Broken dreams are woven deeply into the fabric of human existence—so deeply that it’s easy for us to assume God’s plans fail, just like ours. In fact, that’s precisely what some theologians have claimed over the past few decades. According to one best-selling book from a certain Jewish rabbi, God wishes he could make everything right […]
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Giveaway: Win a Free Copy of How We Got the Bible
If you’re interested in winning a free copy of How We Got the Bible, I’m giving away multiple copies this week! To be entered for a chance to win, simply click this link: How We Got the Bible Giveaway You’ll need to have a Twitter account and an Amazon account to enter the contest for […]
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Culture: A Quick Guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe
At the center of God’s story stands this singular act: In Jesus Christ, God personally intersected human history and redeemed humanity at a particular time in a particular place. Yet this central marvel of redemption does not stand alone. It is bordered by God’s good creation and humanity’s fall into sin on the one hand […]
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Culture: Remembering Emmett Till
In September 1955, the bloated and broken corpse of Emmett Till arrived in Chicago. His mother identified his body and made the decision to leave his casket open for the funeral. “Let the people see what I’ve seen,” she told the owner of the funeral home, and the people did. What they saw changed the world.
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Family Ministry: The Best Tool to Filter Films for Your Family
My family and I enjoy movies—a lot. The problem is, there are many movies that, for us at least, are too riddled with unnecessary profanity and sexual innuendo to enjoy together. And, honestly, I know that I myself am unable to deal well with any sexual nudity in a film. Other Christians have different convictions […]
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Leadership: A Kingdom-Shaped Vision for Church Discipline
“To him who … made us a kingdom, be glory and dominion forever,” John declared in the opening paragraphs of the apocalypse he penned on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:5-6). Living in union with Christ the King, God’s new covenant people have been made into “a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6). But what does […]
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Apologetics: Is Inerrancy a Modern Invention?
“Inerrancy” is the belief that the Bible never errs. It’s another way of saying that the Old and New Testaments—as they were originally written—declare what is true and describe accurately what happened in the past. To say the Bible is inerrant is to say that the Scriptures do not affirm anything that is contrary to […]
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Culture: The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation
Racial reconciliation is not primarily about healing the wounds of racial subjugation that so deeply scar our nation’s history. Racial reconciliation is not primarily about seeking justice for immigrants and refugees. It’s not about reducing conflict between persons with differing concentrations of melanin. It’s not even primarily about a systemic lack of opportunities for certain ethnicities—though all […]
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Family Ministry: The Difference Between God’s Adoption and Ours
Thirteen years ago, my wife and I sat at a table in a cramped office that reeked of scorched coffee and mildewed carpet. By that point in our lives, we had journeyed for nearly two years on a long and difficult road toward adoption. While social workers shuffled around us, we pored over page after […]
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Leadership: Learning to Do Less So Parents in Your Church Can Do More
Parents in your ministry don’t have time to disciple their children—or, at least, that’s the way many of them feel when they look at their weekly to-do lists. According to comprehensive surveys and interviews with hundreds of parents, half of all church-involved parents have simply resigned themselves to the notion that their families are too busy […]
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Apologetics: How the Meaning of “Canon” Changed from a River Reed to a Book We Read
Recently, I had a conversation with Jonathan Petersen at Bible Gateway about the origin and meaning of the word “canon.” Here’s an excerpt from our discussion: Jonathan: What is the definition of “canon”? TPJ: The meaning of the word canon as we know it today can be traced back to how the Greeks used a […]
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Culture: Iron Man 2 and the Metanarrative of God
This exploration of Iron Man 2 is the fourth in a series of posts exploring theological themes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You can find the rest of the series here. I recommend using VidAngel to filter the content of this film for your family. Every part of Tony Stark seems to have been forged in […]
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Family Ministry: The Importance of Apologetics Training for Parents
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of sitting down with Ron Hunter—founder and director of the D6 Conference—to talk about my passion for training parents to equip their children to defend what they believe. Joel Teague joined in the discussion as well and described his experiences as a missionary in a secularized context. […]
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Family Ministry: D6 Conference in Louisville
Every year, I look forward to attending and speaking at the premier family ministry conference in the United States, coming up September 21-23 this year in Louisville. The conference is known as D6—short for “Deuteronomy 6”—and I’ll be speaking twice at the D6 Conference this year. Here are the two topics that I’ll be addressing:
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Leadership: Your Church Is Not Your Platform
In 1932, the University of Southern California started stenciling “Property of USC” on athletic t-shirts for the purpose of preventing theft. Their anti-theft strategy backfired when the stenciled attire became more popular than the original unstenciled t-shirts. USC turned this problem into a profit by producing and selling “Property of USC” shirts to students. Today, […]
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Culture: The Incredible Hulk and the Metanarrative of God
This exploration of The Incredible Hulk is the third in a series of posts exploring theological themes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You can find the rest of the series here. I recommend using VidAngel to filter the content of this film for your family. Spider-Man teaches us that, with great power, comes great responsibility. Iron […]
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Family Ministry: Parenting Conference in St. Louis
How can God’s story reshape the way you parent your children? That’s the question that I’ll be answering at an upcoming parenting conference in the city of St. Louis!
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Leadership: Pastors and Professors as Spiritual Directors
I’ve read more books on pastoral ministry and leadership in my life than I care to recall. Looking back over those many books, I find myself wishing I had returned more often to three particular texts. None of these books focuses on any leadership technique or organizational strategy. There is, of course, a time and […]
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Apologetics: Was Jesus Married?
Ariel Sabar, writing for The Atlantic, has presented clear and convincing evidence that the so-called Gospel of Jesus’ Wife is a forgery. Dr. Karen King unveiled the fragment in 2012 and suggested that the Coptic text came from a fourth-century copy of an otherwise-unknown second-century Gospel. The clause that gave the fragment its name was found […]
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Culture: Iron Man and the Metanarrative of God
This exploration of Iron Man is the second in a series of posts exploring theological themes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You can find the rest of the series here. I recommend using VidAngel to filter the content of this film for your family. The Marvel Cinematic Universe launched in 2008 with the story of Tony Stark, […]
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