“Imagine that you have the following choice to make for your listeners,” writes Matthew D. Kim in the opening paragraph of Preaching to People in Pain: “(1) They can listen to sermons that only address the topic of success in … Continue reading Preaching to People in Pain | Book Review
“Of making many books there is no end,” Ecclesiastes 12:12 says, and nowhere is this truer than of books about Abraham Lincoln. The problem confronting would-be Lincoln authors is that every angle of Lincoln’s life seems to have been covered … Continue reading Lincoln in Private | Book Review
Silesian Station is the second installment in David Downing’s series of novels featuring Anglo-American journalist John Russell. It is set primarily in Berlin in the summer of 1939, just before the Nazi invasion of Poland, although Russell travels to other … Continue reading Silesian Station | Book Review
“In twenty-first-century America, three forces have united to make living as a follower of Jesus more complicated and nuanced than at any other time in Christian history: capitalism, consumerism, and celebrity culture,” writes Ben Kirby. “These forces are raising questions … Continue reading Christian Faith in a Celebrity Culture | Influence Podcast
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. Biologically speaking, none of us would be here without our moms. So make sure to honor your mom this weekend — if not every day — for the gift of life! We have moms to … Continue reading The Story of Scripture in Four Moms | Influence Magazine
“Suffering is ubiquitous, success is not,” writes Matthew D. Kim in Preaching to People in Pain. Ironically, the content of many, if not most, sermons focuses on success more than suffering, however. Are pastors missing an opportunity to speak into … Continue reading How to Preach When People Are Suffering | Influence Podcast
This morning, Facebook put a “memory” in my timeline about a post I wrote three years ago to the date. God is not a Republican. Jesus is not a Democrat. The Holy Spirit is not a moderate. The Church is … Continue reading 5 Obvious But Oft-Ignored Theo-Political Truths
The New York Times recently published a story about a well-known pastor’s son who had deconverted and was using social media to criticize the faith he once — and his father still — confessed. I read the story with conflicting … Continue reading The Anatomy of Deconversion | Book Review
Zoo Station (2007) is David Downing’s first novel featuring John Russell. Russell is an Anglo-American freelance journalist living and working in Berlin in the early months of 1939. A former Communist with a loathing for the Nazis, Russell remains in … Continue reading Zoo Station | Book review
“[Black] dignity has lingered in a state of confusion for generations in this country as we’ve faced constant harassment, false theologies, white supremacy, syncretistic evangelicalism, and civic oppression,” writes Dr. Eric Mason. Consequently, the task of such apologetics is to … Continue reading The Nature and Necessity of Urban Apologetics | Influence Podcast
