A Life Worth Sacrificing

Mary Elizabeth Williams has laid it out plain and simple. The staff writer for Salon and author of Gimme Shelter: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream, has stated in a recent article on Salon.com what intellectually honest people have been saying forever: the fetus is indeed a life. But at the moment that READ MORE

A Prayer for President Obama

On this the public inauguration day for President Obama’s second term, I offer the following prayer: Our Heavenly Father, I earnestly pray for our president. I believe the words of Romans 13:1 which declare, “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” I believe that you READ MORE

Understanding Old Testament Moral Code

I have had a couple of questions recently from folks wondering how to process difficult Old Testament legal requirements relative to today’s moral climate. Below is an excerpt from an email I sent in response to such a question: Thank you for your email. You are asking a very important question. Let me attempt an READ MORE

Assad, Obama, and the Culture of Death

Two headlines really struck me as sick and sad. They speak to a fascination with death and power and narcissism. They speak to the demise of the weak at the hand of the strong. They reflect a justification for self-preservation over and above things more transcendent. Even though the two headlines address two completely different READ MORE

Summer At Home

As part of Bethel Church‘s @Home initiative we’re highlighting ways that we can pursue fruitful disciplemaking opportunities on the homefront throughout the summer. Keeping in mind the admonition of Deuteronomy 6:7, which says, “You shall teach [God’s commands] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when READ MORE

Thoughts on Caring for Those Suffering and Dying

A reader in the medical profession asked me recently how I personally process the understandable hurts that come when investing with those who suffer and are dying. Here are some of the things I shared with him. If you are a medical professional, I’d love to hear from you about how you process these things: READ MORE