Nov 24, 2023 | Church Matters, Leadership, Leadership, Personal Development
Formation versus Information About five years ago I was having coffee with a local pastor, and we were discussing literature and my passion for reading. I was telling him about how vital I believe reading to be for us as ministers, and, after hearing me out, my pastor...
Nov 22, 2023 | Church Matters, Leadership, Leadership, Personal Development
Listening to the Word of God makes us aware that we cannot simply adapt and adjust to the realities of a divided society. But especially in a society that is divided in the way ours is, the church’s work of formation is about listening to the Word of God in a way that...
Nov 21, 2023 | Church Matters, Devotion, Leadership, Leadership
With church attendance rebounding since the pandemic, Christians need to be encouraged to recall and remember what the writers of the Bible say about the vitality of Christian community, not to mention the command from God to meet together. Now more than ever,...
Nov 17, 2023 | Church Matters, Devotion, Leadership
IV. Notes Towards a Ministry of Ḥesed Thoughts on ḥesed Does a ministry of ḥesed exist? I suggest that we can identify the ministry of ḥesed as, first of all, whatever springs from a heart that is like God’s heart—compassion, mercy, love, forgiveness, peace, faith,...
Nov 10, 2023 | Church Matters, Devotion, Personal Development
No one in the history of the church has had as much access to Scripture as we do in the twenty-first-century Western world. As I sit at my dining room table in southern Missouri, there are seven Bibles I could reach in ten steps or less. But this hasn’t always been...
Nov 7, 2023 | Family, Personal Development
When Ben and Jenna got married, they both had a thriving community of friends and family around them. Then, a few months into their marriage, Jenna unexpectedly got offered an incredible job promotion. Along with a significant salary increase, this promotion also...
Nov 3, 2023 | Church Matters, Inspiration, Missions
Thoughts on ḥesed Recently, I was very kindly invited to join a group of writers commenting on current events from a Christian perspective. Reluctantly, I declined, feeling that were I to write about the procession of evils that our society experiences and the...
Oct 31, 2023 | Family, Inspiration, Personal Development
What is humor? Humor is defined as the capacity to express or perceive what is funny. This capacity begins to develop at an early age. Infants form a sense of humor by watching how others respond to their different behaviors. We are hardwired with the ability to...
Oct 27, 2023 | Devotion, Family, Personal Development
Our Longing for Closeness Bone of My Bones The English word for intimacy comes from the Latin word intimus, meaning “inner.” Thus, intimacy involves two people opening their inner selves to each other. It is entering into each other’s lives emotionally,...
