Photo by Rawpixel.com Approximately four years ago, my cousin and his wife discovered their not-yet-born son had a heart condition called HLHS. This essentially meant that when born, he’d have half a heart. Although this was difficult news, they prepared for Landon’s birth and all the unknowns of his future by striving in prayer and…
Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash I am lost. I know loss. I am different. I do not belong. I am unwelcome. I will never be known. I will never be understood. I will never feel okay… .@paulcmaxwell Brian Bormgan defines loneliness as “a state of lacking intimacy with the people around us.” Loneliness is a complex issue. It is not simply an issue of feeling…
In a recent post, I made a short pitch for pastors to engage in a bit of historical theological work. I believe reading history and paying attention to the historical development of ideas will help the pastor and serve the church for the glory of God. You can read my thoughts here. After publishing that…
In the Bible, the very definition of passion – think of Christ’s Passion – is to sacrifice your freedom for someone else. Romans 12 addresses this truth at a practical level. Paul starts this way: ‘I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice’ (Romans 12:).…
In a previous post where I wrote about Derek Webb and his loss of faith, I suggested that the reason why some fall away from the faith is because their faith was man-made and not God-made. That is, their belief in and allegiance to Christianity were based on human conditioning and reasoning but were not…
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash If you were to ask ten pastors the question of what constitutes success in ministry you would undoubtedly get ten different answers. Each response may have some similarities with other responses but I imagine that the thrust of what each person said would be distinctly different. Is success in ministry proportionate to…
Recently I attended a Christian academic conference were Christian scholars from around the world presented papers on various topics. One paper I had the privilege to listen to was from Dr. J. G. Duesing, provost and professor of church history at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Duesing’s paper presented a proposal for how professors might…
You have a secret weapon in fighting for joy. As a pastor, counseling people in trouble is a regular part of my life. I counsel teenagers, singles, married couples, 20 somethings, empty nesters, and all points in between. Most people who come for counseling are not joyful–that’s often what drives them to seek counseling in…
Here are a few things we believe are worth a look. At the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society this year, a paper was presented arguing for the viability of “Transgender Christianity.” This is important because what happens in the academy runs downhill into our churches. Jason K. Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological…
Recently my family and I used an Applebee’s gift card someone had given us for Pastor Appreciation Month. As we sat down, I started to think about my Sunday sermon and the title. The title contained the word renovation. This word makes me think about those people who go into older or established houses and…
Theology Along the Way 