The most important time to be at church is when you don’t feel like it. I’ve talked with three Christians this past week — two struggling with depression, and a third who just went through a tough break-up — who’ve all stopped gathering with God’s people during a difficult season. Whether for weeks or for … More The Most Important Time to Be at Church
Occasionally I share resources I’ve found helpful. These are my personal notes from a session with Dr. Jeremy Pierre at Southern Seminary’s recent Counsel the Word conference. These are not the speaker’s notes, nor are they a manuscript or transcript of the lecture, although I recorded the main points verbatim. Speaker: Dr. Jeremy Pierre | Dean of … More The Christian Imagination: Depression, Hope, and a Better Reality (by Jeremy Pierre)
One hour ago I walked out of my final student leadership meeting after fourteen years of full-time Christian college ministry. It’s late, tomorrow’s a packed day, and I should head straight to bed. But after twenty-eight semesters of a college schedule, what’s one more reflective jaunt into the a.m.? Each year, on a Sunday night … More Passing the Torch: My Last Student Leadership Meeting
Every seven days a rebirthed humanity, inflamed with a shared Spirit, gathers around a common table to hear the true story of the world. Church isn’t merely steeples and Sunday School classes, pulpits and pews, praise bands and bulletins. The church is a risen and rising humanity of ex-corpses and ex-slaves testifying to the Messianic … More Ode to the Church
In the 2002 film The Count of Monte Cristo, handsome sailor Edmond Dantès is betrayed by his friend Fernand Mondego, robbed of his beautiful fiancé, and wrongly sentenced to prison in the Château d’If. Deep in despair, Dantès befriends a fascinating old priest and polymath who becomes his multidisciplinary mentor. Dantès later escapes, creates a new identity, and exacts all … More Lessons from the Real Count of Monte Cristo
1. “That was fun.” 2. “I want in.” This past Saturday I watched The Jungle Book with my 10-year-old son. These were our two different responses. I thought it was fun. My son wanted to go home and climb trees. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed him. I enjoyed our time together. Afterwards I listened from the … More Joining the Story
Do you take journeys, or only trips? What’s the difference, you ask? A journey is less destination-specific than a trip. On a trip, you’re headed somewhere in particular. You know where you’re going, how you’re going to get there, and how long you’re going to stay. But on a journey, you don’t always know when, where, or … More The Journey Begins
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Today I turn 35 years old. Moses says that if I’m strong, I may reach 80. But if I’m average, and if God wills, I’m halfway home (Psalm 90:10). The day will be fairly normal. I’ll finish up … More Reflections at 35
This morning our nation awakens to the second official holiday of the year: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Our other federal holidays include New Year’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day (in most states), Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Our kids have no school, my son will attend a midday birthday party, and … More Let Justice Roll: White Americans, White Christians, and the Martin Luther King Holiday
Today — January 11, 2016 — John Piper turns 70. I ‘met’ John Piper in 2000 when I was 19 years old and my summer mission trip leader had us read The Pleasures of God together. I was transfixed, and transformed. Never had I encountered such an explicitly God-centered worldview or such compellingly clear theological prose. My way … More Thank You, John Piper: 70 Reasons on Your 70th Birthday
Juggling takes practice. It’s not easy to keep three things moving between two hands. Without some level of ambidexterity, a lot of things will be hitting the floor. American public discourse is rarely ambidextrous. In a society saturated with click-bait, sound bites, and hashtag activism, public dialogue often proves unable to keep even two things mentally … More Two Things at Once: Polarized Public Discourse and the Mosaic of Intellectual Maturity
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 2016 goals — mind, body, and spirit; work, rest, and play; personal, professional, and relational. There are the optimists who are aiming high, and there are the pessimists who are … More How to Prosper in All of Life: The Main Thing You Need to Do in 2016
What’s a “bottleneck”? Literally, it’s the “neck or mouth of a bottle,” the place where the bottle grows most narrow. Metaphorically, it pictures “a point of congestion or blockage” or “a situation that causes delay in a process or system.” ¹ Leaders should increase the quality, efficiency, and productivity of their teams, but there are … More Seven Marks of a Bottleneck Leader
Occasionally I post responses to questions I receive from my students or other readers. Here’s my answer to a question that came by email recently. Student Question: When David is lamenting his pursuers and the dangers he’s facing, are we to interpret those only as human enemies, or can we apply the idea to the workings … More The Enemies in the Psalms (Student Question)
College is supposed to teach you many things, and those many things are all important in their own way. The big ones, of course, are pretty comprehensive, like character, virtue, a mind awake, and a noble work ethic. The next tier is more personalized but still vital: a major, a vocational direction, and a set … More The Main Thing: Gospel-Rich Theology and the Students of Boyce College
There are some things you never forget. Back in 2002, during my last semester in college, Professor Todd Bolen returned my final assignment for his History of Ancient Israel class. He had spent an hour grading my 10-page paper and had stapled a full page of typed comments to the back. I’ll never forget what he wrote, … More Twenty-Five Tweets on Writing
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