Jesus challenges perception So much of life depends on perception. So much of life depends on one’s point of view. Notice the graphic below, which you might have seen before. What did you see first: the young woman or the old woman? Or maybe you see something else altogether! …

“unless you have to” “Do not become a pastor unless you absolutely have to.” That was what my Assemblies of God pastor told me before I went to Eastern Baptist Seminary in Philadelphia, which I began in the fall of 1991. I don’t know if those were his exact words…

here’s a personal one My wife, Banu, and I were married in 1994. (It was September 3, not 4. She knows what that means.) I proposed to her in a less-than-inspiring way. We were in Tennessee visiting my parents. We had returned to the car after watching the Michael Keaton…

really, don’t do it “Do not become a pastor unless you absolutely have to.” That was what my Assemblies of God pastor told me before I went to Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. (I don’t think those were his exact words, but it was something to that effect. By…

pay no attention to that man behind the curtain “When [the Lamb] broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand, and I heard what seemed to be…

no, I am invincible “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” That was what I started with as I considered this psalm — which makes sense, since it is the beginning! I remembered writing something about that in my journal a couple of years ago…

when you want the world, and everything in it When my wife Banu and I were pastors in Jamestown, New York, the congregation was experiencing the same old story: a steady decline in membership. A sanctuary that once upon a time was filled was now, on the very best days…

prepare for inevitable change Sometimes fans of certain TV shows, musical artists, or sports teams will make lame attempts at interjecting those interests into conversations, or — God forbid — into sermons. I can assure you this is not one of those lame attempts! I have a very good reason…

to lament is to be human “Somewhere along the way, we modern Christians got lament wrong: we began thinking of it as optional instead of a required practice of the faith… When we lament, we declare that only God has the power to truly mend the world’s pain and brokenness……