There is no greater arrogance than not to desire to be justified by faith in Christ.[1] -Luther In keeping with celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, I wanted to do two posts on how we are justified before God. In other words, how do we make peace with God? How do we please Him? All Christians care deeply about … Read More
Why the Reformation Still Matters
I’m a Protestant who believes Luther made an awful lot of mistakes, but got the big thing right—the gospel.- Mark Noll This summer I traveled to Sacramento to attend the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). A highlight of my week was getting to hear EPC member and American historian Mark Noll. In honor of the 500th anniversary of the … Read More
Back to School to Honor a Good Man
I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me… so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I give thanks to you forever. (Psa. 30:1,2,12, NRSV) … Read More
Listening to Marital Advice from My Younger Self
Tomorrow, my wife, Pam, and I will celebrate our thirty-first wedding anniversary with a meal at Seasons 52. Eleven years ago, on our twentieth, I wrote a piece for National Fatherhood Initiative called Three Simple Things to Improve Your Marriage. Reading it again, I still find it valuable and hope you will too. Here’s the article and I will conclude … Read More
Stealing Ecclesiastes Back!
In the opening track, “Helter Skelter,” of U2’s 1988 Rattle & Hum, Bono shouts, “This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles and we’re stealing it back!” In the same way, Ecclesiastes is a book that the New International Version’s (NIV) translation of “vanity” as “meaningless” has stolen from many, and I want to steal it back! Rather … Read More
I Can’t Seem to Change
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. –Oscar Wilde As a carpenter, it’s no secret I’ve installed a lot of windows. The time I jumped out of one, however, is something I’ve kept hidden until now. I’ll explain below. The Christian faith teaches that the ground is level at the foot of … Read More
What I’ve Learned from My Catholic Friends
In an interview celebrating the legendary friendship of J.R.R. Tolkien, a Roman Catholic, and C.S. Lewis, evangelicalism’s “patron saint,” British author Colin Duriez describes what Lewis learned from Tolkien: [Tolkien showed him that] “the nourishment he had always received from great myths and fantasy stories was a taste of that greatest, truest story– of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ… Lewis … Read More
Women in Church Leadership, Part 2
“Women have more to offer the church than mad decorating skills or craft nights. I look around: I see women who can offer strategic leadership, wisdom, counsel, and teaching.” ― Sarah Bessey, (egalitarian) “What women rightly long for is spiritual and moral initiative from a man, not spiritual and moral domination.”[1] -John Piper (complementarian) I mentioned last week that the … Read More
Women in Church Leadership, Part 1
In a previous fellowship of churches, I was often asked to speak when a pastor was away. On one occasion, I asked my daughter to read the passage I was preaching on that morning before I spoke. To my surprise, a fellow pastor in our denomination wrote a letter questioning why we would let a woman stand behind the sacred … Read More
Why I’m Pro-Life
I remember when reports announced that Princess Kate of England was pregnant. Even the most secular news outlets immediately began talking about the child in her womb as an heir to the throne… But doesn’t the dignity we conferred on a ‘royal’ baby apply also to countless other ‘ordinary’ babies whose lives are no less significant?[1] For me, being pro-life … Read More