Your Church Culture Matters

There was a time not so many years ago when I was weary and jaded toward church, but even then, I could have given you a lengthy checklist of what a healthy church should look like.... continue reading

Lessons about Hospitality from the Early Church

2,000 years after the church began, in the increasingly post-Christian West, it’s tempting to wonder if secular voices are right when they claim that Christian churches are passé, on the wrong side of history, or even downright damaging.... continue reading

Finding Happiness

Genuine happiness is to be found in following the pathway of obedience.

This is not the way the world sees it. In 21st-century Western culture, personal happiness and obedience to an authority are held to be mutually incompatible. But the Bible is clear: it is by obeying that we …

The Never-Ending Gifts of Christmas

I know it’s only October, but as a lot of us begin putting together our Christmas gift lists for loved ones, I think it’s worth asking: Do you remember what you got for Christmas last year? I don’t. Oh, I’m sure you remember if, for instance, you got engaged, your …

Our Prayers Reflect Our Relationships

Paul and the Philippian believers enjoyed a partnership grounded in the gospel. Theirs wasn’t a static fellowship based on a little bit of common belief. Rather, it was a deepening friendship that blossomed as they continued “striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” and to “work out” …

Leading The Church When People Leave

For the first time in ministry, I was genuinely tempted to close up my heart. I told myself I would love the church, counsel the church, pray for the church, and preach the gospel to the church as best as I could, but I would no longer befriend the church. …

Receiving Criticism in Christ

During an unusually tense time in our church, a small group of progressively-minded people began critiquing my sermons. I received passive-aggressive texts, lengthy, impassioned emails, and often heard “what so and so thought” about last Sunday’s message. Gossip is, perhaps, the most hurtful. It’s painful and awkward to know a …

To the Parent Who Wants to Disciple Their Kids But Doesn’t Know Where to Start

Parenting is a wild ride, isn’t it? Nothing can adequately prepare you. Parenting books, blogs and podcasts are all great. But they only scratch the surface of what it’s like to have your own kid. There are so many paths to parenthood; no one gets there quite the same way. …