Articles
Family Forgiveness: Finding Healing in the Family You Didn’t Choose
Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called...
The Great Commission Mission: Why Every Person Deserves One Chance
Over the past three decades, our missionary path for my wife Jennifer and I has taken us to jungles, deserts, megacities, and mountain villages. We’ve preached under open skies, in house churches, and in stadiums. We’ve seen God heal the sick, protect His people, and...
Motherhood in a Culture of Judgment
If there’s a universal motherhood experience, it’s the judgment of those who think they know better. But while my generation of mothers certainly faced the occasional sideways glance or stinging remark, we didn’t carry the weight of the watching world the way moms do...
The Digital Mission Frontier
It is worth restating that participation in the mission of God is not something that can be outsourced to artificial intelligence any more than it should be outsourced to the professional clergy class of the church. Instead, it is inherently the call and privilege of...
Finding Real Encouragement in a Discouraging World
The enemy has a strategy, and it’s devastatingly simple. Discouragement: The Enemy’s First Strike If he can get us discouraged, he can get us disappointed. If he can get us disappointed, he can get us distracted. If he can get us distracted, he can get us divided. If...
Leadership Lessons from Overcoming the Odds
After my ninth birthday and with my mother’s permission, my dad began to be present more consistently in my life again. How Football Shaped Early Leadership A sports enthusiast, my dad saw it as his responsibility to introduce me to football. Those are still some of...
Leaders Must Remember They Are Beloved
Do you remember your first leadership title? Maybe it was pastor, director, manager, or supervisor. You likely felt the affirmation and responsibility as someone entrusted to lead others. It’s a significant moment, but it can also be a subtle trap. Our title begins to...
Hospitality That Reflects Christ
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. —Hebrews 10:24–25 Every day they...
Restoring Joy in Work and Ministry
How to Restore the Whistle in Your Work Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go… Remember the seven dwarfs singing as they headed off to work? Does that describe your mornings? Work Was Never the Curse Unfortunately, sometimes we come to view our work—and ministry—as a...
Addiction, Brokenness, and the Hope of Christ
When I was seventeen, someone introduced me to a drug called crystal meth. Since the age of eleven, my story had been a drug-induced downward spiral, but this was a new low. How Addiction Took Control Crystal meth is an upper. You can snort it, shoot it up with a...
Bible Engagement in an Age of Distraction
Short Attention Spans and Bible Engagement: A Growing Challenge—and an Innovative Aid Every pastor knows the congregation that listens with appreciation during the sermon, then taps on their screen or slips away from Scripture as soon as they return home. It's not...
Learning to Slow with God
Having worked in full time ministry for five years, as well as working with pastors and ministry leaders in therapy, A. C. knows the unique challenges of slowing down in ministry. In her book, she shares about her personal and professional journey in slowing down,...
How to Read the Bible the Right Way
I am convinced that Satan is on a mission to make us believe the Bible is centered on us. But this could not be any further from the truth. Why We Often Read the Bible Wrong There is a wrong way to read the Bible, and it is done when we make ourselves the focus of...
A Prayer Shaped by Bethlehem’s Humility
You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Micah 5:2 A Prayer Rooted in God’s Unexpected Ways Nicholas lived and served in...
Rest as a Spiritual Rhythm
As I mentioned earlier, most of us aren’t natural morning people. We’re wired to seek comfort and rest, gravitating toward the warmth of our blankets rather than the chill of early morning air. Perhaps this is part of our survival instinct as human beings. Why Rest...
Mental Health, Faith, and Compassion
Mental Health Myths in the Church “Just pray more.” “Just ask God for healing.” “If you had more faith, you’d get better.” Why Mental Health Is Not a Faith Failure These trite statements are common responses within the church to mental health challenges. Such...
Thirst, Vulnerability, and the Shepherd’s Way
How can the thirst of a Savior become the salvation of a sinner? The Meaning of Thirst in the Ministry of Jesus John’s gospel recounts the occasion of a thirsty Jesus sitting by a well. His lips dry, tongue sticking to the roof of His mouth. It’s hard to imagine God...
Women Leadership, Faith, and Calling
What Do Leadership, Women, and Work Have to Do with It? Some of you may remember the song “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” by Tina Turner. Tina was reflecting on an abusive relationship, noting that love wasn’t enough to keep things together. Tina was married to Ike...
How Stress Impacts the Body and Soul
Stress is ubiquitous in contemporary life,1 and the word gets tossed around as if we all understand what it means. Most of us routinely talk about the daily kinds of stress we experience—in our work, finances, parenting, commuting, and social concerns. Then there is...
Grace Receives Sinners and Reveals God’s Heart
Right in the middle of the gospel of Luke we step into some interesting family drama. Jesus tells a story about a father who has two sons. And what we find is God’s heart toward those in need of grace. Because this story in situated in the middle of the gospel (Luke...
