Embracing Grace and Unity: A Biblical Response to Doctrinal Rigidity and Exclusion In contemporary Christian discourse, particularly within some sovereign grace movements, a concerning trend has emerged. This trend involves ostracizing or questioning the faith of individuals due to differing doctrinal beliefs or misunderstandings. As a pastor and theologian deeply committed to the principles of…
Tag: Discipline
The Perfectionist with Dirty Hands
I have always longed for the day we would have Hazel from the Jetsons running around cleaning and maintaining our homes. Sadly, the “house of the future” that I read about in magazines as a child was more myth than reality. In 2007 we bought our first Roomba on Yahoo’s campus in Sunnyvale at a…
Friday Focus: A State of Mind
“Je pense, donc je suis.” As a mediocre French enthusiast, I have always preferred Decarte’s French writings and most famous phrase, “I think, therefore, I am.” While not a mathematician, I am a thinker. If I were to say what I have spent most of my life doing, it would have to be pondering. If…
Spiderman Saves Child from Vaccine
My son, Jacob, is a creative, genuine, and expressive kid. He’s a man grown at 20, but when he was little, he had some major fears. First, was the fear of bugs, any bug, any creepy crawly thing, he was horrified of it. Second, was the fear of vaccinations. Outside of those two things, he…
Poop is Organic
Just because something is organic doesn’t make it worthy to eat. Poop is organic. When Robyn and I were in our twenties, we felt like organic things were not just healthy, we also felt they were essential to life. We were lied to and so were you. It happens often but we don’t realize it….
Got Questions?
As a researcher, perpetual student, and resident “always available”, I get a lot of questions. As of today, I have answered directly over 2500 questions related to Scripture in an official capacity. That may sound impressive, but it’s probably only about 100 questions stated in 25 different ways. If I were to try and log…
Twenty Years as a Parent and Nothing’s Changed
Good Spirited Examples! I can count the number of times I have had to discipline my kids with our hickory paddle. Just the thought of it terrified all five of them at an early age. And while my children have all been very different with varying qualities and personalities there has been one common, for…
Moral Modification | 3 Minute Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS Behavior Modification is Not Needed! We all wish people would act better in society. And if we are honest, we all have a standard by which we live and could easily impose that standard on others. God has written the standard in…
The Lessons of God
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS What is God Teaching Me? I get this question often as so many times people think that the experiences they live through continue until they “learn” the lesson God is trying to teach them. Scripture alone is the source of learning from…
A Few Thoughts on Church Discipline
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS | More Discipline is one of those terms that for most people creates a negative feeling. After all, isn’t discipline punishment? This podcast will discuss a brief look at the necessity for church discipline as a corrective promise, not punitive coercion. Church…