All I really remember about my first few years of lessons is that I wanted to play. My brother and sister both played, and it looked like fun. When I started, it was the pure joy of creating something beautiful and meaningful out of nothing.

The annual practice of setting New Year’s resolutions has taught me that my sins and failings, even those that come before January 12, will not be the end of me. In Jesus Christ and through the Spirit, God is more faithful than I have yet to imagine.

Our church leadership is talking about faith milestones. What are they, and why should we be interested? 

What would happen if we were to think of ourselves less as sitting on the truth and more as pointing to it? We’d invite nonbelievers to join us as learners of the way of Jesus, journeying deeper into God’s truth. This is a humble stance from which to share our faith with others. 

Every Christ follower has the potential to be a multiplying agent for the kingdom.

It is very cold in many places in the winter. To stay warm, you wear lots of sweaters, mittens, scarves, and a warm winter coat. But there are two places where it is cold all the time—the North and South Poles. 

Let’s recognize the Canons of Dort for what they are: not a summary of Reformed theology, or even a full account of election, but a crucial clarification of some key issues that matter as much now as they did 400 years ago.

#MeToo movement has highlighted women who have experienced sexual harassment or assault. Aren’t Christians supposed to forgive rather than demand justice?

The temptation of Christ in Matthew 4:1-11 serves up important cautions to the church in how to imagine and fulfill God’s mission.

What may look like a simple move in the search of a good outcome—when the moral stakes are so high—will almost certainly have profound unintended consequences.

Many activities that were once forbidden by the church (card playing, dancing, and movie attendance) are now considered fine. But the Bible does not change. Are these changes biblical?

Today I received The Banner. It was filled with various articles about abuse, most of which were well done. 

Offering your pastor a sabbatical is an investment in ministry.

We don’t often think of Advent as looming. But here is a time of darkness, preceding the Redeemer’s birth into a dark and cold night.

The Heidelberg Catechism is the most popular, most loved catechism of many that emerged from the Reformation. But it is over 450 years old. Does it still speak to our churches—and to each of us—today?

I knew when I took this job that I could not please everybody. But I do take seriously what readers say. 

If the Holy Spirit holds the cosmos together (every facet of every human being’s biological, relational, educational, social, and economic life), and if holding means nearness, then surely every time a human being wakes up to God, that moment is a remembering of a presence that’s always been there.

These days, for example, many of us use social media to rush curated expressions of our life into public space. We can equate visibility with significance.

Christians should be aware of the effects of our lifestyles.

Living among people whose suffering is relentless, heartbreaking, mind-numbing, has changed me. I am hungrier for heaven’s healing than I have ever been.

This piece is a reflection of the story of Joseph and Mary, specifically their journey to Bethlehem.

Mary’s willingness to risk everything allowed all of us to gain so much more.

Online commenting is the latest and most efficient way we allow ourselves to be set up against each other.