Shifting Gears
My parents moved from Detroit to Philadelphia in September 1975. I started university the same month, and I paid my tuition, room, and board by …
Beliefs of the Heart
Call Me Ishmael
I need to sacrifice something to God, and I don’t want to. After months of trying to sell our house, we signed the closing documents a few weeks ago. …
Self-Deception
I once visited an executive at a Christian publishing house. He wondered aloud how he should counsel an employee of his who was pregnant out of …
The End of an Era
Yesterday morning our last horse, Misty, died. My wife saw her laying down in the pasture, went out to investigate, and found she had died during the …
Willpower
In 1975, three friends and I participated in a 200-mile bicycle marathon on Belle Isle, an island-park owned by the city of Detroit. The course was a …
Is Sunday School Destroying Our Kids?
Several years ago I met with a woman distraught over her son’s rejection of Christianity. She said, “I did everything I could to raise him right. I …
The Pig in London and the Lamb in Israel
When I was twenty years old, I wanted to spend a summer abroad, but as a college student I could barely afford ramen noodles. I found work on a …
We Are Strangers in a Strange Land
“My wife’s ninety-year-old mother died last Thursday and we mourn. Someone reminded me that when we grieve, “we do not grieve like those who have no …
Invitations to Intimacy with God
Most Sundays after church, my father invited us kids to critique his sermon. He disliked “Atta-boys” and he loathed a “Nice job!” He loved to observe …
Do We Practice Godless Faith?
I recently met an elder whose faith brought him great distress. Three years ago, his small but growing church received tithes that exceeded two …
Gazing on Beauty
Most of my life I failed to appreciate beauty. Oh, I loved the look of sails on the sea and snow on the mountains, but mostly I liked sailing those …
What’s So Bad About Works Righteousness?
The week before Christmas I heard the best argument against Christianity I’ve heard in years. I met with a professional woman who had worked seven …