Few people write such moving metaphors as Walter Wangerin, Jr. And with today being the closing Sunday of our summer series on doctrine, especially knowing the specific topic was the Kingdom of God and eschatology, I thought this reflective piece on that very kingdom was … Read More
What to Look For In a Church
A few years ago as I was teaching from Acts 2-4, I, almost in passing, threw out some observations about what people should look for in a church. Not that these qualities are unimportant; rather, it wasn’t the bulls-eye target of the text that day. But … Read More
The Fullest ‘Empty’ I’ve Ever known
I came home to an empty house today. Oh, not ’empty’ as in the sense of unfurnished. More like unoccupied. And don’t get me wrong—Julie and I are still there. But for the first time in 27 years, we’re the only ones there. There’s no … Read More
We Were Multiplying (And I Didn’t Even Know It)
When I returned from my sabbatical in 2015, one theme from God’s Holy Spirit burned hot in my heart: Mobilize to multiply. God’s passion for the nations had never been more clear to me, and the most logical place to start doing that was with the … Read More
What Would You Tell Dads With Daughters?
In a few days Julie and I will take our last-born daughter to college in Iowa City. For all practical purposes, we’ll be empty nesters next week (as well as Hawkeye fans for a while). Hard to believe, but it’s true. Yep, the last one … Read More
The Question I Promised To Answer
It was inevitable. A pastor can’t preach on sin—the doctrine of hamartiology was the focus of my message Sunday—without dealing with depravity (both total and utter). And any discussion concerning depravity eventually leads to someone asking about the age of accountability. Such was the case … Read More
3 Do-Or-Die Actions I’d Encourage Young Pastors To Embrace
It has been just over a year since our church launched a young church planter to Central Asia to begin work there as a church planter/pastor. And though he had good preparation in the church before he began, as well as solid schooling prior to … Read More
Why Pastors Should Utilize Live Q & A
When I was first exposed to Q & A in a church service, it was via Tim Keller explaining how he used his time after preaching to gather with those who had inquiries. If I remember correctly, he would meet in a designated place in … Read More