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My Priorities During Seven Years of Youth Ministry
My wife Christa and I began serving at our current ministry on June 18, 2008. Shortly after we began, I wrote out five priorities that I believed should guide my ministry as youth pastor. I haven’t perfectly executed these priorities. There are many things I would have done differently or more diligently. But looking back on these priorities…
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The Power of Example
“Virtuous deeds,” wrote Plutarch, “implant in those who search them out a great and zealous eagerness which leads to imitation” (Life of Pericles 1.4). Although he was by no means a Christian, Plutarch’s words resonate with the words of Scripture, particularly the cry of the psalmist in the opening verses of Psalm 119: “Blessed are those…
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Saving Group Discussions from Disaster
I have found that group discussions are one of the most difficult kinds of communication to do effectively. The challenge of group discussion lies partially in the fact that the leader has less direct control over how it goes. If you are leading a group discussion, it’s not enough for you to know your material well: you must…
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That Annoying Piece of Evidence Called the Universe
Recently I’ve been listening to The Universe (audio book) by John Brockman of Edge.org, a collection of essays from some incredibly smart scientists. The book is fascinating in its own right, but I was especially interested by how close cosmology gets to theology. In trying to peer into the origins of the universe, these brilliant scientists…
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Never Stop Learning: Five Ideas to Deepen and Expand Your Knowledge
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel” (Socrates). “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance” (Solomon, Proverbs 1:5). Learn or Stagnate I believe in the importance of constantly learning. The moment I become satisfied with my current level of understanding is the…
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Writing? Close Your Laptop. Use Pen and Paper.
Here is one of the most important writing habits I have learned over the past couple years: I avoid using my computer until I know exactly what I’m trying to say. I have wasted hours staring at a blank Word document, waiting for inspiration from the blinking cursor, or–this is my personal weakness–obsessing over the…
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Six Things You Would Have Noticed About the First Christians
It’s easy to miss the incredible nature of what was happening in Jerusalem following Pentecost. We’ll never be able to fully put ourselves in the shoes of a first-century Jew living in that city, but from Luke’s record in Acts, here’s what would have stood out to us about those first Christians: 1. They were radically…
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Choosing a Worldview
Right inside the front cover of the book The Universe Next Door (5th ed.), James W. Sire has written these words: For any of us to be fully conscious intellectually we should not only be able to detect the worldviews of others but be aware of our own–why it is ours and why in light of so…
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A Clash of Worldviews
Does it really matter what we believe about the origin and destiny of humans? Yes! Whether or not we consciously think about it, our beliefs about who we are, where we came from, and where we are going impact every decision we make. Compare the atheist’s view of the world with the Christian’s view of the…
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Seven Disciplines of the Christian Scholar
In a previous post, I discussed six convictions to guide Christian scholarship. By “disciplines,” I mean habits that spring from these convictions and require determination to maintain. These habits will not be easy. As Sertillanges put it, “The life of study is austere and imposes grave obligations. . . . The athletes of the mind, like…
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