Am I A Good Mom?
I feel like such a failure. Growing up, I became accustomed to objective standards of success defining whether or not I had succeeded. An ‘A+’ signifies a job well done. A winning record in my collegiate sport proves my hard work. Even in marriage, a “Great job!” from my husband means I am accomplishing my […]
On Vice and Virtue
In volume two of his trilogy, Ethics as Theology, Oliver O’Donovan attempts to “follow moral thought from self-awareness to decision through the sequence of virtues from faith to hope.”1 Here, O’Donovan begins with a sort of reorientation related to the ‘Spirit and Self.’ This reorientation is attempting to respond rightly to the divine summons in […]
The Purpose of Theology in Times of Uncertainty
For the first time in centuries, England had no King. What started with saber rattling led to a fractious civil war. After years of conflict during the 1640s, the anti-royalists terminated the war with a celebratory sabrage of the monarchy. Many declared the end of the world had come. For students at Oxford University, this […]
Start With The End: 3 Reasons You Should Try Writing the Conclusion of Your Sermon First
Have you ever listened to a sermon and felt like the preacher did not know how to stop talking? “Just land the plane” is an encouragement you may have heard before. Preaching is hard and ending the sermon with a satisfying conclusion is even harder. You can have the most engaging opening story, great exegesis, […]
The Secret to Loving Your Wife Better: Love Jesus Better
I recently heard somebody say that one of the ways to endure well in ministry is to realize that ministry is not about you, it’s all about Jesus. The same is true of marriage. When you embrace that marriage is about Jesus first, and you and your wife second, one of the secrets of a […]
How Jesus Wanted Us to Read His Gospel
Today my son found months-old Saltines at the bottom of a wicker basket. I pried his mouth open and begged him to spit them out, but he slipped away, swallowing his prize with a grin. In the next room, strewn across the floor and his high chair, sat his half-eaten lunch. I’ll never understand what […]
25 Quotes from *Friendship with the Friend of Sinners*
“The good news is, we aren’t high maintenance to Jesus.”
Are You Just in a Relationship with the Idea of Jesus?
Relating to the idea of Jesus can make you a smarter Christian, a nicer Christian, a more religious Christian, but it cannot make you a deeper, more joyful, or more authentically Christlike Christian.
How Jesus Shepherded His Sheep
Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from Planting by Pastoring. You can purchase your copy anywhere books are sold. We know Jesus is a shepherd because he calls himself one. But even if he’d never used the title, we would still see his shepherd’s heart by observing his ministry—how he prayed, how he loved […]
8 Reasons We Should Evangelize
For most of us, if we are honest, evangelism is intimidating. It can be incredibly hard to work up the courage to talk to others about Jesus. In some moments when we have opportunities to share the Gospel, that little voice in your head rattles off about 10 reasons why you shouldn’t. “What if you […]