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Christian Faith

A Life After Christ

For me, the ultimate goal of my faith is to live the type of life that Jesus Christ modeled. I appreciate the deep theology of Paul, I love the practical wisdom of James, and I admire the firm convictions of Peter, but it is Christ that I pursue. Christ is the one I emulate - […]

No more pooping inside.

Oscar pooped in the house again. When Shannon and I lived in Oklahoma, we were around the house pretty much all the time. I worked from home and Shannon worked at the church across the street, so our fur-baby Oscar got used to having us around. When we moved back to Kansas City, though, Shannon […]

A Nation After Christ

There are a lot of different ideas about whether the United States was founded as a Christian nation. Regardless of those ideas, though, the majority of Americans now say that the United States of today isn’t Christian nation. The question, then, is whether we should strive to establish the United States as a Christian nation […]

In Light of Love

The past couple of weeks have been filled with discussions of truth and love and how to balance the two. This article is the second part of a series exploring the idea of truth and love living together in beautiful harmony. The first part, “In Defense of Truth,” sought to understand the value of speaking […]

In Defense of Truth

I’ve been involved in many conversations recently about the importance of truth and love. The phrase that we frequently hear is that we need to “speak the truth in love” as a means of balancing honesty and care. Many times, though, it seems that we either fall so far on the side of truth that […]

The Joy of Pride

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me, “What is the most important piece of advice you’ve ever received?” That’s a difficult question to answer because I’ve received a lot of great advice over the years. The first thing that came to mind, though, was a message about pride shared with me back in […]

A Call for Conservative Voices

Conservative Christians, I believe in you. I love you. I admire your faith, your witness, your dedication to Scripture. I value your voice - let no one silence you! You are a crucial, effective part of the Christian faith. We need you to continue kindling our spiritual fervor for being in a personal relationship with […]

Those Who Most Need It Will Never Read It.

We love to be told that we’re right, especially when that validation is coming from a source that we respect. Reading blogs and articles that affirm our beliefs gives us confidence in our own sense of right-ness and pats us on our proverbial backs. As a society, we have a natural tendency to take this […]

A Whisper, Stronger than the Storm

The world is spinning for me right now. So much has happened in the past couple of months that I don’t even know how to begin processing it all: In South Carolina, an African-American man was shot in the back multiple times by a police officer. After killing him, the officer planted evidence to corroborate a […]

The Slippery Slope of Denying Inerrancy

When I was a kid, my parents had this amazing blue recliner. It was the most comfortable seat in the house, and I loved it. The chair had some cosmetic flaws - it had a few tears and stains, and it squeaked a bit as you rocked. As my mother would say, the flaws “added […]

Monday Morning Confession Time

A couple of weeks ago, Shannon wrote a lighthearted article as a confession, and I thought it was really cool. Since then, I've felt challenged to share a confession of my own. As a reminder, this format is based on Tim Suttle’s “Monday Morning Confessionals.” I confess that I, like Shannon, have a tattoo. I […]

Redefining Masculinity

Note: This is a follow-up post to Imitation Masculinity. Reading that post is not a prerequisite to being able to understand this post, but you may find it helpful (and, if I do say so myself, it's totally worth the read). Men love to watch sports. Men love to play sports. In fact, there are […]

Adults, We Don't Have to Agree.

My faith has grown a lot over the years, and I hope that it keeps growing as I continue to mature. We all grow up with ideas about how life works. As we grow, we learn that some of them are right (don’t touch fire, because it burns), some are wrong (Santa brings us presents […]

We Need to Have a Healthy Conversation

In the last few weeks, I have become acutely aware of the fact that we evangelicals are horrible participants in discussions, particularly on social media. I am fortunate to have friends from a wide variety of faiths and religious backgrounds, and recently I've seen several of them publicly wrestling with tough, real-life questions. Through the […]

7 Things the Church Is Doing Right

For the past week or so, I've had a serious case of writer’s block. Well, not writer’s block exactly. I've been able to put pen-to-paper, but the things that I've been writing haven’t had the voice that I'm used to writing with. They've had a harsh, judgmental, preachy tone that I despise, and when I've gone […]

An Agnostic Search for Truth

Personal Note: This post was written by an old friend of mine. He shared it with me in private, and though he wishes to remain anonymous, he gave me permission to publish the account here. His willingness to open himself up in this way is, for me, a much-needed affirmation: this is exactly the kind […]

In Light of the MNU + Randy Beckum Situation

Last updated: July 20, 2015, 10:18 pm MidAmerica Nazarene University recently relieved Randy Beckum of his role as Vice President, although he retains his position as the school's chaplain. The reasons for this move by the school are somewhat unclear. The official announcement from the school suggests that they wanted to allow him to focus […]

Coffee, Creation, and Theistic Evolution

This may shock some of you, but I love coffee. Hot, iced, espresso, dark roast, light roast - it doesn't matter. It’s delicious. In case you don't believe me, here are just a few of the brewers that I have in my kitchen: Black & Decker Drip Pot Moka Pot Melitta Pourover Kalita Wave Pourover Aeropress French Press […]

Freedom in Biblical Inerrancy

If I asked three different men to describe the perfect woman, I would get three completely different responses. The first man might describe a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshell. The second man might describe a woman of remarkable intellect and drive. And the third man might describe a woman who was 100% devoted to her family. […]

Painting a Vision of the Future

I love art. Every once-in-a-while, I get this crazy notion that I can be an artist. When this whim hits, I usually go to Hobby Lobby, buy a boatload of paints and a couple of canvases (I already have brushes at home) and prepare to let my creativity wash over me. Before I even begin painting, […]

Love is Beautiful.

I met my wife when I was 12 years old, and I started dating her when I was 17 years old. Yes, we were high school sweethearts. Shannon is the only girl that I've ever dated (unless you count that one awkward time when I went to a dance with a fan of my comedy... but that's […]

Imitation Masculinity

If you know me, you know that I'm not a super masculine guy. Let me give you some examples: I would rather watch basketball than play it. I don't lift weights (or even work out, really). I am not the "boss" of my wife. I don't have "my" football team that I cheer for. I […]

It's My Right. (Part 2)

Last week's post ("It's My Right, Part 1") discussed the rights that we have as Americans. If you haven't read it yet, you'll probably want to do that before you continue with this week's post. As Americans, we've begun treating our "rights" as basic essentials of being human, but to millions of people all over […]

It's My Right. (Part 1)

I Know My Rights. It is my right as an American to say whatever I want to say. I have freedom of speech, and I have the right to exercise it. I have the right to buy what I want to buy. I have the right to be happy when society tells me I should […]

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