Happy Fall, Friends! I hope you and yours are well. Here’s our latest: Personal Our biggest news happened earlier this week and is certainly worthy of being the featured image above. On Monday, Kade Thomas Austen, grandchild #7, was born. He was 6 lb., 14 oz. and everybody is doing great. “Mimi” Pam got to see him along with his … Read More
Why Women Have Abortions
Here’s a four-minute clip of Pastor Tim Hawks of Hill Country Bible Church in Austin, TX trying to help some in his congregation understand why women have abortions. What I love about it is he uses Planned Parenthood’s own research and helps us all start with empathy. Again, I encourage you to watch the clip, but I have also written … Read More
The Irreplaceable Book Launch, Part 4
Hey Friends, Well, you never know what you are going to wake up to… My son, Tim (above with his son Caedmon), who is doing the final type-setting for the book had a business trip to Phoenix this week and came back to a sick family. Although fevers and symptoms have started to resolve, it has delayed the book’s release. … Read More
The Irreplaceable Book Launch, Part 3
Hey Friends, I made a couple of tweaks to the intro to the “Irreplaceable” playlist (see Spotify link at the end of this post) and thought it best to re-publish it as part of this series. If you have any favorites that aren’t on this list, please let me know. Also, in sharing them, I would love to know how … Read More
The Irreplaceable Book Launch, Part 2
Irreplaceable: Recovering God’s Heart for Dads— is now just three weeks from release! Over the weekend, we finished edits and designed the cover. Over the next two weeks, we hope to finish all formatting issues and get it ready to upload for printing. Also, here’s the description that will be uploaded to Amazon’s site: Irreplaceable: Recovering God’s Heart for Dads … Read More
The Irreplaceable Book Launch, Part 1
Irreplaceable: Recovering God’s Heart for Dads— in many ways, a summary of my life’s work and the most important thing I’ve published to date— is a month from release! In anticipation and to share in the excitement, here are a few of the endorsements that have come in over the last few weeks: Greg Austen has been a fierce advocate … Read More
What Does Following Jesus Look Like?
What does character and internal beauty look like– especially for a Christian? In truth, it is the same for men and women, and there is no better mirror of what internal beauty and godliness looks like than the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12. Here Jesus gives his disciples eight characteristics to pursue or that evidence being in a state of blessing … Read More
Concerns with Catechesis, Part 2 of 2
“I’d rather focus on heart than head, the practical rather than the intellectual”—Sometimes, especially in reformed circles, there is a tendency to elevate head knowledge—including catechesis—over topics like relationships, healthy marriage, vocation, emotional health, or a heart for God. That’s why for some “attention to doctrine is sometimes actually avoided, lest it induce contention and cold-heartedness and thereby diminish devotional … Read More
Concerns with Catechesis, Part 1 of 2
Not everyone is a fan of catechesis—or even intentional Scripture memorization—and in what follows, I’d like to address seven common concerns, four this week and three next, concluding with a personal confession and some practical guidance: “Catechesis is brainwashing”— British philosopher and author A. C. Grayling said that “Religions survive mainly because they brainwash the young.”[1] Is he right in … Read More
The Case for Catechesis
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes … Read More