As I mentioned last week, from a theological perspective, I’ve come to see that saving faith is more than intellectual assent. That’s why when talking about my testimony, in addition to the “change in belief” experiences, I place considerable weight on a three-month series of events that occurred during my fifteenth year. I was working in a bus ministry that … Read More
How I Became a Christian Despite the Church, Part 3 of 4
As I mentioned last week, although much of our family’s church experience was toxic, it did put me in a place where I heard the gospel and was encouraged to respond. When I was 18, I made a list of several things that contributed to my understanding of salvation. These included comic books, a horror movie, an old classic, and a debate between … Read More
How I Became a Christian Despite the Church, Part 2 of 4
Influential and now scandalized mega-church pastor, Bill Hybels, is known for saying, “There’s nothing like the local church when it’s working right.” The reverse is also true: There’s nothing that can do as much damage as the church when it’s not working right. I spent 1973–1981 in a toxic environment called Beracah Bible Baptist—an independent church that morphed into something … Read More
How I Became a Christian Despite the Church, Part 1 of 4
By the power of the Spirit (Jn. 3:3), you come to know the love of the Father (2 Cor. 5:18-19) and embrace the gospel—that good news that your sins are forgiven by the death, burial, and resurrection of the Son (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Further, your life grows to reflect a genuine heart for God—one that evidences your claim to be … Read More
Reflections on the March for Life
A person is a person no matter how small. – Dr. Seuss Last week marked my one year anniversary with Care Net and my second year participating in the March for Life. It was the 45th march protesting and marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the now infamous Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion through all nine months of … Read More
Saying Yes to Diving in the Caribbean
You’re never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream. –C.S. Lewis It’s not often you get an invitation to stay at a friend’s sea-front home on the Caribbean island of Bonaire, combined with an offer to take you scuba-diving every day. Bonaire is one of the most beautiful and easiest places in the world to … Read More
How the Holy Family Gives Laser Focus to Ministry
In my current vocational role at Care Net, the Christmas story is especially significant, as it deals with the most famous “unplanned” pregnancy in history. Earlier this year, my wife and I went to Orlando to celebrate my mom’s birthday. While there, she gave me a figurine of the Holy Family. It was originally my grandparents’, and my mom thought … Read More
Making Life Disciples: Lessons from Allison’s Story
[Note: This post, also published here, gives a glimpse into the work I do at Care Net. The intro and lessons learned, however, have wide application to all of our ministry efforts.] Sometimes we think—or certainly want—our discipleship efforts to be like biting into a York Peppermint Patty: joy explodes into the lives of those we’re ministering to and things are never … Read More
Why I’m More Interested in Conversion Than Collusion
One of the greatest joys I’ve had to date is baptizing new believers into the Christian faith—especially my children (that’s my son, Timothy, above!). Experiences like that—especially given the disheartening state of politics—are far more compelling than Hillary’s email server, collusion with Russia, or Donald’s tweets. It’s not that I don’t want justice to “roll down;” I do. It’s not … Read More
The Problems with Justification by Faith Alone
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1, ESV) “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24, ESV) I thought about titling this piece “How Wesley Helped Reformed Folks Get the Gospel Right” or “Orthodox Church Corrects Protestants for De-emphasizing … Read More