Oftentimes, when we think about helping people to grow, we attend to key things that can be poured into someone's life. We think of activities, experiences, classes, etc. But for me, while all of those things have been important, I can think of two or three key people who have influenced my life in far …
A Different Kind of Sacrifice
When I think of sacrifices for God, I tend to think of all the things I could give up for God. I could give up my time to help somebody out in the name of Jesus. I could give up my money so that someone else could have something they truly need and not just …
How is God Speaking to You (week 10)
Many folks I know have been joining me in reading through the Bible together in 2011. Each week, I drop a post here on my blog so that we can hear from one another about how God is speaking to us through our daily reading and reflection on Scripture. The byproduct is that we have …
What Is It?: Ash Wednesday and Lent
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the traditional season of Lent, a 40-day journey (minus Sundays) toward Easter. Some may ask, what is Lent all about? Lent is more than a worn-out tradition of the old-school church marked by self-absorbed sorrow and meal-skipping. Rather, Lent is our journey into greater depths of life with Jesus …
Imagination and Temptation
During this past year, I read through Alan Jacobs' book Original Sin: A Cultural History. Jacobs was a professor of mine at Wheaton College and is an astute cultural commentator and author. In the midst of Jacobs' comparison of the original innocence of Adam and Eve with our own original sinfulness, he makes an interesting …
