Codependent Kids
In the last month, each of my four grown kids asked me for advice: one asked about buying a camera lens, one about the best way to help a friend, one …
Institutional Injustice
Mrs. Blackstock, my fourth-grade teacher, once took our class out to the playground to play softball. She divided us into two teams and assigned each …
Living a 4th Quarter Life
One hundred and twenty-two months ago today, I sat at my desk with no appointments, no tasks to perform, no clients to serve, and no employees to …
Fear for a Son
Lisa and I bore fruitless until late in life, Wondering were we physically broken Or spiritually barren? A pastor, son, and grandson of pastors, I …
Spiritual but Not Religious
Fifteen years ago, I was dining alone in New York City when I overheard a Christian woman ask a friend for dating advice. She had met two men on …
Mission Idolatry
Last summer I met with a pastor who serves a church near a large campus. As the university grew in prestige, it attracted thousands of international …
We Buried the Hatchet
Twenty-five years ago, my wife and I moved into a lovely farmhouse in the country. But in our hunt for that house, we made huge blunders in …
Old-fashioned Pharisees with a Modern-day Makeover
You and I are just normal folk: we struggle to make lasting friendships. But we also know people who casually stroll into a room of strangers, and …
Making Truth Real
When I was a freshman at university, I tried climbing up the side of my dormitory. (Don’t try it.) Halfway up, I slipped and fell several floors. On …
An Unearthly Delight
Sometimes I hear God best in surprises. Seemingly unrelated circumstances suddenly unite, and their merger stirs something in my heart. Like a …
Spiritual Warfare: The Real Battlefield
Two friends and I host a weekly podcast on various spiritual topics. Last month we planned to discuss (I kid you not), How to Recognize Spiritual …
When Trusting in the Lord Doesn’t Work
A college friend of mine watched every episode of Marcus Welby, M. D. (the TV series about a small town, family doctor), and my friend wanted nothing …