7 Times Your ‘Righteous’ Anger Probably Isn’t
When pastors get angry, things can get complicated. On the one hand, we know that anger is not always an indication of sin. After all, we say to ourselves, Jesus got angry. Paul also counseled the...
View ArticleWe Should Expect Non-Christians to Share Our Morals
A common reaction among evangelicals to the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage has been deflection from controversy. This laissez-faire approach has been most commonly expressed by closely...
View ArticleThe Essential Art of Forgiveness in Ministry
I’ll never forget where I was when I nearly quit the ministry: sitting in my office at church, weeping. My wife was out of town with our children, ministering to a friend whose husband had just died...
View ArticleThe Worst Ministry Advice I Ever Received
“Son,” the pastor whispered to me as he put his hand on my shoulder, “You need to listen up to what I’m about to tell you, because it will be the key to your ministry success.” I leaned in, eager to...
View ArticleBehold Your Mother
“Yeah, well, we’re leaving tomorrow for vacation.” This was the stunning response I received from the adult daughter of an ill and elderly church member when I called to let them know her father was in...
View ArticleHow Did Jesus View the Bible?
When I pastored my small, theologically conservative church, I could safely assume the people sitting in the pews on Sunday morning to hear me preach believed that the Bible they held in their hands...
View ArticleThe Church That Saved Me
When a church looks for a pastor, in most cases, it is looking for a leader who can revive its witness and vitality in the community. So I supposed Gages Lake Bible Church, a small, struggling church...
View ArticleAbortion Meets a New Generation
As evangelicals who came of age during the culture wars, we’re part of a generation ready to move past the pitched left-right debates. The critiques of Christian political activism have held some...
View ArticleEmbracing My Less than Spectacular Church
For nearly nine years I was on senior staff at one of the largest evangelical churches in the suburbs of Chicago. We were highly organized, and prided ourselves on excellence in all of our ministry...
View ArticleHow to Fight “Christian”
My pastor has a saying he repeats often. “This isn’t a 10,” he says, meaning that the issue we are discussing might be important but not ultimate. It’s a practice he’s taught me to use in my...
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