If you haven’t figured it out yet let me encourage you to see something that will greatly help you. Not all of your ideas are good. Some of them are bad. And God will often let you flail and fail out there for very good purposes. And when you fail do not lose the opportunity to find grace in the midst of it. I believe this is especially important for pastors to understand. It’s one of the most important lessons I have learned in 16 years of pastoral ministry: failure is to be expected and learned from. I have misspoke, misstepped, and missed the mark in more ways than I can explain here. And failing hurts. Most of us of are afraid of it. Leaders in particular are afraid of failure since it’s always a bit more of a public spectacle. I’m not talking about moral failur...

I was raised in a devout Muslim home, confident of the truth I had been taught all my life about Allah and Qur’an. So how did I move from believing adamantly in Islam to telling others about Jesus? It started with a friendship during my college days when a Christian named David befriended me despite our differences.  If you want to connect with your Muslim neighbors, classmates or coworkers, here are three suggestions from someone who’s been on the receiving end of a life-changing friendship: 1. Make sure the relationship is genuine. We all like to be with people we like and are like, so we may not know much about life outside of our own culture. Think about friendship with Muslims organically. That’s how my friendship with David began – sharing time over our studies. You can begin by...

In light of the recent action of the Romans Catholic Church to canonize two Popes, it is vital for Christians to understand what the Scripture actually teaches about sainthood. There are certain topics that I am reticent to write about—the question of sainthood is not one of them. This is not because I believe that I’ve attained to some level of holiness more than that of my brothers and sisters in Christ; nor is it because every Christmas, without fail, one of my friends jokingly annexes the title saint to my name. Rather, it is because both the Old and New Testaments unreservedly teach that all true believers are—in this life—saints. Laying hold of this truth has massive implications for our growth in grace and our personal assurance on the way to glory. One often-overlooked aspects of t...

Every Christian must be a theologian. In a variety of ways, this is something I tell my church often. And the looks I get from some surprised souls are the evidence that I have not yet adequately communicated that the purposeful theological study of God by lay people is important. Many times the confused responses come from a misunderstanding of what is meant in this context by theology. So I tell my church what I don’t mean. When I say every Christian must be a theologian, I don’t mean that every Christian must be an academic or that every Christian must be a scholar or that every Christian must work hard at giving the impression of being a know-it-all. We all basically understand what is meant in the biblical warning that “knowledge puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1). Nobody likes an ...

I stare out, glancing at the trees in my backyard.  I soak in the scene before me, wanting to capture the moment.  In three short weeks, this view will no longer be mine. I will no longer have access to this place I now call home. Boxes slowly are piling up around me, crowding our rooms, crowding my mind.  So much to do, so much to do. Yet, at the window I pause.  This view has been mine for eight years.  That’s nearly 3000 evenings of washing dishes and watching.  Watching my children laugh and swing as the sun sets.  Watching the birds’ fly, gather food, and rest.  Watching the trees bloom, burst with color, and grow barren once more.  Somehow, I thought I owned this little view.  Yet, I am realizing more and more, I never really own anyt...

I remember lying awake in bed as a child, eyes wide open, while the darkness seeped into my room. From my window I saw stars dancing, and I wondered, “Is there a God?” That thought opened the door to a number of other questions. If he is there, how long has he been there? Who made him? And what is he thinking? If he existed forever, does this mean I will exist forever? Now that was a very uncomfortable idea for my young mind to ponder. Life without end was too big a thought for me to handle. So I turned my attention to less stressful matters. Would Luke Skywalker marry Princess Leia? My parents were open but cautious about God’s existence. They certainly weren’t atheists, but neither did they accept the notion of a personal God. Mine was a home that embraced the supernatural in general, bu...

Evangelical Christians in the United States now face an inevitable moment of decision. While Christians in other movements and in other nations face similar questions, the question of homosexuality now presents evangelicals in the United States with a decision that cannot be avoided. Within a very short time, we will know where everyone stands on this question. There will be no place to hide, and there will be no way to remain silent. To be silent will answer the question. The question is whether evangelicals will remain true to the teachings of Scripture and the unbroken teaching of the Christian church for over two thousand years on the morality of same-sex acts and the institution of marriage. The world is pressing this question upon us, but so are a number of voices from within the lar...

John MacArthur’s hotly debated conference and book, “Strange Fire,” (Thomas Nelson, 2013) evaluates the doctrines, claims, and practices of the modern charismatic movement. Does the Bible teach that some gifts (tongues, healing) of the Holy Spirit stop after the time of the original Apostles?” MacArthur says yes, plainly. Originally published April 25, 2014.

For Christians, the Bible is the most precious and important book we possess. In its pages are the divinely inspired words that guide us to know and love our God. After the Bible, there are a few books that every believer should probably read, reread, and apply. On this short list would be works like Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Pilgrim’s Progress,Augustine’s Confessions, Mere Christianity, Knowing God, and Operation World. But even these great works fall behind what I consider the second most important book for every Christian. What book is that? Your local church’s membership directory. Now, before you roll your eyes and run off to read something else, give me a moment more of your time. Christians are not isolated spiritual pilgrims on a journey to heaven. Rathe...

  Heaven confuses many people. Some don’t understand much about it. Others are convinced they know all they want to know and have decided they aren’t interested. A lot of people think heaven sounds boring with a capital B! Huck Finn said that he thought heaven was a place where a person would “go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever.” I have never heard any of you play the harp. I have heard some of you sing. With all due respect, I don’t think much of the idea of spending forever listening to either. Undoubtedly it was this perspective that led Mark Twain to write on another occasion, “I’ll take Heaven for the climate and Hell for the society.” A few years ago, the subject of heaven came up in a speech before the N...

As a seminary grad, I thought I was ready to have a job and do my part in taking Christ to the world through the local church. Six months passed and the only job offer I had was to work for four months as a secretary for a crusade in my city. I remember well the Lord whispering to me, “Do you have any other offers?” I reluctantly accepted the job and began to pour myself into the needed preparations. I knew I needed to be faithful with the small task I had been given. Looking back, I thank God for Jay Strack and Mike Ruth who saw my heart. They tolerated my non-clerical skills and took every opportunity to include and encourage me. It was during a women’s coffee for the crusade that my pastor’s wife, Uldine Bisagno, decided I could be of useful service coordinating ...

I was a very busy boy. My mom tells me I required two mothers. She also tells me she used to pray I have a son just like me. God answered her prayer. My wife and I are blessed with one of the busiest 2-year-old boys we’ve seen. He is also a very sweet boy, too. As with any child, there are moments of utter dismay. We ask ourselves, “Why does he just not listen?” We give simple instructions; often they go unheeded. He does what he wants to do. These are times when we see folly bound within his heart. We work diligently and patiently with our son. In fact, we are slow to resort to spanking. But when we are certain that he is behaving defiantly and foolishly, we apply the biblical means of correction that God has given us. This may alarm some readers, but please pay attention and try not to j...