In an earlier post, I used the phrase “God-centered,” and there was at least one challenge that concerned what I meant by it. Let me have a quick go at explaining. First, let me note what I do not mean. I do not some form of Stoicism, where we try to pretend that how it …
Cadenced Wisdom
There are a handful of books which, once I am done reading them, I start right over again at the beginning. They are in what might be called my “perpetual stack.” Then in that stack are some “perpetual writers,” defined as those authors I want always to be reading something from — e.g. G.K Chesterton, …
In Case You Missed It . . .
It was in the course of this last year that I began doing a book-of-the-month review in the hope that you would link on one or more of the links, and find yourself in the realms of edification and uplift. In case you missed them first time around, here is a round-up. I started in …
Book of the Month/January 2013
I like and respect Al Mohler a lot, and am happy to report that this book, The Conviction to Lead, was in no way a disappointment. I went in with my expectations high, and was not let down. That’s always a plus. There are certain kinds of books that I try to graze in regularly, …
Fools and Blind
In the long aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, one of the things that has become apparent in the midst of all the recriminations is we do not know how divine judgment works. We do not yet know how God operates, and we do not see how diseased our culture has actually become. We are not …
Our Little Piggy Hearts
As we are now in the midst of farcical fiscal cliff negotiations, with the Republicans being lame and the Democrats being eeeevil, I thought I should handle this as a teachable moment. We should take these teachable moments whenever they arise, for there will be fewer and fewer of them as the clouds of economic …
Book of the Month/December 2012
The Truth About Organic Foods was a tasty, soul-satisfying book — sweet and savory both. The author, Alex Avery, does not attack organic food as such, but what he does critique, devastatingly, is the pretension that wafts over the whole organic movement. If you like how organic tastes — as Avery himself sometimes does — …
A Brief for Israel
Yesterday I tweeted this . . . “If you read the escalating fighting in Israel with anything other than sympathy for Israel, then you need to turn the book right side up.” . . . and the responses I got indicated I needed to say something more. So here it is. A few qualifications first. …
Book of the Month/November 2012
I have read many books on preaching, and this one (The Imperative of Preaching) is now right up at the top of the list. One of the reasons it is up there is that it addresses essential topics that I just don’t see being effectively addressed elsewhere. I’ll explain that in a minute. Here is …
A Garden of Grace
One of the temptations young parents face is the temptation of wanting to learn some “techniques,” some 1,2,3 tricks for sure-fire success. When you feel lost, it is easy to want to resort to easy solutions. If you already feel like you are in over your head, why would you seek out solutions that are …