Dedication: This article is dedicated to my lovely wife who has walked through a dark valley with me; to Dave Stelling who has counseled me through much despair; to pastor Chris Lent who has been a faithful shepherd of my soul in turbulent waters; to my family and church family (both in...

3 years ago, Dr. John Coe of Biola’s Institute for Spiritual Formation preached at a Biola University chapel and it rocked my world. He preached on something that I have become all too familiar with: the dark night of the soul. Now it is true that God is always present. This new covenant...

I awoke this morning with this thought rolling around in my mind: “What would I do with all that money.” In case you have been under a rock for the last three days, this morning’s thought dawned courtesy of the Mega Millions lottery drawing on Friday March 30th. The story of the biggest...

What is the Biblical concept of remembrance? Well, let’s warm up: Growing up, what do you remember doing with your family for Easter traditions? For some, Easter Egg hunts are almost certainly a part of the picture. Perhaps you remember the annual gifting of some pastel-ey Easter basket...

As most readers are aware, I am currently a seminary student. Most people think this probably means a lot of reading. Lots of writing. Lots of Greek and Hebrew. And… they’re right. But, this training involves some other activities. Activities such as what I will be doing this...

For some of us, the imperative in this title might be license to freedom- a liberating release from the rigidity of the daily and mundane to play in the boundless world of our richest thoughts. For others (and most of the time, me), it spawns a sign or a roll of the eyes. “What good is the...

“…you become better and better by looking for so great a good which is both sought in order to be found and found in order to be sought…” -St. Augustine “Ethics” means more than understanding how one should act in a certain situation in order to be free from blame....

Over the past month or so, I have been making my way through the book of Jeremiah. Sometimes I read through a number of chapters and at other times, something sticks with me from the text and I can’t get past a few verses. This happened about a week and a half ago as I read Jeremiah chapter...

“I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (John the Baptist, Mark 1:8) Although many of us are unable to follow, we really ought to commend the Pentecostals for doing something with the notion of Holy Spirit baptism. For the rest of us, it is...

Over the last few decades, our precious protestant friend Justification has received a lot of tough press and some heavy abuse.  Stendahl, Sanders, Dunn, and Wright have all added their contributions to the theological boxing tournament seeking to knock out an understanding of justification...