One of the great things about a New Year is it moves us toward reflection on our own lives and how we can grow in the coming year. For many of us this includes starting, or perhaps re-starting, a regular plan for Bible reading, meditation, and prayer. For those who want to begin such a […]

It is easy for us to *not* recognize a masterpiece when it is right in front of us. This has been the case for me at art galleries more times than I can count. But thanks to my artist and other more observant friends, it is rare that I have remained stuck in that unappreciative […]

One day, a friend I’ll call “Jane” sent me the following email: Dear Scott, Can I be honest with you? Can I share with you about some of the demons that haunt me? It feels risky to say these sorts of things to my pastor, but here goes… I doubt my love for Jesus, sometimes […]

During Advent season and always, I want my heart and yours to rest assured that the stories we sing about aren’t fables, but are accounts from time-space history. I realize this can be difficult because it’s not every day that a miracle happens. Or maybe miracles do happen every day, if believing in miracles is […]

At a conference in 2014, New York Times writer David Brooks gave a fascinating talk called “How to Be Religious in the Public Square,” in which he said that we live in an achievement culture, where success is our primary pursuit. We live by two sets of virtues: the resume virtues – things we bring to the marketplace […]