John Stott had a massive impact on the church I am honored to pastor. He was Kenton’s, our pastor emeritus, mentor—even staying at his house several times when he visited. Our doctrinal positions have been very much influenced by Stott. In his classic work Why I Am a Christian, Stott wrote: Why I am a…
Jesus
3 Ways We Parents Wrongly Teach Kids to Earn God’s Approval
As parents we hate to see our kids live with the burden of trying to gain approval. Or worrying if they are going to be accepted by their looks, their dress, their performance. Or struggling with the pain of wondering if others will love and accept them. As Christian parents we know we have a…
Why Some Fall and Some Rise With Christmas
Shortly after His birth, Jesus’ parents brought Him to the temple to be circumcised. There was a priest, Simeon, at the temple who has been waiting for years to see the Messiah who would come into the world to rescue us. God told him he was going to see the Messiah before he died. Simeon…
Jesus (not 2021) Is the Dawn From on High
Post-Christmas blues are a reality every year, but I imagine that they could be especially high this year. So many people are talking about the excitement of 2020 ending, and longing for the newness of a fresh start on the calendar. While I understand the longing and the hoping and the hunger for a new…
Jesus Arrived to Defeat Your (Real) Enemies
Many have said that nothing unites like a common enemy. In business, startups will unite as insurgents to take down the incumbent. In politics, leaders bring people together against the other side. Defeating a common enemy can be a powerful unifier and motivator. In a divisive year there seems to be a greater desire to…
8 Reasons I Stopped Stressing About “Losing my Salvation”
The question “Can I lose my salvation” is one of the biggest questions I wrestled with when I first became a Christian. I loved Jesus but still struggled with so many things and because I struggled with so many things, I wondered if my struggles would take me outside of God’s grace. I remember coming…
A Reminder From My Stint as a Soccer Coach: From Victory, Not for Victory
When Evie was six, I coached her soccer team and I loved it. One game in particular reminded me how to live as a Christian. We were called the Soccer Rockers and it was a blast. The kids and their parents were great. Evie’s favorite game that year was the game we played when the…
Made Right by Christ, NOT by Your Church’s Re-opening Plans
What does drinking have to do with re-opening the church? Since this is already a divisive conversation, I will just go ahead and make it a bit more divisive with this real-life illustration. When I first became a pastor, it was common in some church ministry circles to hear conversations against the use (any use)…
5 Things Christ Will Reverse What the Coronavirus Has Revealed
The Coronavirus crisis has revealed what we already knew. It has alerted us, all at once, to the pain and suffering around us and within us. Here are five things I have been grieving, five things the global pandemic has painfully reminded me of: 1. The brokenness of our world We live in world that…
Looking Down On Others in Our Christian Subcultures
There is a lot of looking down on others in our culture. A few minutes on social media makes this very clear. Sadly, this is even true in our Christian subcultures. On one hand, the looking and talking down is rather surprising because as Christians we should not look down on others. We look to…