What is gentleness and why should I bother being gentle? An Illustration of Gentleness It was about 12 and a half years ago, almost exactly. I was in the hospital just after the birth of First Girl. I had obviously never been a dad before and had very little experience with newborn babies. She looked so fragile lying there in her bed in the NICU (long story, perhaps for another time). Then the nurse asked me, “Do you want to... Read more
What Can The Marvels teach the church about spiritual gifts? A lot, actually! This weekend, after I had finished officiating two funerals in as many days, I took the First Girl to see the new Marvel movie, The Marvels. My daughter is a huge Marvel-head like her old man, and we had been binging MCU movies to get all caught up for this one. Needless to say, we had a great time. I am going to try the best I can to... Read more
Christians, we are people of mercy. We don’t have enemies. I’m a huge nerd and I love the British sci-fi/fantasy series Doctor Who. In one episode, the Doctor, a time-and-space traveler from the planet Gallifrey, encounters a war-torn planet. It is obvious that this war has been going on for generations as he walks about the planet; the weaponry and armor becomes progressively more technologically sophisticated as he walks along. He stumbles upon a minefield, and in the middle of... Read more
When I was a kid, I loved newspapers. I enjoyed reading the news. I was a weird kid, OK? I loved reading the sports section and learning how to read box scores and seeing where my favorite teams were in the standings. I loved good sportswriting, the kind you used to find exclusively in newspapers or Sports Illustrated. When I was in high school, I was on the school newspaper; my senior year, I was the editor of the Boys’... Read more
I’ve been writing about the Good News, what it is and what it does. So it caught my attention when I saw online a tweet (an X?) by Mark Driscoll. In it, he writes, “The Good News isn’t good news without the bad news.” He said so quote-tweeting (quote-Xing?) another pastor, Greg Laurie, whose tweet you can see here. I disagree with Mark Driscoll often, and I disagree with him here. Is it possible to have the Good News without... Read more
Last time, I answered the question, “What is the Good News?” Today, I’d like to answer a different question: “What does the Gospel do?” News can be interesting. News can also be boring. If I turn on the news and the story is about something that interests me, I’m sticking around to watch. If the story is not something that interests me, I’m flipping channels. We skim over the newspaper or our news feeds or apps until we see something... Read more
What is the Gospel? What is the Good News that this blog purports to be about? Let’s find out! Gospel Background The word “Gospel,” which means “Good News,” does not come to us from a vacuum. The word has a background, a history. It was used for other purposes before Jesus’ followers began using the word to describe their teaching. In Isaiah 52:6-7, the prophet Isaiah writes this: Therefore my people shall know my name; on that day they shall... Read more
Do evangelicals hate women? I don’t think they do, but is evangelical teaching often harmful to women? You bet! If you have missed the first three posts in this series, check them out here, here, and here. If you want more “Good News, Everyone” content, join me on Facebook. “I’ve Done Something Wrong” When I was a youth pastor, my wife had a conversation with a teenage girl in which she said, “I think the Bible is sexist and God... Read more
Normally, I would have already written two or three blog posts this week. I usually try very hard to have at least two every week. As you may have noticed, I have not posted since last Friday. There are several very good reasons why. I’ve been doing some extra pastoring. What is it like being a pastor? Well, let me tell you. The Pastor’s Life I’m a pastor. Being a pastor involves wearing a lot of hats and being able... Read more
Oh no! Is that the youth pastor heading up to the pulpit? You have worked really hard to invite your neighbors to church. Your neighbor does not know Jesus but is curious and is spiritually seeking. You’ve invited them to Easter, Christmas Eve, even the time you had a solo in that morning’s special music. They never came. Finally, one day, they agree to attend worship service with you. How exciting! You get to the sanctuary early to save them... Read more
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