As a writer, I write alone; it’s a solitary activity. So it’s good for me to periodically emerge from my self-imposed cocoon and spend time with other people—and other writers are the people who understand me best, those with who I am most comfortable to be around. I just returned from a Christian Writers conference. […]
Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend By Andy Stanley (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)Is your church all that it can be and should be? Do you ever wonder what’s missing or long for more? Are you serving those who are churched or seeking those who are unchurched? Andy Stanley’s new book, Deep […]
The Bible says we are to fear God. But what does that really mean? I don’t think it implies God is malevolent or waiting for us to mess up so he can zap us, which would be legitimate reasons to fear him. Instead, God is benevolent and wants good things for us; there is no […]
I recently read an article where the author lamented, “Young people are leaving the church.” A bit later he wrote, “Young people don’t stick with their faith.” His implication was that the two statements meant the same thing. They do not—and assuming they do is part of the problem. I’ve had frequent, ongoing struggles with […]
By Rob Link (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)Rob Link’s, King of Rascals, is essentially a book about Jesus—and about us. We are rascals and he, our king. As rascals, we have issues, but as our king, he loves us anyway. In part one of King of Rascals, eight chapters reveal who Jesus is and our relationship […]
In the Bible there’s the story of Jacob, who rolls away the stone from the well to water Rachel’s sheep. They get married. Then there’s Moses. He rescues some shepherd girls when they are being harassed and provides water for their flocks. He marries one of them. It’s just not a guy thing, either. Rebekah […]
In a love story, culturally distant and a bit strange to us, Jacob is enamored by the fetching Rachel. In an act of service, to garner her attention, he rolls away a stone from the mouth of a well to provide life-sustaining water for her sheep. It works and she becomes his bride. In another […]
On a blog I follow there was a drawing for a free book. I’m all about books and it’s even better when they’re free. To enter, I needed to share “what the theological vision for your church is in two sentences or less.” Now the word “theological” repels me, even though theology is simply “the […]
Warfare Prayer: How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom By C. Peter Wagner (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) The subtitle of Warfare Prayer is How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom. The book is the first in Wagner’s trilogy series entitled, The […]
In the Bible, it was common for Jesus to invite people to follow him. That’s simple enough. Anyone can do that. Does this give them eternal life? But sometimes Jesus would give a different instruction. For example, he told one very wealthy man to give away all his money and possessions, not ten percent, not […]