For The Church

Is the resurrection of Christ a necessary component of the gospel message? After all, certain biblical texts seem to imply that Paul may have focused more on the cross. In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth he says, “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23). He doesn’t say, “We preach Christ crucified and […]

Storms are part of the natural weather of the Christian life. When black clouds gather, waves rise, the wind strengthens, and the light fades, our faith is tested on the stormy sea. This may be you right now—slapped about in the middle of a storm. Splashed, soaked, tossed, beaten, clinging with cold fingers to the […]

The Corinthian church has garnered a poor reputation over the centuries. And it is easy to see why in 1 and 2 Corinthians. There were issues of sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5), lawsuits among believers (6:1–11), misuse of the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), false teachers (2 Cor. 11:1–15), confusion regarding spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1–40), idolatry […]

Unless the Lord tarries, this Sunday pulpits all over the globe will be filled with pastors preaching God’s Word to God’s people. The confidence in the exhortation of a sermon is not birthed in the preacher but in the inspired text he proclaims. This article seeks to advocate for the discipline of letting the Word […]

I spent a decade in youth ministry, and it came with some of the greatest joys of my life. Few things are richer than walking alongside parents to see their teenager come alive in Christ. There were light bulb moments I was able to witness during fun overnight trips—all on very little money and sleep. […]

I recently had to make a decision—a decision I haven’t had to make in over ten years. Where would my family and I go to church? For about a decade, I served on church staff, so this decision was simply part of the job—a choice made through an interview process. When you work vocationally at […]

Counting the Days Ahead I tried to calculate what lay ahead. One emergency surgery. One tumor removed, along with part of my colon. An ileostomy bag. Six months of chemotherapy. An ileostomy reversal. Five weeks of recovery. Another month and a half of radiation. When I added it all together, the result came to nearly […]