Our modern world has an odd obsession with the spiritual realm. We are fascinated by dark spiritual themes, everything from the more fantastical zombies and vampires to the practice of exorcism, demon possession, and things that go bump in the night. It’s a pretty strange thing if you think about it, but interestingly enough the … More I Renounce, the World, the Flesh, and the Devil
You heard it growing up. The golden rule. Do onto others as you would have them do to you. I can remember a conversation I had in high school with one particular teacher. We were talking about treating others well and he said, “I just treat other people the way I want to be treated.” … More The Golden Rule
“Things treated merely as things in themselves destroy themselves because only in God have they any life” (For the Life of the World by Alexander Schmemann) Millennials are taught to expect things to be temporary. Whether it’s marriage or mobility, jobs or friendships, everything ends or at least everything tends to fall apart. Seasons come, … More Things Tend to Fall Apart
As a young man and a young Christian I wanted to discern the teachings of the church in regard to wealth. Wealth is a particularly important thing to a young, well-educated, and ambitious young man. So I had my questions, Jesus wasn’t really against wealth was he? Did God really want me to sell everything … More True Wealth
A few years ago I started a series on idolatry that I never finished. My original post generated responses from both friends and enemies. At the time I was too shocked by the level of response to continue the series. I had seen too many controversies visa via creation care to continue writing on the … More On Idolatry
If you’re from the heartland, or even if you’ve ever been on a farm you’ll probably get the silo reference (if not see below). Silos are used to store grain. They are solitary and bound to one place or farm by design. They are singular and stand over the landscape set apart from their surroundings. Our … More The Silo Christian
I think back to life in college and I ask myself what do I wish I had known back then that I know now. It’s not an easy question, or at least it’s not as easy as it sounds. I came to college a fairly stubborn young man. I didn’t want anything to do with … More Thoughts for a College Student
It’s a hard question. If you’re like me you may have been exposed to the idea that our relationship with God comes in cycles. Sometimes we feel closer to him and sometimes we feel further from him. The idea being that a life of faith is filled with peaks and valleys. I suspect a lot … More Does Faith Stagnate?
We hear of the glories and goodness of the presence of God. Even if we reject that presence, it often says much less about God than our own sinful impulses. But what about the absence of God? In the movie The Tree of Life there is a prolonged scene featuring a sermon in the book … More The Absence of God
The Missional Life 