Why should it be done? This is really the most important issue. What exactly does baptism do? Why is it important? Does baptism make someone a Christian? Does it actually have the power to save someone? On these last two questions, the answer is no as our salvation is only by the sacrifice of Christ made for us on the … Read More
What I Learned from Gordon Lightfoot, Part 3 of 3
“Writing songs is about finding the time, because it’s an isolated thing. You need to lock yourself in a room to do it, in one shape or another, whether it’s an empty house or hotel room.” Gordon Lightfoot in Nicholas Jennings, Lightfoot (Viking, 2017), 88. I mentioned in Part 1 that, among other things, Lightfoot and I share a connection … Read More
Remember, You’ve Got a Name
Like the pine trees lining the winding road I got a name, I got a name… Like the fool I am and I’ll always be I’ve got a dream, I’ve got a dream… Moving me down the highway, rolling me down the highway Moving ahead so life won’t pass me by —Jim Croce, I Got a Name Sheryl Crow says, … Read More
The Father Heart of God
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. … Read More
The God Who is With Us and Beside Us
For many of us, the meaning of Jesus’ name Emmanuel, God with us, is one of our favorite parts of the Christmas story. That the incarnate Son of the God, the Maker of the Universe, would come to earth in flesh to dwell (John 1:14)—literally “tabernacle”—with us both blows our minds and melts our hearts. In reading Ian Provan’s Seriously … Read More
The Double Helix of Faith and Family, Part 3 of 4: Important Caveats
I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. -2 Tim. 1:5, NLT (words in bold, mine) Regarding passing on a healthy spiritual legacy, the main point we’ve been trying to make and illustrate from the “family is a conduit … Read More
Focus for Fall: Big Lessons from Small Creatures, Part 5 of 5
Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; the lizard you can take in your hands, … Read More
Becoming a Grandparent and Other Amazing Gifts
***This is dedicated to Matthew Gregory Austen, one of the finest and most humble men I know. You are an attentive and loving husband, and will be an excellent father. Ready or not, it came. My oldest son, Matthew, and his wife, Kylie, arrived with a small brown gift bag—white tissue paper sticking out—and set it down in front of … Read More
How the Holy Family Gives Laser Focus to Ministry
In my current vocational role at Care Net, the Christmas story is especially significant, as it deals with the most famous “unplanned” pregnancy in history. Earlier this year, my wife and I went to Orlando to celebrate my mom’s birthday. While there, she gave me a figurine of the Holy Family. It was originally my grandparents’, and my mom thought … Read More
Why I’m More Interested in Conversion Than Collusion
One of the greatest joys I’ve had to date is baptizing new believers into the Christian faith—especially my children (that’s my son, Timothy, above!). Experiences like that—especially given the disheartening state of politics—are far more compelling than Hillary’s email server, collusion with Russia, or Donald’s tweets. It’s not that I don’t want justice to “roll down;” I do. It’s not … Read More