Benjamin Laird is associate professor of biblical studies at the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity of Liberty University. He is a respected New Testament scholar and the author of several books. On this episode of the Podcast, I speak with Dr. Laird about his latest book, Creating the Canon: Composition, Controversy, and the Authority …
Tremendous suffering is the normal experience of being in this world. Beauty and love and joy are normal, but so is suffering. Alan Noble is a professor at Oklahoma Baptist University and has written a fantastic book on the burden and beautiful gift of living. In, On Getting Out of Bed, Alan Noble encourages his …
You are responsible for your own spiritual fitness and maturity. That is a pretty direct statement, but after several weeks working through the beatitudes, it has become increasingly clear that Jesus demands a degree of personal responsibility. You are not responsible for your own salvation. You are not responsible even for the conviction of sin …
Jared Patrick Boyd is a pastor, spiritual director, and founding director of the Order of the Common Life, a missional monastic order reimagining religious vocations for the twenty-first century. He and his wife have four daughters and live in Columbus, Ohio. On this episode of the podcast, Jared and I discuss his latest book, Finding …
I’ve written several times on physical health in the past and just recently, I wrote on gluttony. On this episode of the Podcast, I try to merge the gluttony conversation with a few words about physical health and what it looks like to find balance. I hope you will join me as we consider the …
We need to talk about gluttony. Ok. I said it. Well, I typed it, which means I don’t have to meet your hard stares or sideways glances. But, the gluttony conversation is one that needs to be had in the American church. We fear this conversation because gluttony is so widespread. it has become an …
Whenever you reach for your phone or scan a newspaper to get caught up, you are not being merely informed, you are also being formed. News consumption can shape your sense of belonging, how you judged the value of your life, and even how your brains function. Jeff Bilbro believes Christians must not let the …
Yesterday I wrote to encourage you when you feel alone and broken. I wrote to remind you that you are not the only one who struggles. Today, I write to tell you that you may be the only one. Not the only one who struggles, but the only one who can reach your neighbor, friend, …
One of Satan’s greatest tactics is to separate Christians from other believers and seek to “steal, kill, and destroy.” The church is your safe place when trials and troubles come, but often the church is the last place we feel safe and secure. Instead, when hard times come, even Christians are tempted to run from …
I was recently asked to provide a reading list for a young pastor. I should begin by saying that, even though I am an avid reader and lover of books, some important aspects of ministry will only be learned through experience. Also, as a lover of books, I want to remind everyone that nothing can …