Dear Thomas, (Why I think David is wrong about your same-sex attraction)
A number of months ago, David Strain wrote an open letter to "Thomas," a fictional seminary student struggling with same-sex attraction. I appreciated the tone of his letter. It was a welcome contrast to Phil Johnson's handling of the topic to which I offered a somewhat salty—but no less intellectually and biblically rigorous—response. Hope for Thomas My goal here is to address David's error in order to give people like Thomas some hope. Not the
Cancer
That C-word. No one expects it. No one welcomes it. It's just a small lump in the middle of my back. Not even sure it's worth mentioning to my doctor. Sure... we'll watch it and see if it grows or becomes irregular in shape. It'll be fine. It wasn't fine. The doctor excised it and off it went to the lab. Being too unusual to identify, it was sent off to the big city. Results:
Why rejecting the social sciences feels reasonable… but isn’t
Let's face it. Conservative Christians tend to be wary of the social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology. I have many friends in church leadership who view the soft sciences with moderated suspicion at least. Others reject them overtly. And this feels reasonable because, it is argued, the social sciences aren't "real" science. And they have been hijacked by radicals who use them to push an anti-Christian agenda. And they treat sin as illness.
When pastor kills himself
Moments ago I saw the news of an American megachurch pastor, Andrew Stoecklein, who took his own life after a battle with depression and anxiety. Almost immediately the commentary on Facebook began. As a pastor who battles mental health struggles, I feel compelled to insert a few thoughts into the discussion. But first, my heart goes out to Andrew's family. This is a world-shattering moment for them. I pray that God will give them comfort
On Phil Johnson and same-sex attraction
Phil Johnson recently began stirring the pot on the non-neutrality of same-sex attraction (SSA). You can read it here and here. It's the sort of cantankerous monologue you'd expect from a hard-line fundamentalist like Phil. But he's finally provoked me enough to get me writing. So that's something. First, let's clarify that this isn't about the conference that got Phil so wound up. I have no comment to make about that conference since I know
What is marriage?
I sat down this afternoon to consider a question of increasing importance in modern life. What is marriage? What exactly is marriage? What follows is a collection of my thoughts on that question. It is not my goal to outline what a marriage should look like. Or what is Christian marriage per se. But rather, my goal is to get to the very fundamental core of what constitutes a relationship as a marriage. Biblically. These
Return to your rest
"Where is God? Where is he in my suffering? Where is his goodness he promised me? Why has he forsaken me?" This week has not been an easy one for me. I've been stressed out, depressed, and struggling with several key questions in my life. In the midst of it all, I cried out "Where is God?!" In my desperation, I opened my Bible and flipped to Psalms and started reading. One verse almost immediately
How can we help the sexual abuse victim?
With society's current focus on the Duggars, maybe it'd be a good idea to look into general principles of how to help the victims of sexual abuse. What does a victim deal with? The abuse paradigm is a unique issue in which we need to educate ourselves. “She feels more shunned and rejected than the criminal,”1 explains Dr Dan B Allender in his book The Wounded Heart: Hope For Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse.
Ten things every person should be able to affirm in the face of the Duggar family tragedy
I wanted to ignore this story. I really did. But it seems I'm the only one. For some reason, this story is resonating with people. Particularly Christians. Particularly conservative Christians. And the resulting public discourse has left me grieved, disturbed, and embarrassed. I don't know much about the details of the Josh Duggar case. I've picked up bits and pieces from here and there, much of it contradictory, and all of it third-hand, fourth-hand, fifth-hand,
Can faith survive when hope dies?
or How Does a Young Mother Survive Losing Two Babies? Press Interview with Nancy Guthrie At KCC's #OneLove14 women's event and #Oxygen2014 week-long conference last month in Sydney, the speaker that touched my heart the most was Nancy Guthrie. Here are questions the press asked Nancy and her candid answers. Q: Was there a time in your life where the rubber hit the road with your faith in Jesus? A: Two days after our baby daughter Hope