Too often, Christians think of hypocrites as people who do one thing but feel another. But that's not hypocrisy. Hypocrites publicize one set of beliefs but live by a different set of beliefs. When you come to church but don't feel like it, that's more like faithfulness. When you do the right thing in your…
The Grand Illusion
Most of us tend to live under the illusion that God wouldn't intentionally lead us into such pain [of loss] —especially multiple times. We can't make any sense of why the people and things we love must literally and figuratively experience the finality of death...If we embrace these losses for the severe mercies they are,…
The Overcounseled
Many people with intense problems have been overcounseled, with little evidence of growth and benefit resulting from it. Instead, what is needed is to build faith by saturating the mind with the gospel of grace, so that lives can be built on the presupposition of Christ's atonement and His present availability as a living, loving…
2023 in Books
Future Church by Will Mancini (January - 2 out of 5 stars) Plays Well with Others by Eric Barker (January - 3 out of 5 stars) Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero (March - 5 out of 5 stars) * Re-read Replenish by Lance Witt (March - 4 out of 5 stars) *Re-read Second Thoughts:…
2022 in Books
Rediscover Church by Jonathan Leeman and Collin Hanson (January) How to Reach the West Again by Tim Keller (January) The Family Firm by Emily Oster (January) Spirit and Sacrament by Andrew Wilson (January) Becoming Whole by Brian Fikkert and Kelly Kapic (January) Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez (January) Personal Kanban by…
A Non-Anxious Presence
Why does everyone seem so anxious these days? And how can pastors lead their congregations through these anxious times. Those are the questions that Mark Sayers attempts to answer in his book, A Non-Anxious Presence. Sayers first digs into the sources of the pervasive anxiety that seems to sit over the whole culture, even the…
How to Pastor a Small Church
Most churches are small. And most will stay small. If most churches will stay small, why are so many pastors using large church strategies and systems to pastor their small church? And how can small-church pastors apply strategies and systems that work for small churches? Those are the kinds of questions that Karl Vaters seeks…
Books I read in January 2022
January 2022 was a great reading month for me. Here are the books I read that month: Family Firm by Emily Oster Pretty good book on making decisions as a family. The first section on coming up with family values and having those guide your decision-making as a family was the best part of the…
The Family Firm by Emily Oster
Should you get your kid a phone? A seemingly simple question like that can be quite hard to answer. What kind of phone? A smartphone? A "dumbphone"? What will you say when your kid begins pestering you because all their friends have one? Emily Oster, in her book, The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to…
Time Management for Mortals
Even though Oliver Burkeman is not a Christian, he has written a deeply Christian book. His book, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, book could be summarized as saying, "You're not God!!" or as Moses wrote thousands of years ago, "Teach us to number our days, That we may present to You [God] a heart…
Raising Lazarus 