fisher of men

About Manhood and Womanhood God has much to say about manhood and womanhood in the Bible. Discover what it means to be a Christian father. Learn all about masculinity. Discover who God is as our heavenly Father. Listen to teachings about the traits of a Godly spouse. Hear the blueprint for femininity. Hear Biblical scholars discuss the tough issues faced in today’s culture. See the opinions of pastors and spiritual leaders on this important topic.

What is Scripture? All religious traditions that ground themselves in texts must grapple with certain questions. In worship services and public and private readings, Christians often turn to Scripture for guidance: to the stories of Abraham or Moses to the Psalms to the prophecies of Isaiah to the life of Jesus to the letters of Paul to the vision of John Therefore, Christians must confront their own set of questions. What is Scripture? Is it divine? Human? Both? Is Scripture authoritative? If so, how and for whom? What is the scope of its authority? Is Scripture inspired by God? How should Scripture be used? How do Scripture and tradition relate? What does it mean for a Christian to call the Bible “the Word of God”? And if Jesus is also called the Word of God, how does Jesus as the Word o...

“He has not left himself without testimony.” (Acts 14:17) GOD AND FAIRIES Belief in God. Sigmund Freud called it a childish fantasy. Bertrand Russell compared it with believing that a celestial teapot was orbiting the earth. Richard Dawkins is fond to say that there are many things he disbelieves: woodland fairies, fire-breathing dragons, and Flying Spaghetti Monsters. God is just one more imaginary being he adds to the list. Instead of tackling time-tested theological arguments for God, atheist popularizers dismiss Him to the realm of elves, trolls, and the Easter Bunny. It’s an evasive maneuver that plays well to those inclined to disbelief. Russell’s teapot and Santa’s elves are on the long list of things that lack objective evidence, but cannot be emphatic...

Influence. It’s a funny thing. It’s inescapable–someone will always be perceived to have it or not have it, to either use or misuse it. We complain about it, but we also want to be influenced. Very few people are thorough-going “Lone Rangers” about anything. We see the utility of influence. We want someone to point us on a good course, to help us over a hurdle, and to set a model for us. Influence is how you get some things done or prevent others. Who doesn’t want influence on certain policy issues or certain church initiatives or with our children and spouses? We live in a world where influence is traded, debated, manipulated, and fabricated. Some people look influential but they aren’t. Some people look insignificant but wield influence like a sword. Some name drop and talk abo...

There’s way too much Christian negativity surrounding technology. All we seem to think and read about are the dangers and difficulties of the digital revolution. But how about some balance? How about recognizing and appreciating the amazing technological gifts that God has blessed our generation with? I recently linked to How Technology Made me a Better Mom, and I thought, “Why don’t Christians write pieces like this?” Then, “Why don’t I write a piece like this?” So here goes with “How technology made me a better Christian.” Affordable resources I would not have half the books I have without the advent of Logos, Ages Software, eBooks, Kindle Daily Deals, etc. How impoverished my life and ministry would be without these resources! Then add all the blogs, websites, online serm...

God wrote the 10 Commandments on stone tablets and gave them Moses to share with all the Israelites soon after they left captivity in Egypt (Exodus 20:1-26). Moses reiterated them 40 years later in Deuteronomy 5:1-22 as the Israelites neared the Promised Land. Though God wrote the 10 Commandments thousands of years ago, they still influence our society today. Modern Significance of the 10 Commandments The law given to Moses provided the foundation for a new Israelite society, they provided the foundation of personal and property rights found our modern legal system. Jewish tradition holds that all 613 laws found in the Torah are summed up in the 10 Commandments. Though Christians do not believe fulfilling the law is required for salvation, they still view the 10 Commandments as the foundat...

C. S. Lewis died 50 years ago, yet interest in his life and work continues. Allister McGrath’s C. S. Lewis – A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet is the latest contribution to the numerous books about Lewis. McGrath provides a biography that attempts both to retell the story of Lewis’s life and to understand “his ideas and how they found expression in his writing” (xiii).  SUMMARY The book is divided into five major sections, arranged chronologically: Prelude, Oxford, Narnia, Cambridge, and Afterlife. Thus, the bulk of the book considers the life-story of C. S. Lewis, and the final chapter reflects upon his contemporary influence. “Prelude” (chapters one through three, describing Lewis’s life from 1898 through 1918) features Lewis’ childhood ...

Christians are rightly and necessary concerned about leadership, but many Christians seem to aim no higher than secular standards and visions of leadership. We can learn a great deal from the secular world and its studies of leadership and its practices, but the last thing the church needs is warmed over business theories decorated with Christian language. Christian leaders are called to convictional leadership, and that means leadership that is defined by beliefs that are transformed into corporate action. The central role of belief is what must define any truly Christian understanding of leadership. This means that leadership is always a theological enterprise, in the sense that our most important beliefs and convictions are about God. Our most fundamental beliefs about God determine eve...

It’s easy to talk about “unity within the church” as long as we’re talking in the abstract. However, what do you do when a Christian brother or sister offends you or sins against you? Do you “write them off” and go your separate ways? I submit this is often the easier choice, but Jesus and the standards of his kingdom rule do not permit us to do so.  Let’s consider the significance of Jesus’s prayer to the Father in John 17 when he prays: The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. (John 17: 20–21, The Message) Upon reading these words, we must recognize that any break in relationship threatens to undermine the essential witnes...

  I continually run into young men who are frustrated at their stage in life in part because of a lack of clarity about their calling, or a lack of opportunity to do what they really want to do.  This frustration leads many to become idle. Inactive if not aimless. This also leads many to become jobless (or nearly so) while becoming overly dependent on others (parents, friends, credit cards). If you find yourself at this stage I would like to address you, my friends. No, I’m not going to lecture you about your motives, growing up, or prolonged adolescence, though such things might be issues for you to deal with. I only want to remind you of three truths than can change how you understand and experience this time in your life. This time is hard, and it is easy to conclude the...

The doctor is a murderer. The trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell ended with the infamous abortion doctor convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter. The doctor’s abortion clinic, described by a Philadelphia prosecutor as a “house of horrors,” is no more, but the truth revealed in his trial remains. He is not the only one with blood on his hands. The prosecution of Kermit Gosnell put the entire nation on trial. The doctor was indicted on hundreds of criminal counts, and in addition to the murder and manslaughter convictions he received yesterday, he was also convicted on more than two hundred counts including racketeering, infanticide, and performing abortions that violated Pennsylvania law. Most of those were illegal late-term abortions. The evidenc...