There’s a refreshingly unusual folk ballad on Keith and Kristyn Getty’s new album, Hymns for the Christian Life. Think of “Simple Living” as the musical equivalent of Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo’s Red Letter Revolution. Unlike Axton’s soft-pedaling, the Getty-Stuart Townend songwriting team gives Jesus’ dialogue with the rich young ruler a transparent treatment  ... Continue Reading

Maybe Frank’s exasperation over the holiday season resonates with you, not because you’re a curmudgeon like he, but because you’re an earnest Christian who would rather celebrate the unparalleled significance of Jesus’s incarnation — God becoming man — without all the frills of endless sales and endless Santa.  So what’s a Christian to do in... Continue Reading

The other day I was listening to talk radio when the hosts began the inevitable seasonal discussion about the meaning of Christmas. Callers quickly chimed in with their various perspectives and opinions, often intermingled with touching stories and well-intended exhortations toward charity and kindness.   However, the friendly discussion quickly turned confrontational as various callers... Continue Reading

This Christmas, as you speak often with friends and family, think on these biblical principles and pray that they will help you live in a way that glorifies God. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly so that you cannot speak with any other accent.   At the 2008 Desiring God National Conference,... Continue Reading

Who could have dreamt that the mighty arm of the Lord would be revealed most powerfully in the weakness of your birth?   Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry... Continue Reading

For many women, the thought of a husband going to jail and losing his job and being publicly shamed is so undesirable that they often endure much sin before becoming desperate enough to turn to the authorities. What I want to stress is that long before they reach a point of desperation — or harm... Continue Reading

“I like the fact that we’re getting more ‘nones’ because it helps Christians realize that they’re different,” Stanley Hauerwas, a Protestant theologian at Duke Divinity School, said when I asked for his thoughts on the Pew poll. “That’s a crucial development. America produces people that say, ‘I believe Jesus is Lord, but that’s just my... Continue Reading

The most glaring omissions have to do with Christianity. For example,Global Trends 2030 cites the growing economic and political power of Asia and the developing world. But the report ignores the fact, cited by many religion scholars, that Christianity is experiencing a boom in those places.   One often hears that America’s foreign policy elites... Continue Reading

According to e-mails and other communications from President David Norman, the items cited by SACS are rather insignificant and easily corrected by the September 2013 deadline.   Below is the evaluation of Erskine College and Seminary by SACS (December 10, 2012): The Commission denied reaffirmation, continued accreditation, and placed . . . on Warning: Erskine... Continue Reading

A New York Times article on this event more interestingly quoted NAE President Leith Anderson saying NAE has no official stance on gun control but might now “take a harder look.” He cited King Herod’s slaughter of the innocents.   The National Cathedral is making gun control its new big focus and is hosting an... Continue Reading