As I went to bed last night I was picking up on the nightly news that invasion was underway in Ukraine. When I woke up I watched a segment on CNN that troubled my heart. The newscaster stood at the side of a large screen map of Ukraine. It was a high tech affair. He…
I am rereading the book, ‘The Pastor’ by Eugene Peterson. The book serves as his memoirs and for some reason has spoken so deeply to my soul that I have read it or listened to it more than five times in the past few years. I am currently working through it slowly with our associate…
There is a type of person that many Christians don’t want to believe exists. It may be that we have a strong sense of grace, a naive view of the world, or even a “think the best of people” attitude. But we need to wake up, because this type of person is only going to…
I have been familiar with death my entire life. My formative years were spent watching my father battle and eventually succumb to cancer. He passed into the rest of it all three days after my 8th birthday. And so I have spent all of my days with a keen awareness of my own mortality. And…
Some can’t wait to ditch the masks, while others can’t imagine a future without them. Some were in line immediately to get a vaccine and post it quickly to the socials. Others are still weighing the risks to figure out what is best for them. Some are convinced that we have overreacted to this pandemic.…
To my shame, I can let a day just happen. Some days are just overcast and glum. My ability to be overcast is just as fickle as the Michigan weather. But I preface that as being to my shame, because there are little graces in each and every day. I truly believe that the difference…
The judicial system of our nation is always in motion. But there are some days that it gets more attention than others. On any given day there are cases being tried, arrests being made, verdicts being issued, and sentences being handed down. But this past week we were all paying attention. And what did we…
At the end of the day, the church needs no defense. We are not a self-justifying institution like a bowling alley, a shopping center, or a restaurant. Commercial institutions must justify themselves with sales. If they do not sell stuff (goods or services) then they have no reason to exist. But the church exists because…
I believe that American culture has become increasingly negative and fearful. Attempts to peer out into the future often result in prognostications of doom and gloom. And this blog is not meant to skip over the reality that bad things have happened and that bad things will happen. There is a type of sappy (nearly…
I subscribed to the RZIM podcast. I had the app on my phone. I have read a few books by Ravi Zacharias over the years. As a person who grew up with a significant bent toward “defending the faith,” Ravi was a large influence in my life. The findings of a recent report about the…
I absolutely loved the sciences when I was growing up. Whenever we went to the local library, I would head straight for the 500’s and always take home a stash of astronomy and biology books. I wasn’t so much interested in fiction. I loved learning about how things work. So it has taken quite a…
The church has been a stable influence on culture down through the ages. To be clear, the church has changed in traditions and in externals, but her mission has remained the same! We still proclaim a risen Lord. We still proclaim love for God and love for our neighbors as ourselves. We still gather together…
