Fifty Shades of Spin
Anyone involved in pastoral ministry at the local level knows that the use of pornography by congregants is one of the most common issues they will face. While this problem has often been seen as a male preserve, the last…
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Fifty Shades of Spin
Anyone involved in pastoral ministry at the local level knows that the use of pornography by congregants is one of the most common issues they will face. While this problem has often been seen as a male preserve, the last…
Black, White, and Shady all Over
Well, well, well. Do you want to know what the most viewed article I’ve ever written is? Okay, I’ll tell you: 99 Shades of Strange. I guess that’s the way it goes. It’s a little reactive, but I was a…
Excellent resources on depression
Depression is a very real problem for many within the body of Christ. There are varied causes behind depression. Sometimes it the result of very poor choices. Sometimes there are physiological explanations. But often times the causes of depression are…
Robin Williams, Sentimentalism, and Blunt Truth (updated)
The death of Robin Williams has sparked a lot conversations about depression and suicide. It has also generated no small amount of sentimental nonsense from the world of broad evangelicalism. Wishes of “Rest In Peace,” “Genie, you are free,” “Now…
Celebrity and credibility
In exposing and critiquing the shallow culture of Western celebrity that too easily infiltrates the church of Jesus Christ, we must be careful not to allow that to become an equally crass dismissiveness of legitimately-earned reputation. Empty pomposity and unfounded…
Mourning in Zion
I’m sitting at the dining room table at my in-laws waiting for a call from someone to come fix my broken car (a minor issue, really, but one that needs attention). Tricia’s parents aren’t here: her father is sitting with his…
Owenian musings on God’s eternal decree
I’ve been working of late on the doctrine of the pactum salutis, i.e., the eternal covenant between the Father and the Son concerning the redemption of elect sinners. Here, as in so many places, John Owen is instructive. Although it…
Why Am I Pursuing a PhD in Hebrew?
In 2010, John Piper was asked, “Should pastors get PhDs?” He responded, “If you’re already a pastor, I wouldn’t get a PhD. It’s a lot of work, and the payoff is really small. Really small. When I say really small,…
‘Til the Love Runs Out
One Republic currently has a song out with a catchy beat. In it, Ryan Tedder sings with a devotion that most girls would dream about: I’ll be your light, your match, your burning sun, I’ll be the bright, and black, that’s…