Introduction Together we’ve been looking at what I believe to be some of the more glaring weaknesses of conservative Reformed and Presbyterian circles. Perhaps we might look at these as our seven deadly sins. I confess that my thoughts about these matters aren’t grounded in extensive research or the product of statistical data. Rather, they […]

Life is filled with struggles, each day a brand new test. We learn new things from others while striving for our best. In competition always, we often come up short, Whether failing on a test, or losing on the court.   Excellence is hard to find, while trials seem to stay. And when we need […]

This article, and the new column that shares its title, was birthed in the form of a challenge. The challenger, Gary Veldink, encouraged the challenged (pastors like me) to take up an important task: write something for the youth. “Easy for him to say,” I thought, as I sat there with a group of workshop […]

Past generations had heroes—in part because there were more heroes to be had. This was back in the day when astronauts walked the earth (and moon!), when baseball players stayed married to one woman (most of the time), and when being a politician meant you were serving your country rather than being served (with some […]

    I do not have a Facebook account. Go ahead and laugh if you want! I’m secure with who I am. I know who my friends are, and my friends know me. I don’t have a Facebook account, nor do I want one, but I don’t think the Bible forbids it. (You can take […]

In the previous installment of this column, I suggested that we can glorify God on Facebook only if we can honestly thank him for it. I mentioned three areas in particular that might lead us to that conclusion: communicating and receiving information with relative ease, encouraging people with the click of a mouse, and defending […]

In fact, we have prayed for you every day since we found out that God was gifting us with you. Still, to this day, we never cease to pray for you. We pray about a lot of things in your life: your health and strength, your mind as it continues to develop, your relationships as […]

Introduction It all started when I was an eighteen-year-old freshman at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. I was on the soccer team, which meant frequent bus trips and food courts. On one such Saturday, as we traveled deeper into the South, we stopped at a mall to grab a bite to eat. And there […]

“It’s not a salvation issue,” the saying goes, “so why do Reformed churches make such a big deal about becoming a church member? Isn’t it just a piece of paper? Can’t I get all the same benefits of the church without joining it? Are you saying a person can’t be a Christian unless he or […]

There are many things we pray about as your parents. The most important and the most urgent is that you would rest in the finished work of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. We pray this daily and won’t stop until God answers. But we also pray for your future as a man, and […]