Tag: faith
-
The Second Question
I learned a long time ago that one of the most powerful relational tools we have is what I call “The Second Question.” Most of us are good at first questions, like “How are you today?” or, with our kids, “What did you do in school today?” The trouble comes with the answers that follow:…
-
The Rollercoaster of Faith
In Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a civilization builds a supercomputer to answer the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. After thinking for 7.5 million years, the computer finally delivers its answer: 42. Apparently, even a supercomputer needs a better prompt. The problem, it explains, is that they never really…
-
When Life Stops Making Sense
Twenty-five years ago, I sat in a classroom in New Jersey. The morning was crisp, blue, and beautiful. We were just getting started with a new school year. Early in the day, news started rushing through the halls about an airplane that had just hit a building in the city. A few months earlier, I…
-
From Provision to Purpose
Early in my ministry, I worked with a pastor who had been a successful engineer in his younger years. His family owned a company in a niche industry, and the business had become quite profitable. But God intervened in this young man’s life, and he eventually sold his stake in the family business to enter…
-
When Provision Disappears
In high school, I planned to become an orthopedic surgeon. As a committed athlete, I had spent my share of time in a doctor’s office getting wrists and knees and fingers repaired. Over time, I began to grow in my fascination for how the human body worked, and also for my doctor’s Rolex. Living in…
-
The Race that Matters
A pastor friend here on the island often jokes that I’m missing the part of my brain that says, “This hurts, I should stop.” That’s because, despite being a relatively big guy, I’ve completed several major endurance events over the years. After multiple marathons, long-distance bike rides, and several half and full-distance Ironman races, I’m…
-
Cool Gear, Empty Identity
On my twelfth birthday, my parents gave me an unexpected gift. I don’t remember asking for a guitar, but that first acoustic delivered to me on that cold February evening turned into a lifelong obsession. I shudder to think of the time (and even more frighteningly, the money) I’ve spent on guitars over the last…
-
The King Among Us
One of the great films of the last fifty years tells the story of a young woman, the only child of a powerful ruler, who is completely detached from the people in her kingdom. She has grown up in privilege while others outside the palace walls struggle to survive. She refuses to eat when frustrated…
-
When Paul Corrected My Critique
I loved my time in college at Cedarville University. One of the things that distinguished it from other Christian colleges was its commitment to chapel every weekday at 10 a.m. Through my four years of college, I heard some of the greatest speakers in the country open the Word and preach. However, with roughly 1,000…
-
Submitted for Approval
Last week I submitted the first draft of my Ministry Project Proposal to my seminary advisor. Eventually, after what will likely be a great deal of editing, those 5,000 words will form the first chapter of my Doctor of Ministry project. This section of my paper took countless hours of research and writing to put…
