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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Family Ministry: Three Models for Ministry to Families
When asked to provide a step-by-step process for implementing family ministry, Mark DeVries jokingly provided this progression: “Try something. Fail. Try something else. Fail again. Try something else. Stumble on one thing that works. Repeat what works. Try something else … you get the idea.” I appreciate Mark’s honesty and good humor, and there’s certainly […]
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Giveaway: Win a Free Family Ministry Field Guide
Here’s what The Gospel Coalition had to say about Family Ministry Field Guide: Family Ministry Field Guide is not a cure-all for family ministry, and it doesn’t claim to be. Therefore, anyone who comes to this book looking for all the Bible says about families will be disappointed. But so will the person who comes […]
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Leadership: The Important of a Pastor’s Presence with His People
United with Christ the perfect shepherd and sacrificial lamb, all of God’s people become sheep—but not all of God’s people become shepherds. In the new covenant, the elders of the church are uniquely designated as shepherds who join in the work of the Chief Shepherd (John 21:15-19; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 5:4). But what does […]
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Apologetics: Constantine, the New Testament Canon, and the Conversion of the Roman Empire
Ariel Sabar has penned a devastating exposé of the forged fragment known as Gospel of Jesus’ Wife. The article is well-researched and well-written—but it also includes a couple of historical errors that seem to have become conventional wisdom in far too many news articles.
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Proclamation: The Search for a Shining Face
What does the book of Ecclesiastes have to say to believers in Jesus Christ today? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Sure, the book starts with the refrain, “Emptiness! Emptiness! Everything is emptiness”—but it doesn’t end there.
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Church History: Rome Burned, But Nero Never Fiddled
In late July in the year AD 64, a fire began in the city of Rome that changed the course of history. The fire raged six days before being brought under control. When the smoke cleared on July 23, seven of Rome’s fourteen districts had been partly destroyed and three districts were completely obliterated. Then […]
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Apologetics: What If the Copies Were Corrupted?
Suppose you own a Bible, but it’s translated in a style that’s difficult to understand. Or maybe your Bible has simply worn out from years of usage. If so, you can easily walk into any Christian bookstore and pick up a different version of the Bible. The earliest Christians couldn’t do that. There was no […]
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Apologetics: How the New Testament Epistles Were Written
Have you ever wondered exactly how the New Testament epistles were written? Did Paul sit down with a fountain pen and a piece of papyrus? Did Peter and James sketch out an outline before they wrote their letters? And what caused the apostles to write their letters in the first place? It was in the […]
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Apologetics: Why the Lost Gospels Were Lost
What are the “lost Gospels”? The term “lost Gospels” usually refers to ancient writings that were excluded from the New Testament, even though they included supposed recollections of events and teachings from the life of Jesus. A few of these lost Gospels have lasted throughout the centuries. Others survive only in tiny fragments of papyrus or […]
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Culture: The Worldview of Star Wars
To coincide with what has become one of the biggest movie premieres in history, The Christian Examiner discussed the theology behind the Star Wars universe with me. Why is our society so enamored with Star Wars? Incessant merchandising, of course, has been part of it from the very beginning. But there are a couple of additional […]
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