The answer to orphanages teeming with doomed children isn’t, ultimately, American adoption. The answer is, ideally, a Russia so revived by the gospel of adoption in Christ that Christian families receive children even as they have been received into the household of Christ. Ultimately, of course, we seek a a landscape devoid of orphanages, as... Continue Reading

In other words, we no longer have to struggle to be free from sin. Christ has set us free, and we are free indeed. But what does that mean? If we are no longer slaves to sin, and Christ’s obedience is applied to our account, are we free to go out and live lives of... Continue Reading

A handful of Christian authors have created a bit of a cottage industry peddling the scary news that the odds are not good that our young people stay strong in their faith into adulthood. Untrue. There are important, effective, and relatively simple things parents and Christian workers can do to substantially increase the likelihood our... Continue Reading

For both understanding and flourishing in the built environment, we need to experience it on foot. I realize that in some environments this is impossible, but it is important to resist the temptation to jump in our cars. When we walk, we are confronted with aspects of the built environment that don’t work very well.... Continue Reading

“While the instruction ‘Do not criticize’ is often cited as the important instruction in brainstorming, this appears to be a counterproductive strategy. Our findings show that debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas but, rather, stimulate them relative to every other condition.” Osborn thought that imagination is inhibited by the merest hint of criticism, but... Continue Reading

More disturbingly, many young evangelicals are trying to loosen the standards of the moral law to fit their desire to become sexually active before committing to marriage. Some are direct, telling the church to shut up and stay out of their sex lives. They say that Jesus wants his followers to pursue justice, provide for... Continue Reading

Pithy phrases catch my attention. The Bible is the source of the wisest ones, of course, with the enduring advice of Proverbs. For example, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” A quote from the 1880s, which could have been spoken in 2013, shows us foolish thought is still... Continue Reading

“In evangelical circles, there is a lot of hand-wringing about how we can “fix what’s wrong” in Christendom. For what it’s worth, I don’t think the problem is a lack of manpower or zeal. Perhaps it’s just that so much of what we do is misdirected. We are perpetuating an evangelical funhouse, with mirrors to... Continue Reading

The cause of the unborn will triumph, ultimately, because Jesus is alive and justice will win. Until then, polls go up and polls go down. We advocate for life, whether “winning” or not, because life isn’t a government grant or an act of charity granted by the “choice” of another human being.   This week’s TIME magazine... Continue Reading

As Paul explained, our media diet will not only change the way we think, but the way we feel, speak, and act. Hardly surprising, is it? Just as the quality of the food that we put in our mouths affects our thinking, feeling, and doing, so the kinds of words, sounds, and images we put... Continue Reading