The Ordinary Unfamiliar
John, especially in Revelation, has a knack for making the ordinary unfamiliar. A throne…that shoots lightning. A sea…of crystal, or glass. Seven lampstands…that are spirits, and—earlier—churches. But this is good…
Defensiveness
(originally posted 12/6/13) Everyone receives criticism, sometimes even when we deserve it. But the way we respond to that criticism can either win people over or push them further away….
Evil Collapsing Under Its Own Weight
“Evil collapsing under its own weight.” I love that phrase. It’s so fitting. On a geopolitical scale we remember the fall of Communism, the end of the Third Reich, and…
Finding the Best Version of You
Many people often try to live Christianly by following a bunch of rules. They operate under the auspices that it doesn’t matter how you feel or who you are, you…
Church Survival Guide: Church Shopping Tips
The Church Survival Guide was written to help you enjoy your life as a follower of Christ without wishing you were his only disciple. The book is full of tweet-sized…
Perceived Value
Originally posted October 10, 2013 Why do people go to church? Because they perceive it has value. They want to grow spiritually, find wholeness, relieve guilt, and church promises to…
Before You Rebuke
A rebuke is a sharp command to stop sinning.With few exceptions, it’s only ok to rebuke those with whom we have some relational capital. We earn relational capital by loving…
Magic and the Word
Could there be anything less compelling for a young man than to learn that Jesus Christ is the Word? The Word? He couldn’t be The Sword or The Knight or…
Hearing God: Useful Metaphors
My friend Rick Callahan often uses four metaphors to determine what God might be saying to him. I’ve used these metaphors primarily in the context of leadership, but they are…
God is Knitting Us Together
The last part of the human body to decay, bones preserve the essence of an individual. In effect, they symbolize a person’s identity. The poets often use bones to picture…
12 Tips to Help God Change You
1. Our true humanity is god-ly. We discover who we are meant to become by learning more about who God is. 2. The seed of God grows in us, and…