The novel should prompt us to ask whether we’re living as if Christ is our real freedom, or whether we’re putting too much hope in political or relational freedom. Just as the tsunami of attention for Jonathan Franzen’s new novel Freedom began, I was looking for a topic for a Christian Legal Society talk at... Continue Reading

How would you address some critics who suggest your writing is simplistic? I would give them a good John Stott book or a John Piper book. I realize that I’m kind of nightstand reading. Some people write lullabies; I write lullabies. Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make A Difference, by Max Lucado –... Continue Reading

Particularly helpful were the chapters on the history of the gay rights movement in America…. Most people sitting in the pew have no understanding how homosexuality has become so normalized in our society Authors Joe Dallas (Desires in Conflict, The Gay Gospel, When Homosexuality Hits Home) and Dr. Nancy Heche (The Truth Comes Out) team... Continue Reading

Pastors, students, teachers, and scholars have at least one thing in common: personal theological libraries, whether meager, modest, decent, or deluxe. Unfortunately, many of us have another thing in common: disorganized libraries. Why You Should Organize Your Personal Theological Library I learned why I should organize my library from a contractor I’ll call Bob. When... Continue Reading

“Contextualization is speaking to people with their terms, not on their terms.” “Contextualization is not giving people what they want but rather it is giving God’s answers to questions they are asking and in forms they can comprehend” Tim Brister completes his review of Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission by Darrin Patrick... Continue Reading

Sacred cows die hard. And tipping them is not just anyone’s game. When it comes to conservative American evangelicalism, there may be no cherished belief that needs to die more than its explicit allegiance to one political party. An evangelical attachment to the history of America and to patriotism has colored its views on how... Continue Reading

“The gospel is not good advice on how to reach up to God; rather, it is a declaration about what God has already done to reach down to us. It is good news about a historical event that changes everything” Tim Brister continues his review of Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission by... Continue Reading

The 16th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards Show (ICM Awards) announces that Ricky Skaggs, Katrina Elam and Steve Richard are confirmed to perform on the award show. Ricky Skaggs, Multi-Award winning giant and 2009 ICM Mainstream Country Artist of the Year, is nominated in four ICM award categories. Skaggs continues to add to his of... Continue Reading

The unifying theme among all seven characteristics seems to be that the Spirit of God controls the man in his character (who he is) and empowers the man in his calling (what he does). Tim Brister begins a three part review of Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission by Darrin Patrick (Wheaton: Crossway,... Continue Reading

Editor’s Note: For all of ‘us’ in the 50 and over crowd! Youngsters are welcome. “Always know sometimes think it’s me/but you know I know and it’s a dream.”—John Lennon John Lennon was not just a great musician and songwriter. He was a dream-weaver who dared to imagine a world where human beings would put... Continue Reading