Hey All, I wanted to share a couple of sessions from Care Net’s recent Men’s Summit in Dallas at Tony Evan’s church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. The most compelling part for me personally was a discussion that featured the stories of five post-abortive men. There were several reasons for this. For one thing, the comradery and chemistry among the men was … Read More
What I Learned about God from James Bond, 2 of 2
Buried in the recesses of our soul is a quiet desperation for adventure, a hunger for more than our current experience. James Bond speaks to that “wild at heart” part of us and stirs and soothes those fantasies. Are those fantasies all bad? All things we need to eradicate or repress? Or are they mixed with the image-of-God stardust we … Read More
What I Learned about God from James Bond, 1 of 2
It may seem counterintuitive, I know, and they say “don’t miss the forest for the trees,” but I’d like you to look at a particular tree with me… in order to see the forest… with the end goal of better seeing the Maker of that forest. To be clearer, I’d like to start with a popular fantasy, a movie franchise … Read More
Is God Male?
Most children’s catechisms answer the question, “Who is God?” with some version of the statement, “He is a spirit and has no body as we do.” A study guide commenting on the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s version of this question explains, “When we say that God is a Spirit we make clear the fact that He is distinct from all things … Read More
Dads and Daughters
We noted last week and here that, although the later part of Psalm 127 focuses more on sons, the first part of the psalm includes all children, male and female alike: “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” In thinking about daughters specifically, I’ve found Job 42:10-17—another section in the wisdom literature … Read More
The Book Launch Series, Part 4 of 4
The paperback is now available! Although I never dreamed I’d be releasing this during a pandemic, as a friend told me this week, at least reading is consistent with social distancing! Please stay safe and get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085RNKTXY I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d help get the word out. You can use the same previous link to … Read More
Four Gospel-Centered & Non-Political Things Every Pastor Can Do to Decrease the Impact of Abortion
*This article is adapted and expanded from one I wrote for Care Net and the picture above (from late 2018) is of my grandson Emmett representing! Abortion is a global issue that now affects 40-50 million unborn children every year.[1] As a pastor, I’m with others who see this as one of, if not, the greatest moral atrocity of our … 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
Is the Essence of God Love?, Part 1 of 3
Fatherhood—including now being “Papa” to my grandson, Emmett—has provided me with powerful testimony to a loving God who, in Christianity, reveals Himself as “Our Father.” I shared this story about the first time I heard my then two-year-old son, Matthew, tell me he loved me and received this note from a friend: “IMHO, you are probing, without saying so in … Read More
Getting Our Apologetic Against Pornography Right
For twenty-five years, many of us have laughed through or in spite of Joey and Chandler’s regular consumption of porn on Friends. And today, former Baywatch babe and Playmate, Pamela Anderson, is a “strange” outlier because, now that she’s gotten rich and famous off of being objectified—yet, seeming to have learned the hard way, she speaks out about pornography as “corrosive” … Read More
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