Don’t get me wrong, there are some things in this life that are very complex and hard to understand, but there are a lot of things that really aren’t. So today, please hear my plea. Don’t overcomplicate your life. Your Life Is a Line One of the things that I think people really overcomplicate is the idea of sin and repentance. It’s not all that complicated. Sin is anything that God calls sin, and repentance is turning from it. To... Read more
Did you ever think of the spiritual implications of a monarch butterfly? A few years ago, a couple came into my church, Matt and Charlotte Kulp. Their hobby is raising monarch butterflies—upward of 500 a year. They wanted to tell the world about their hobby, share the Gospel and generate awareness, so they started a YouTube channel called Monarch Miracles. They also decided to do a presentation for churches and civic groups and asked me to help them create the... Read more
I was asked this question today. What Is Beauty? About an hour ago, I was on my Zoom call for Christian Creatives, which was started by Dr. William Barnett over at International Network of Creatives and the question was posed. What is beauty? It’s harder to define than you think and that concerns me. I will confess for a person who has spent his entire life in the arts in one form or another, I was struggling to define beauty.... Read more
Have you heard of the K.I.S.S. Method? It’s and acronym for Keep it Simple Stupid. In my last column, I wrote about the simple truth and how sometimes I think we overcomplicate the Word of God. Part of that post was inspired by a book. I never got around to talking about the book. Let’s change that today. Thanks Jon Acuff I was listening to Jon Acuff’s Podcast, All It Takes Is a Goal. He was talking about how he... Read more
What if we’re overcomplicating it? What if God’s Word is really a simple truth? I Can Remember It Like It Was Yesterday… though it was long ago. I was alone on a literal mountain top and I was crushed. I was looking out over a valley in which some of the great spiritual moments of my life had happened, but as I looked down, I was weeping. I felt like my ministry was completely misunderstood by the church I was... Read more
I know this is a weird position for me to take as some would consider my ministry a bells and whistles ministry, (though, of course I do not) but I do sometimes wonder do we need the bells and whistles? What Brought This On? There was a well publicized spat that happened at a recent men’s conference at James River Church. One of the forms of entertainment they had a the conference, featuring a shirtless male performer doing a routine... Read more
I try not to be one of those people who gets triggered, but I have to admit I got triggered the other day, and I was triggered by a weird word. The word was excellence. Oh excellence is a fine word with many fine applications, but when I hear it in connection to the church and especially arts in the church, I cringe and I have to fight against the urge to be triggered. If this sounds absolutely ridiculous to... Read more
My wife swears she’s going to carve it on my tombstone. “I just have to do one more thing.” I guess she’s heard it a few too many times, but in truth it is how I feel. Have you been there? I have so many things I want to do, likely more than I can accomplish in this one life I have to live or at least that’s how it feels sometimes. How about you? The busyness makes me overwhelmed,... Read more
In the church we talk a lot about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and rightfully so. The perfect Son of God laid down His life to save sinners like you and me. It’s the most significant death in history—the death of the most important person every to live. Think about what that really means. If Jesus died for our sins, then the most important person ever to live, laid down His life because you were worth... Read more
In my most recent article, I looked at the beginnings of this Passover celebration we Christians call The Last Supper. Jesus washed His disciples feet, and in the process showed them “the full extent of His love.” He demonstrated servant leadership for us all and promised that now that we know these things we will be blessed if we do them. That was just the beginning. It is a mistake to look at this event, we call The Last Supper... Read more