Recent Posts
How Persevering in Greek Equips You for the Christian Life
At the outset of this year I started lecturing at a theological college. This was something I’ve longed to do since completing my own studies, many moons ago. Considering my...
John Ames' Advice Against Defensiveness
Good advice is gold. That is, it’s as rare as it is precious. Unfortunately, the church is often a sanctuary for bad advice. In the same way that fugitives of...
A Guide to Good Writing for Those Who Can't Write Good
One of the characters in Marilynne Robinson’s Home describes preaching as, “parsing the broken heart of humankind and praising the loving heart of Christ.” I’ve often considered this a fitting...
Biblical Narratives: Some Comments on Structure, Themes, and Sermons
Towards the end of last year I wrote an article arguing that most biblical narratives don’t have a main point. I was grateful to those readers who raised questions and...
It Is Such a Secret Place, the Land of Tears
“I did not know how to reach him, where to catch up with him. It is such a secret place, the land of tears.”
Church Size: Six Theses
A friend once left a note on my desk, in jest, saying: “Get over your big church issues.” While my critics might have phrased it differently, my writing on the...
Preacher, Don't Miss the Wood for the Trees
We’ve all heard the old saying, ‘don’t miss the wood for the trees.’ Unfortunately, like many idioms it is invariably misused and misunderstood. A particular issue with this idiom stems...
Fridays with Fred: Motherhood
Every now and then my articles are au courant and on trend. One might say: current and cool. On occasion I’ve written about topics such as Chris Pratt’s speech upon...