During my theological training, I regularly heard challenges on the need to be exceptional for the glory of God. I was taught that excellence was a cardinal Christian virtue, which honestly did me a world of good. I heard that it is a sin to do less than your best. And so it is, though I […]
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A Stack of Bibles
When I was a kid, we would say (rather irreverently, I admit), “I swear on a stack of Bibles.” The meaning was as clear as “I swear on my mother’s grave”: The speaker was telling the truth—or at least wanted you to believe he was. If swearing on one Bible in a court of law […]
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Grow to Shrink
It’s natural for pastors to equate increasing numbers with ministry success. I’d like to challenge that idea a bit, beginning with an illustration from my own family. This summer I “married off” the oldest of my four daughters. When I finished walking my wife down the aisle, I whispered to her, “We did it.” I […]
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Groaning Grace
The modern church doesn’t lament well. The churches in which I grew up tended to omit “downer” Psalms in favor of those that we consider to be more “uplifting.” If we’re honest, we’re almost embarrassed by the negativity of Psalms of lament, Psalms of imprecation, and books like Ecclesiastes and Lamentations. You might think that’s just […]
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Church Works Media Merger
Church Works Media is thrilled to announce that we have added Paul Keew to our ministry team as our first full-time employee and merged with his music publishing company “O God, My Joy” and “Chosen as His Children”) to the CWM catalogue as well as contributing to future projects. This is a huge move forward, […]
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The Gospel Meditations Backstory
By God’s grace, we’ve printed 135,000 copies of the various Gospel Meditations devotionals. That’s a staggering number. How did it happen? What’s the backstory of the books? Well, it all began with Mother’s Day. It all began with Mother’s Day Churches often struggle to find “just the right gift” to give out to mothers each […]
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The Passivity of Christ
The four Gospels provide infinite opportunities for the Christian to marvel. The words of Christ are captivating. The miracles of Christ are awe-inspiring. And we could go on, endlessly: the purity of Christ, the compassion of Christ, the humility of Christ, and so forth. I’m struck on this Good Friday by the passivity of Christ. […]
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Grace, Truth, and Billy Graham
Billy Graham died yesterday. After 99 years on earth, right now he is seeing Jesus face to face. No doubt he also sees multitudes whom he told about Jesus. There’s no person in history who has preached the gospel to more people than Billy Graham. Not the Apostle Paul. Not George Whitefield. Nobody. So why […]
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Your Church Is God’s Gift to You
Church life can be messy. Any time you put sinners together—even redeemed sinners—there’s bound to be some friction. Sadly, many churches feel more like a war zone than a refuge. Much of the problem stems from our unwillingness to exercise the undervalued virtue of deference, what Colossians 3:13 calls “bearing with one another.” Conservative Christians […]
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Introducing Gospel Meditations for Christmas
The incarnation is an audacious doctrine. The belief that the Creator of the universe “became flesh” is astonishing. An immeasurable chasm is fixed between the infinite God and finite man—and it was crossed when Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem! Understandably, this doctrine has stirred imaginations. The immortal God Whom heaven cannot contain—now […]
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