How in the world am I going to see You as my brother not my enemy? Coldplay Everyday Life In his excellent halt vs. help article (see here), Chapell says that the common enemy that should unite all Christians is pluralism. Unfortunately, he doesn’t give a clear definition, however, the late John Stott, gave one that I’m sure captures Chapell’s … Read More
Halt vs. Help, Part 2
Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback on the article last week. Below are just some of your great observations. For clarity, I’ve added a few words in brackets and put key ideas in bold: “I was… raised on the mission field… I find myself identifying more with the ‘help’ idea… I never thought of myself as part of a … Read More
Talkin’ Bout My Generation: Halt vs. Help
“Ok Boomer.” It’s certainly not a compliment and there’s more anger behind it than you’d think. “Ok boomer” is a growing fad—now on memes, t-shirts, etc.—among teens who are starting to push back against a certain type of older person. As one teen explained, “A boomer is really more of a type of personality, someone who is intolerant to new … Read More
Inconvenient Horrors
If you missed it, I’m not surprised. It was certainly underreported by the media and, let’s face it, few of us like to dwell on violence—especially when it’s real and against our most vulnerable. Less than two months ago, 2,246 medically-preserved fetal remains were found in the Illinois home of a recently-deceased doctor. Yeah, that’s right— over 2000 medically-preserved fetal … Read More
How Did We Get the Bible We Have Today?
“The use of ‘canon’ for a list of books that are canonical in the defined sense is secondary and derivative. The church has always known, more or less clearly, that it did not create a canon by discretionary fiat but received the canon that God created for it.”[1] Like Jake and Elwood above, the Bible claims to be on a … Read More
How Bart Ehrman’s “Misquoting Jesus” Misses the Point, 2 of 2
Bart Ehrman is a first-rate scholar but he misses the point and it seems he should know better. At Princeton Theological Seminary, he was the student of Bruce Metzger (1914-2007), one of the highest regarded scholars of Greek, New Testament, and New Testament Textual Criticism in the world. In fact, Erhman dedicates Misquoting Jesus to Metzger and even helped update the … Read More
How Bart Ehrman’s “Misquoting Jesus” Misses the Point, 1 of 2
I mentioned here that I’ve been thinking a lot about understanding and addressing millennial apostasy. I’ve been doing this by identifying and looking through several lenses, one of which is a loss of confidence in the authority of Scripture. In my research, I’ve found that Bart Ehrman’s New York Times bestseller Misquoting Jesus has been a major contributor to this … Read More
Five Strategies for Fighting Lust
Although I’ve written previously about God’s essential role in changing us from the inside out, I want to share five practical strategies that have helped me the most in fighting lust: Foresight: Make choices in moments of strength to prepare for moments of weakness. For example, if you are tempted to look at porn at a certain time of day … Read More
Exclusive Prayer & Ministry Update-092019
Hi Family and Friends! I’m writing to you from a favorite spot in Bonaire (see above). For the last four years, we’ve come to this Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela with our friends, Bruce and Jean—my second son, Tim’s, in-laws, to scuba-dive. And I’m here at the Hangout at Jibe City, a colorful spot that overlooks Lac Bay … Read More
Cultivating Eternal Wishes for Others, Part 5 of 5
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” 1 PETER 1:1-2, ESV Over the past … Read More