A Changed Heart
Any church or religious organization must answer the question, how do people change? I believe the answer is found in the power of the gospel (Rom 1:-16-17; Col 1:6; 2 Pet 1:5-9). I also am convinced that gospel change is going to be more than just moral formation and...
The Great Divorce–A Hellish Drama
I went to see the CS Lewis play, The Great Divorce, a while back. The play was off Broadway and in a very small theatre. What a production! It was amazing. If you’ve never read the book, consider it. It’s the story of a bus ride from hell to heaven. At the gates of...
The Gift of Self Awareness
Our two oldest daughters paid Jan and I a tremendous compliment the other day. They said that we’d given them the gift of self-awareness. By that they meant that we’ve taken the time to do adequate self-reflection and, as a result, to make personal and marital changes...
Death and a Wager
Jan and I are on a Hunger Games marathon. I am not much of a movie guy, but the last several days we’ve been watching the series. It culminates this fall with the final of four films. I’ve been struck once again by something philosopher Charles Taylor is reported to...
A Syrian Opportunity
A few weeks ago I spent a Friday evening with a friend watching the horrific events of the terrorist attacks unfold in Paris. It wasn’t what we’d planned to do! And like many, I read the papers and watched television in the days that followed as people in the west...
Hardship
I recently finished a biography on Roger Williams entitled, Roger Williams: Creation of the American Soul. Williams was a Puritan who lived during the tumultuous times of the early to mid-17th century in both England and the American colonies. I also recently listened...
We Cannot Have God on our Terms
Several years ago I read The Dark Night of the Soul written by a Catholic monk named John of the Cross. It had a significant impact on my life as John made it clear that there were times in a Christian’s spiritual life that could not be understood. Times of pain,...
Reactivity
“Why’d I say that?” I thought to myself. I’d been in a conversation with someone, a friend, and found myself reacting to something they’d said. It happened so fast it was almost automatic. In other words, the terms they used, their tone of voice, their body language,...
What’s the Deal with God?
“You do your part, I’ll do mine.” That's the deal we make with God. “I’ll be a good guy. I’ll come to church. I’ll give money. I’ll serve you but in the end, you need to come through for me too. And if you don’t?! Well then, the deals off. I’ll marry someone who’s not...
Three Kinds of People
One of the more prolific thinkers of the twentieth century is CS Lewis. I have a small book of his entitled Present Concerns which is a collection of essays he’d written over the years for various publications. One essay in particular caught my attention. It’s called...