Another mass shooting, this time of children, preceded by a racially motivated mass shooting, continued war in Ukraine, and close to home there is cancer and the death of loved ones. I could go on, but I think we all are feeling the crushing weight of grief. This is...
With March madness in full swing, I’ve had basketball on the brain. But with me being me, I’ve come up with a comparison between basketball and the Christian life. Basketball requires knowledge, practice and a team, and so does the Christian life. You see, while you...
I love the story of St. Patrick and think we can learn a lot from it. Patrick came to faith through what he suffered as a slave for six years in what was then a very pagan Ireland. After escaping, Patrick was later led by the Lord to return to Ireland as a missionary...
Coming out of Ash Wednesday I fielded a couple of questions about why some Christians observe Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent while others do not. So I thought I’d share my answer more broadly. Some Christians hold back from Ash Wednesday and Lent because they...
While at the ECO National Gathering earlier this month, I heard a fantastic talk by Danielle Strickland based on Mary’s anointing of Jesus (John 12:1-10) that I keep thinking about. By way of reminder, Mary took some perfume, worth about a year’s wages, poured it on...
I’ve been thinking about love from a biblical point of view. Now, the Bible has a lot to say about love, and I’m particularly struck by the assertion of 1 John 4:16 that “God is love.” I’m struck by it because while it reads like a statement of fact, it is actually an...
The news cycle may have moved on from the phrase, but I’ve been thinking about and even praying for “breakthrough infections.” No, not for breakthrough infections of Covid, but rather for breakthrough infections of the Gospel. You see, I think far too many people have...
I’ve been thinking about “normal.” Between Omicron and snow days, among other factors, life hasn’t felt normal lately, and while I think a “new normal” is emerging, I don’t know what it is yet. So I’ve turned to the Bible, which tells us what normal is supposed to be....
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we define success in the Christian life in general and specifically in ministry. I confess that part of me shies away from defining success and I don’t think I’m alone in this regard. I think I avoid defining success partly because...
I recently spent 24 hours as part of a prayer retreat with eight other local pastors. We took time to pray for each other, the congregations we serve and the city of Harrisonburg. It was wonderful. We quote Oswald Chambers in introducing our prayer guide each week...