“Before your face questions die away”

If you need a good book to read (not least in light of our curious times), I recommend C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. It’s a risky little book on many fronts. Lewis offers a multi-layered invitation that, among other things, bids us to see the unseen, to embrace true love, and…

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How To Read the Bible Faithfully: Three Things to Remember

The Bible is a fascinating book. Passed down through the ages, it remains a reliable guide for the church’s faith and practice. The Bible, though, is more than a guide. It is holy Scripture—that font of truth and wellspring of life, a source of nourishment for all. If the Bible is “holy Scripture,” and if…

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A Message to the Oklahoma State House of Representatives

I was going through old blog posts, and I came across this one from a few years ago. In 2016, I was invited to be “chaplain of the week” for the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. It was a fun experience, and I pray folks were encouraged by what I had to say. Below is…

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About that “Mark of the Beast”

Over at theLAB, I have written a follow-up piece to COVID-19 and The Mark of the Beast. In this new article, I offer reflections on the historical context surrounding “the beast” of Revelation, the number “666,” and a few other related items. One characteristic of many modern (popular) readings of Revelation is the tendency to…

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What Does Covid-19 Have to do with the “Mark of the Beast”?

I am thankful to the folks at The LAB (Logos Academic Blog) for sharing my post “COVID-19 and The Mark of the Beast.” With the host of rumors and odd theories floating around the internet (not least on social media platforms), many sincere Christians are becoming increasingly concerned that “the mark of the beast” is…

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Musing on Gregory and Plato

For all you philosophical-theological-Greek nerds out there, here’s something fun. As some have observed, Gregory of Nyssa’s On the Soul and the Resurrection is written in a way that mirrors Plato’s Phaedo.[1] A close reading of both show that this is correct. For example, Gregory utilizes the format so familiar to readers of Plato, namely, the dialogue. Gregory…

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Of Marketing and Ministry

Some fifteen-ish years ago, I found myself racking my brain about what degree major to declare. It was a bit of a struggle. Sitting in my academic advisor’s office, I told him I wanted to “go into a ministry of some sort.” His immediate response was that I should go into marketing. After all, he…

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Mike Bird on the Lord’s Supper

Over at his blog, Mike Bird offers his thoughts on the Lord’s Supper. Here’s a snippet: Francis Chan recently preached a sermon where he said that we’ve replaced the Lord’s Supper with “one guy and his pulpit” and he also decried the mere memorialism of such evangelical practice of the Lord’s Supper and the marginalization of the…

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Interview on Pastoral Theology

Chandler Warren, a graduate student at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland), recently interviewed me on the subject of pastoral theology. We touch on a number of things–defining pastoral theology, the role of Scripture in the life of the church, prayer, etc. It was a fun conversation. You can check it out here: Interview on…

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Thinking About Genesis 1-2, Part 1

Part 1: It is not necessary to interpret “days” as literal, 24-hour days. As I said in the introduction, I don’t have all the answers to questions about Genesis 1-2. I have much to learn, for sure. And so, I have decided to take a journey of sorts through these opening chapters of the Bible.…

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