Is Our Morality An Obstacle To Christianity?
Ten years ago, a Christian friend described how he was beginning to bring the gospel to his softball team. He had just joined the local league, partly …
Counterfeit Solutions
When Our “Needs” Become Our Lords
When I fly, I don’t talk with the person next to me. I sit quietly and read a book while they sit quietly and watch a video, just as God ordained …
Why Are We So Afraid to Admit Our Doubts?
When a friend of mine was fired from his job because of his boss’s mistake, he said, “All is good.” The next week, when one of his kids totaled one of …
The Life of God in Us
I once had a client whose business brilliance outshone the stars of Harvard Business School. Yet she scorched everything she touched. Relationships …
Counterfeit Courage
I used to know a man who had been a colonel in the special forces. By the time I met him, he had left the army and led an international men’s …
The Most Insidious Warfare: The War of the World
For two thousand years, believers have prioritized the importance of “spiritual warfare” for Christian health. (Heck, I was raised Presbyterian, and …
The Christian’s Biggest Enemy
Ten years ago, I arrived home late Sunday night, from a retreat. I was physically and emotionally drained. But the next morning I woke up to an …
We Are All Addicts
Cynthia Heimel was a writer who lived in New York in the 70’s. She knew actors and artists before they became famous, while they were still bussing …
What Do We Urgently Need Most?
Six or seven years ago, an acquaintance of mine embezzled ten thousand dollars. He had uncovered a billing mistake in a major project, and the …
Selling Our Soul for a Fleeting Salvation
Last week I read a puzzling passage in Hebrews. So baffling it even felt (if I can write this without being struck dead by a bolt of lighting), it …
These Inward Trials
This past year was difficult for me. Nothing horrific: I lost no loved ones and received no dreadful news. But it was inwardly difficult to navigate. …
The Worldly Deceit of 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 …