Holiness + Love

The words holiness and love have become pretty hollow words today. For most of us, they certainly haven’t kept their biblical meanings. I hate to admit it, but when I hear the word “holy” I imagine a very stern finger being pointed in my direction....

Dirty, stinky, pigs

This past week I’ve been out in “the bush” of Nicaragua visiting communities without electricity, water, medical care, education beyond 6th grade, and more. A interrsting aspect of this communities is that the livestock is very much communal. There are no barns,...

Measuring Success

As a runner, I often get asked how I did on a particular run or race. I find such questions particularly vexing because success in running is extremely relative. A 44-minute 10K would be a disaster for many runners, but for me it would be a personal best. Getting on...

Failing to listen

When you dig into the Old Teatament you begin seeing that a common theme is the people of Israel failing to listen to God and His commandments. God does all these supernatural things for His people, Israel, from the plagues of Egypt, to the parting of the Red Sea, to...

Real or Fake?

Nearly twenty years ago, when I was a seminary student, I was invited by the pastor I interned for to go to a ministry conference. The conference featured the types of speakers one expects at such events: well-known pastors of large churches, most of whom had written...