St. Andrews Hymns – I’ve been enjoying this new album of reimagined hymns. You can listen to the whole thing at the site. There are a few well-known ones, and a few that you may not have sung before. (lyrics are here) Is Obama a Christian? – Owen Strachan writes about how Christians might think…
Dispatches from the Front – The excellent Dispatches from the Front DVDs are on sale at Westminster Books for just 72 hours. You can get episode 2 for just $5 and the whole series of 5 for $30 (60% off). You ought to buy a set and donate it to your church library. Raising Gospel-Centered…
I am in the unique and enjoyable position of receiving copies of most of the latest and greatest Christian books and I like to provide regular roundups of some of the best and brightest of the bunch. Here are some of the notable books that I’ve received in the past week or two. A Theology…
In a couple of weeks I am going to have an opportunity to interview R.C. Sproul. This isn’t something that comes along every day! I thought it would be interesting to have an open mic, so to speak, allowing those of you who read this site to suggest questions I may like to ask him.…
3 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor – R.C. Sproul Jr. offers up three really good ways to encourage your pastor. As I read these, I realized that though I am a pastor, I ought to be more deliberate in encouraging the other pastors at my church! Building Healthy Churches – 9Marks has just released a…
I first met Lee Dyck at a men’s retreat. I had been asked to lead a retreat for the men of his church and over the course of the weekend he told me about Emma, the daughter who had just been adopted into his family. That was a couple of years ago now, but just…
A Prayer for Cuba – Carolyn McCulley: “Few Americans have traveled to modern Cuba. But I had the privilege of visiting there in August 2011, right before some of the travel restrictions for Americans were lifted. Because we did not travel with a tour group, we had a credible view of real Cuban life.” Meet…
Today I’ve got another batch of books that I didn’t review. Life is such that there are lots of great books that I just cannot find the time to read and many other books I’m simply not qualified to review. These books tend to find their way into these round-ups of the ones I received…
You never want to waste a good crisis. That is true in politics and religion and any other field that values ideology, that values one thing over another or one thing in place of another. As Christians we know that the Lord often uses times of crisis to call people to himself, that when people…
Celebrity Pastors – This article from TGC has some good things to say about celebrityism and celebrity pastors. “But celebrity comes for a variety of reasons. It’s worth differentiating between the kinds of celebrities generally, and between celebrity pastors in particular.” What the Tolerant Must Tolerate – “To be a serious Christian in modern Western…
The relationship of Christians and alcohol is one of those perennial issues. It has often been the source of heated disagreement and even separation. It is a particularly important topic in the United States, but, since much of the rest of the world is culturally downstream from the U.S., it effects every Christian to some…
Next April will bring the 2012 Together for the Gospel Conference–the 4th of these bi-annual conferences. What began in 2006 as a meeting between friends has expanded into a very large event with thousands attending. With a new, bigger venue, next year’s event promises to be bigger than ever. With the early bird registration period…
Courageous Christianity? – The film Courageous has received near-unanimous praise in the Christian world. White Horse Inn has a more critical take. “Art being reduced as a vehicle for sermonizing is problematic enough, but even more so is the type of sermon being preached. The emphasis on personal morality and simplistic transformation turn this film…
I am down in Dallas, TX for the day. Or Fort Worth. Or Keller or something like that. Frankly I don’t know where I am. But I know why I’m here–to speak at a Psalm 119 conference. Unfortunately I can only be here for the first day of the conference as I’ve got a wedding…
We’ve got one more day in the South before we begin to head north again. We’ll miss the people, but probably won’t miss the intense heat. Not that Toronto is all that much better this time of year. But still, a degree here and a degree there can make all the difference. Dangerous Influences –…
Banning Weird Names – “In the past two years, the country [New Zealand] has banned 102 names deemed to be too out there. The list includes Baron, Bishop, Duke, General, Judge, Justice, King, Knight and Mr. Those names were banned because they were deemed to be too similar to titles. The name Messiah has also…
Ringold, GA – My sister and her family live in Ringgold, GA, a town flattened by a tornado. We’re praising God that he saw fit to keep the family and their home safe. The Big Picture has photos of the destruction in other southern towns. The size and scope of this disaster is just shocking…
I get to spend the day in Grand Rapids, hanging around the Zondervan offices and trying to plot out my next book. A few days ago I solicited some suggestions. Thanks to those who sent them along; several of them were quite good! I hope that today brings some clarity. Sexting Epidemic – Denny Burk…
It’s looking like another great day in Orlando. It’s quite a conference Ligonier puts on and I’m enjoying it thoroughly. I’ve also enjoyed meeting quite a number of readers of this blog as well. And I suppose I’ll meet a few more when I do a book signing a bit later in the day. If…
Questions about Evangelism – J.D. Payne (whose new book on evangelism just turned up in my mailbox yesterday) answers some questions about evangelism. Fukushima Nuclear Accident – Once more I’d direct your attention to this site for information about what’s going on at the nuclear power plants in Japan. The author has a very different…