My wife has a lot of wisdom.  She has saved me from some really dumb mistakes and decisions. I listen to my wife’s concerns as she often times has an intuition and perspective that I did not have that proved very valuable.  However, just because I have listened to her concerns about my ministry throughout the years, doesn’t mean I... Continue Reading

On one final point, Siegel is unquestionably right. He argues that “when the culture of vulgarity is produced by so many different factors—commercial, economic, social, aesthetic—there is no end in sight.” That is the sad truth. The culture of vulgarity is now driven by so many sectors of our society that it seems virtually impossible... Continue Reading

According to Emergents, theological certainty is an historical idol which present- day Christians must cast down if the faith is to survive, much less thrive, in a postmodern era. If we shed that philosophical shackle, we’ll be free to become what Jesus intends us to be: a body of believers, no longer torn by doctrinal... Continue Reading

Thank God for the Twoist Christmas, a unique historical event, distinct from every other event, where God, the totally transcendent Creator, intervened in history to alter human destiny from top to bottom.  Here is indescribable mystery. The Creator and the creature united, without confusion, in the same person, to bring about the project of human... Continue Reading

The city tree is a celebration. The creche and the rest, castigation. Protected speech, true, though you wonder what happens when Muslims and Buddhists, Scientologists and Taoists all stake out spots. What the war-on-Christmas crowd doesn’t get is there are lots of religions, and if they all set up shop on Daley Plaza soon there... Continue Reading

How silly it is to make our plans independent from the One who made us. How silly it is to carve out our own autonomous niches. How silly it is to live, dream, and aspire with God’s will as a secondary concern. With that said, is James implying that all of our attempts to “plan... Continue Reading

We all know The Backstabber, don’t we? The Backstabber is a complainer, but he is more than that. He is also angry and malicious and is out destroy others. He may bring full-out lies in order to bring down another person, or he may engage in a smear campaign. He looks for something, anything, everything wrong... Continue Reading

In other words, Jesus is WAY cooler than Santa. This is a message that is, I think, tragically lost on many children. Let’s be honest: Christmas ain’t big enough for the both of them. Santa, the fun fictional character? Sure. Santa, the silly game of make believe? Yeah, he can join the festivities without overshadowing... Continue Reading

If you traffic the blogosphere, or just scroll down Hootsuite or your Facebook page, you will find these arguments in abundance. And they very often carry the day. But on closer inspection, the reasoning is often much less than meets the eye.   Three years ago I wrote a post about six popular arguments that should... Continue Reading

Sure, simplifying can be a very good thing. But when we are talking about our spiritual life, goodness, obedience, and truth, I think that it is important to recognize that these are not virtues that come from within ourselves. This discipline of simplicity that Foster teaches is ambiguous at best. At worst, it is suggesting... Continue Reading