Articles
Easy Bible Study Method for Overwhelmed Believers
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed and exhausted that you couldn’t catch your breath? That was me in college. I was knee-deep academically, working toward my undergrad degree in biblical studies at the Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago. I was also on a “hamster...
Biblical Knowledge Attention Spans
Biblical Knowledge Attention Spans in a Distracted Age I was a pastor for a long time. Every week I went through the same cycle: Prep eagerly and earnestly, do my best in the pulpit, greet everyone after church, nap, and then immediately start thinking about next...
Living Lasts a Lifetime
I sat across from a young mom in a hipster coffee shop, the kind that serves deconstructed breakfast sandwiches in a bowl for around the price of the down payment of a tiny house. We went to the same church, and although we had known of each other for quite some time,...
Words Create Worlds
How Words Create Worlds Through God’s Design Words Create Worlds God spoke this world into existence. That’s how the Bible begins. God said, “Let there be light,” and BOOM! There was light, then water, land, animals, plants, and solar systems. From the sub-atomic to...
Your Life Is a Good News Story
Living as a Good News Story in God’s Narrative If we want to become more of who God made us to be—both individually and collectively—we don’t need another new strategy for discipleship, we need a whole new narrative. Or rather, we need to return to the Good News...
Radical Transformation in Jesus
Throughout the Bible, we see radical transformation stories of ordinary individuals who played pivotal roles in God’s plan for humanity. These transformations not only impacted their own lives but also influenced countless others who came to faith through their...
Practice Hospitality: Becoming a Person of Welcome
Why We Must Practice Hospitality in a Broken World Family and friends welcomed them to a foreign land. My parents were the first of their families to move across the world to gain access to opportunity, education, and a different life. The United States was a...
Ask Better Questions to Expand Your World
Why You Must Ask Better Questions in Life EXPANDING—OR SHRINKING—YOUR WORLD The dimensions of your life expand or shrink in proportion to the questions you ask. I remember the first time I asked two significant questions. Little did I realize how those two questions...
Pastor as Gardener: A Biblical Model for Ministry
Pastor as Gardener in Biblical Ministry The story of the early church—Mary, Thomas, Peter, and so many more—is a story of lives transformed through Jesus and then becoming more like Jesus in thought, word, and deed. The early Christians, as they lived in resurrection...
Faith Behind the Mask: Finding God in Hidden Pain
Faith Behind the Mask in the Modern Church Have you ever walked into church and wondered if anyone could tell you were wearing a mask? As you leaned in for that infamous church hug (the one that gives the appearance of closeness while ensuring that the two bodies...
God Is Near: Experiencing His Presence in Everyday Life
God Is Near and Invites Relationship God’s greatest desire is that we would reach out to him and connect with him. The Bible calls God our Father, who loves us with a love greater than our minds can comprehend. God wants to connect with you. He’s not hiding. He’s not...
Citizens of Heaven: Living with a Kingdom Perspective
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven. Philippians 1:27 Citizens of Heaven See Beyond Earthly Circumstances Paul knew a thing or two about citizenship. His status as a Roman citizen served him well on several occasions, and many of his readers would likely...
Being Over Doing Missions: A Better Model for Global Ministry
Being Over Doing Missions Starts with a Mindset Shift For so long, the prevailing mindset in missions has been “from the West to the rest,” essentially a one-way model of us going to them. But just as no part of the human body ever only receives and never gives...
Accountability Healing: Finding Freedom Through Confession and Community
A few months ago, I was struggling with the way I viewed food and exercise. Unfortunately, I was making it more than a healthy lifestyle, and it was becoming something that all my life and thoughts revolved around. Slowly but surely, what started out as a passion...
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...
