Why do hard things happen? It’s an ancient question... The general answer might come as a surprise to some of us, because it’s not, “God has a wonderful plan for your life.” That’s true, of course, as Romans 8:28 reminds us. But it’s not quite the answer to the question,...

A great many Christians in America have had to deal with an uncomfortable truth the recent weeks: whether you actively engage or not in politics, it will eventually come for YOU... Time is short, and so here are 5 practical realizations that we must come to in order to forge...

The Bible of my grandfather rests prominently atop the filing cabinet in my central-Florida office. Leslie Ewell Clinkenbeard (“Pa” to his family) was a simple farmer and mechanic, but served the church faithfully as an elder for over 40 years. Four preachers officiated his funeral...

If you’re “done” with church and institutional religion, the main thing I want to say to you is: I get it. I’ve been there. I see it too. I’ve also experienced it – more than I wish were the case. Churches can be very proud, judgmental, inward-focussed, exclusivist social or...

Dear Troubled Believer, I see you.I know it feels like you’re army-crawling through morning and afternoon. I know how your soul slinks on the ground, breathing in the dust, while everyone around you seems free as birds in the breeze. They don’t understand the willpower it takes to do the...

Dear Unmarried Christian, In autumn 2005 I entered graduate school (the first time around) to study philosophy in Amsterdam. While visiting churches, I met a woman in her mid-40s from Indonesia, studying theology. Most of her home village and her entire family had been slaughtered by Muslim militants some years...