to learn, you have to get uncomfortable. And since we don’t often choose to be uncomfortable, if we want to learn, we have to find teachers and mentors and programs and responsibilities and experiences that will make us uncomfortable. The semester has begun at Boyce College, my final semester as a college professor. … More If You Want to Learn…
Have you ever found yourself in an ugly social media “discussion,” or felt cornered by an unrelenting contrarian, or typed things in an online debate that you later regretted (or deleted)? Have you ever felt like Proverbs 18:2 might be true of all of us simultaneously? A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only … More Four Ways to Persuade No One
Yesterday I shared the exciting news that God has called me to serve as Lead Pastor of BridgePoint Bible Church in Houston, Texas beginning this summer. I will teach my final five biblical counseling classes at Boyce College this spring before we launch into a new season of life and ministry. But this transition is … More A Letter to My Students
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