Re-post: To Lead is To Love is To Serve

The anatomy of marriage

“Marriage is the graduate school of service.” – Pastor David Chadwick I’ve made no secret of my belief in marriage. Mrs. Booth and I have been married for nearly 32 years, with the struggles and joys that come with being married that long. It has been and is a great thing and I love being […]

Classic Post: The Importance of Finishing Well

Wise King Solomon fell prey to folly - Here's how you can avoid it

“Well begun is half done.” – Aristotle Throughout my life, I’ve found that I begin new tasks with great gusto. This is a good thing, and I have learned to take advantage of my enthusiasm to create momentum that will help carry me through the eventual letdown. The particulars vary from project to project, but […]

Classic Post: The Wisdom of King Solomon

Learn from the wisest king in history

Men:  We have to talk about sex. If there’s one area where this generation is stuck, this is it. The Water Was Dirty Before You Got In Now, before you conclude that I’m pointing my finger at you, please realize that the Boomer cohort gave us the sexual revolution and rampant divorce, and the Gen X cohort […]

Get the Facts or the Facts Will Get You – Part 2

Why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a big deal

“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege.” – Jesus in Matthew 7:6 (MSG) In Part 1, I presented an unintentional review of NBC’s live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar (I […]

Get the Facts or the Facts Will Get You – Part 1

Easter and Jesus Christ Superstar call for a resurrection

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” – Ephesians 1:17 (NIV) Like millions of my countrymen, I spent part of Easter Sunday watching NBC’s live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar — the rock opera that tells the story of the last week […]

Re-post: What If You Couldn’t Lose?

Restoration is at the heart of Easter

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 (ESV) I owe a number of debts to author John Eldredge. His collaboration with the late Brent Curtis, The Sacred Romance, revolutionized my perception of the character and […]

What God Thinks About Money

How about some foundational principles?

“Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.” – Proverbs 28:8 (NIV) In a recent post, I explained why I’m skeptical of cryptocurrencies — even though I am optimistic about the potential for blockchain technology and its offshoots to create genuine […]

Re-post: Truth-fetishism and Confirmation Bias

It's a trap!

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31 – 32 I have noticed that our society has an obsession with “truth.” I don’t believe it started with politics, but this is the arena — […]

Re-post: The Role of Hardship in Shaping Character

You gotta go through it to get it, get it?

“Endure hardship as discipline…”   – Hebrews 12:7 I never liked the word discipline. It always made me think of punishment — and I didn’t care for punishment.  Losing privileges, being sent to my room, having my allowance docked — I never liked any of it.  The worst, however, was corporal punishment — the dreaded […]

How A Prophet Loses His Way – Part II

Lessons from Balaam's error

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” – Psalm 119:11 (NIV) In Part I, I recounted the biblical story of Balaam from the Old Testament book of Numbers. Most of what I have to say in this post will resonate more if you read that post (I’ll […]