The Voice of Loving Favor

“In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” Ephesians 1:4-5, NIV Hey Friends, This is an update of sorts, and I’d like to ask for your prayers. After deciding to discontinue the Mantua Creek church plant in December, Pam and I have been seeking God about what my next … Read More

Fresh Updates to Baptism & Its Significance!

I just got done adding insights and practical helps from five years of church planting to the Baptism & Its Significance booklet in the Constructive Conversations series. Please consider picking up a copy for yourself, as well as posting a review. Here’s the new description: Baptism is an initiatory rite that’s connected with amazing truths that many Christians meditate on … Read More

Navigating Abrupt Seasonal Changes

Fall is my favorite season that, for me, culminates with Thanksgiving. Amidst its vivid and profound themes of color, beauty, and change, are fun things like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day—one of my daughter’s and my favorite holiday traditions and something we now share with her two boys as well. As I write … Read More

Defining Christian Nationalism, 1 of 2

I was finishing tiling her floor when my friend, Margaret, asked me “What is Christian nationalism?” She had seen the term referenced in this Mantua Creek story of impact from last year: “When we first started coming, I was questioning if there was a place for me in the evangelical church. I was discouraged by the rise of Christian Nationalism … Read More

More on Knowing God as Father

Many feel that David Bently Hart’s That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation is the best case in our day against an everlasting hell and for universal salvation. Although I can’t tackle these important questions here, I do want to take issue with Hart’s oversimplification of God’s fatherhood in the quote below, as well as his misapplication … Read More

Eagle Powers for Christmas?

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13, NRSVUE) We know well that worship is at the center of the Christian celebration of Christmas. As … Read More

How Parenting Teaches Us About God’s Heart

To all the fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day! In the Bible, what is said about God often makes use of what theologians have traditionally called anthropomorphic language; that is, language that speaks of God in human terms. For example, we might talk about “the eyes of the Lord” or “the long arm of the Lord.” Other places in Scripture … Read More

Getting Involved in Spiritual Transformation, Part 2 of 4

“…but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:2, NRSV Stepping away from polluting voices is the first step in getting involved in spiritual transformation, but it’s only the beginning. We need something to take the place of those polluting voices; that is, something that will strengthen our … Read More

Is the Essence of God Love?, Part 3 of 3

I mentioned last week that, in scripture, predestination is a positive doctrine (e.g. Eph. 1:4-5 says, “In love he predestined…”) and should be applied pastorally like the following: “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day … Read More

Is the Essence of God Love?, Part 2 of 3

Growing up, movies like The Burning Hell made me think God was more wrath than love, and then, detoxing from that, I spent another thirty-five years believing love and wrath were both attributes of God. In viewing John’s plain statement that “God is love,” I stood with good-hearted teachers that said things like “certainly love is a very important attribute … Read More