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 …
Cultural Creep
What Can Westboro Baptist Teach Us about Grace?
Have you heard of Westboro Baptist? They picket military funerals to protest gays. Their website is, “god hates fags dot com”. (I can’t bring myself …
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 …
Thriving in (Not Merely Survival from) Past Sufferings
I reached the high-water mark of my physical fitness at the age of twenty-four. Back then, I ran thirty miles a week, sweated three hundred pushups a …
Was Esther A Sex Slave or A Collaborator?
Why do we paint biblical heroes more virtuous than Scripture does? Hiding their faults robs us of grace, and it robs God of glory. That’s why the …
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 Powerful Authority of Humility
My wife is not a fan of Tom Cruise. I see her point. It’s like his acting powers peaked in Top Gun (or maybe A Few Good Men), and all his subsequent …
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 …
The Unworthiness of Self-Esteem
The Times of London once asked leading British intellectuals to enter a competition, writing articles that answered this simple question: “What is the …
Are We Unconsciously Controlled?
[Click here for a reading and commentary on this article.] Years ago I read a study asking people to list their earliest memories of world news. The …
When Two Parties Claim the Same Throne
I vividly remember my introduction to spiritual warfare. I was in my Detroit high school prayer group, the New Vine, when someone got a hold of some …
Is Modern Therapy Serving Up Spiritual Malnutrition?
A few years ago, I attended a men’s conference on discipleship. There were only two full-audience speeches; the rest of the conference consisted of a …