What Can I Learn from Cancer?
Four weeks ago, my doctor told me that recent tests indicate a high likelihood I have kidney cancer. The tests were the result of an appointment …
Worship
Do We Know What We Worship?
In 1930, legendary economist John Maynard Keynes wrote an essay about our future lifestyle in the twenty-first century. He predicted that industrial …
I Was Ashamed of Myself
I was small for my age. When I graduated from high school, I was 5 feet 7 inches and 120 pounds. (I added 2 inches and 25 pounds in the first two …
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 …
The Starving Lion
A business owner I barely knew once phoned to see if we could meet. He was an aggressive entrepreneur, a roaring lion among his peers. Yet on the …
When Obedience Doesn’t Make Sense
When my family moved to Detroit, the summer between my first and second grade, Tommy was the first friend I made. He too was the son of a pastor—so we …
What Is The Essence of Worship?
Several years ago, I joined a local business organization. Their stated intention was to help business people do their job better; a kind of coaching …
I’m Scared of God
The rising bubble of my New Year enthusiasm was burst last week when I read a prayer in the Imitation of Christ. It terrified me. Does it scare you …
Spiritual Insanity
A couple years ago I met with a twenty-eight-year-old woman who told me of a struggle she faced. She was dissatisfied. Growing up, she had sensible …
Let’s Become Emotional Christians
I woke up last week to the blahs, like Marie Antoinette’s claim, “Nothing tastes.” This happens to me when I’m tired, and ten restless nights had …
What If We Can’t Forgive Ourselves?
I know a man convicted of a violent crime against someone he loves. He acted in a momentary rage; he had never been violent before. It shocked him. …
Might Modern Worship Be Sort of Like A Cocaine Rush?
I once met with a man—let’s call him Nathan—who described himself as a, “recovering charismatic.” He was open to it; but his experience of modern …