Claudine Gay was only president of Harvard for six months before she had to resign due to charges of plagiarism. One could argue that the politics surrounding her resignation had more to do with her tolerance for antisemitism on Harvard’s campus, but plagiarism was the formal charge. In light of the great anxiety AI is … Continue reading Who Wrote the Sermon That You Will Hear Tomorrow?
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What Stayed Dead on Sunday Morning
Easter Communion Meditation 2024 Since we are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior on this Lord’s Day, it’s safe to assume that our communion meditation will have something to do with resurrection. And you would be right, except that I want us to think about what stayed dead on Sunday morning. That’s right, … Continue reading What Stayed Dead on Sunday Morning
The Awful Individual
There is only one kind of person that makes an appropriate individual; the rest of us must be formed into societies. But modernity loves the awful individual, who makes the best consumer and the most manageable citizen – especially for overreaching governments. The awful individual is the aspirational persona in the modern world. The awful … Continue reading The Awful Individual
Your Greatest Moment of Worship
If I asked you when your greatest moment of worship took place, what would your mind run to? Would you think of a particularly powerful moment in a song service when you felt your soul flooded with love for God? That wouldn’t be surprising, since “worship” in the western church is nearly synonymous with music. … Continue reading Your Greatest Moment of Worship
When Troubles Rise
3 Truths to Remember When Troubles Rise
What Your Employer Can’t Afford
In the past twenty-two years I have really only worked for three companies (besides a blip on the radar) with the largest having around thirty employees. There are, however, at least two companies located in my city that are worth billions. While my employers were carefully scrutinizing the fiscal benefits of adding an employee, these … Continue reading What Your Employer Can’t Afford
The Task Unfinished
Communion Meditation - February 2024 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all … Continue reading The Task Unfinished
The Brouhaha, Part II
When a group of families sued the Classical Christian school that my kids attend, I wrote a rather long post with the goal, not of affirming or denying the charges, but of providing some biblical categories for pursuing justice. Since that time several things have taken place: 1) several families removed their students from enrollment, … Continue reading The Brouhaha, Part II
A Word on Sozo Healing
Sozo Healing (from the Greek σώζω, translated “save” or “deliver” and used 110 times in the New Testament) is described by Bethel ministry as “a gentle, yet powerful, tool for inner healing and deliverance” on their website (links at the bottom of this post). A friend asked me to look into this and so, always … Continue reading A Word on Sozo Healing
The Loss of Will
HR McMasters often speaks of breaking the enemy’s will to fight. Your enemy may have the resources to fight, but if your enemy lacks the will to fight then victory is nigh guaranteed. The Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion is a dramatic testament to the power of will. Regardless of your opinions of that … Continue reading The Loss of Will
What Every Pastor Should Want for Himself
About seven years ago I started a new job in the lighting industry: I went to work for a rep firm. Until that point I had worked in a showroom and then as a sales manager at a local lighting distributor, so I had a background in the field. I was actually on my way … Continue reading What Every Pastor Should Want for Himself
3 New Year Resolutions for the Church
I'm a couple weeks late on this one, but as we are almost a quarter of a way through another century, I think we need some high and lofty resolutions for the Church. Small changes really can make a difference, but we also need goals that are somewhat visionary: they paint a picture on a … Continue reading 3 New Year Resolutions for the Church
Footprints in the Snow
I discovered so many strange things without leaving the sidewalk
She Rises
She is ageless – at times a toddler that needs buckled into a high chair and at times a bride walking down the aisle on her wedding day. Sometimes she strokes my hand in my old age and other times she nuzzles into my arms as I carry her on a windy November morning. These … Continue reading She Rises
On Taking the Safety
The 2003 Patriots, vying for the top playoff seed in the AFC, faced the Denver Broncos in week 9 of their season. (If you don't care about football, stay with me for a minute. It might be worth it.) They were coming off a grueling game against the Browns and Denver got off to a … Continue reading On Taking the Safety
The Brouhaha
A sequel to this point can be found here With the hope of bringing some clarity – whilst at the risk of flaming the fire – I am going to endeavor to make some remarks that I hope are biblical, wise, and applicable to a fracas that has lately erupted at the school in which … Continue reading The Brouhaha
The Worst Cancer Ever
“I’m sorry to have to tell you that the test came back and it is cancer” is a sentence we all dread to hear. Typically this would be followed by treatment options if there were sufficient time. But what if you had a new and unique kind of cancer that defied all treatment? What if … Continue reading The Worst Cancer Ever
My Disposable Notes
What happens to your old sermon notes?
It’s Good to be a Man
Sunday evening. Late July humidity seeps into the deep corners of the shade, but the water pump on the minivan needs replaced. Belt has to come off from under the engine. Motor mount has to be removed from above. Three hours of sweat and grease and engine coolant later, mixed with a little knuckle blood, … Continue reading It’s Good to be a Man
The First Financial Lesson
What's the first financial lesson you should teach your kids?
Terminal Pre-natal Diagnosis: Choosing Life
Being pro-life with a terminal pre-natal diagnosis.
Communion Meditation
Communion meditation for July, 2023
Cancer and Pregnancy: Choosing Life
My wonderful sister-in-law shares her experience of finding out she was pregnant two days after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
The Pro-Life Position
A simple explanation of the pro-life position.
As Soon As…
My life will be fruitful as soon as...
On Ordaining Women, Part II – What is a Masculine Pulpit?
A follow-up post regarding the masculine virtues needed in the pastorate.
On Ordaining Women to the Pastorate
Thoughts on women being ordained to the pastorate in light of the SBC's decision to disassociate Saddleback Church
The Lord Shut Him In
I don't like tight spaces. The first time I remember panicking was when, during a sleepover at my buddy's house, we were playing some sort of hide and seek game. I had found a cubbyhole to hide in and my pal, attempting to help me, blocked the entrance with a bunch of pillows so no … Continue reading The Lord Shut Him In
How to Establish a Christian Household, Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I gave a basic definition of a household and what makes it distinctly Christian. With this foundation, we're well on our way to figuring out the nuts and bolts of establishing a Christian household. But first, let me give you a basic example/test of whether or not you have … Continue reading How to Establish a Christian Household, Part 2
How to Establish a Christian Household
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; Ephesians 2:19 I would like to make the case today (and perhaps in some coming posts) about the need for Christians to begin to think differently about their families. Christians, in particular husbands, need to … Continue reading How to Establish a Christian Household
Facing Down Inflation
My reading this year has included some healthy doses on economics from the likes of Adam Smith, George Gilder, Thomas Sowell, Milton Friedman, and David Bahnsen. Inflation simply means that consumers are paying more dollars for the same goods and services, leaving many families gasping for financial air. It is certainly reasonable for folks to … Continue reading Facing Down Inflation
Rejoicing Over Roe, with an Asterisk
Christians everywhere should unequivocally rejoice over the end of Roe. Since Roe, over 60 million babies have been killed in the womb. In the most recent Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Supreme Court has affirmed that there is no constitutional right to an abortion (which makes sense, because there … Continue reading Rejoicing Over Roe, with an Asterisk
How American Workers are Redeeming Their Employers from Rigor Mortis
In the last two weeks I have been clubbed into a senseless stupor by the lifeless policies and procedures of 2 large American companies, only to be revived by acts of genuine and personal helpfulness of the employees of those companies. Here are my stories. Story 1 - Lowes I ordered some cabinetry online for … Continue reading How American Workers are Redeeming Their Employers from Rigor Mortis
Maintaining Marital Fidelity: The Danger of Gaps
It was pretty early on in our marriage-before kids anyway-when we got into a bit of a kerfuffle at church. There's something extra terrible about getting into a kerfuffle at church, especially when you're the pastor and your job is to stand up and declare the eternal glories of Christ. I'm sure it was hard … Continue reading Maintaining Marital Fidelity: The Danger of Gaps
What I Want for my Daughters to Want
What I want for my daughters
The Unborn – A Biblical Primer
Bible passages about the unborn.
Complimentary Sanctification
Today I would like to make the case that sanctification, the process of growing and maturing into Christ-likeness, is most fruitful when the efforts of the public and the personal are complimentary. The need for 2 different approaches in these settings is due to pacing, and I'll flesh that out below. In Scripture, we find … Continue reading Complimentary Sanctification
Capitalism and Evolution
Wealth and Poverty George Gilder
Tactile
The resurgence of vinyl records and the inescapable embodiment of humanity
2 Hats the Pastor Must Not Wear
Over the last couple of years as ministry has changed for many churches, I find myself occasionally talking to a friend or colleague who left pastoral ministry and has found himself looking for employment in the secular world. Job interviews inevitably get around to asking about employment history, experience, and skill sets. How does a … Continue reading 2 Hats the Pastor Must Not Wear
In Which Baloo Explains the Importance of Ontology
It was probably 1991 and one of my refuges during a year back in my birth country was American cartoons; cartoons like Talespin. In a way I envy my children who at ages 8 and below are able to navigate multiple streaming services to find the show they want. At age 11, I felt like … Continue reading In Which Baloo Explains the Importance of Ontology
A Year Later
It was a year ago that we went in for our first specialist visit to discover the extent of our unborn daughter's heart condition. Katie was somewhere around 21 weeks and we had just celebrated Christmas. We laid our little girl to rest on March 19, and two weeks ago we were finally able to … Continue reading A Year Later
An Unreasoning Faith
It has to be the most unrealistic illustration ever. No one who has been present when a child is born thinks that on any such occasion since the dawn of time would the sudden presence of shepherds bring about joy. Why not throw in a few foreign dignitaries for fun? Nevertheless, this was the last … Continue reading An Unreasoning Faith
A Simple Paradigm for Pastoral Ministry
Our family's first computer, purchased in 1995, used an MS-DOS operating system that required typing individual commands at a prompt. My dad purchased "DOS for Dummies" and was off to the races. Now, many many many years later, the complexity of those earlier code based systems has a simple interface that only requires users to … Continue reading A Simple Paradigm for Pastoral Ministry
Bring Back the Weddings / Bring Back the Funerals
A request to have more weddings and funerals at your local church.
Why Are Elders Held to A Higher Standard?
There are two issues that make this a pertinent question to ask: 1) the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer, and 2) the egalitarianism of our culture. The priesthood of the believer states that all believers share a priestly status so that no mediator outside of Christ is necessary. The protestant Reformation broke from … Continue reading Why Are Elders Held to A Higher Standard?
Resources for Laymen
Book recommendations for laymen in the church.
I Love Your Body
On a warm Spring day, you laid a blanket on the grass and met me with a picnic basket on my lunch break. There, in front of our first house, you told me that we were expecting our first child. When summer had faded into Fall and and Fall had frozen over into winter, I … Continue reading I Love Your Body
Bring on the Babies
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, Luke 1:5 How has the world changed since the days of Herod, the king of Judaea? If we lived in that day and age we would be hard tasked to draw our water from a well instead of the … Continue reading Bring on the Babies
The David Movie: A Critical Review
On Thursday we took our kids to see the new David movie, from Angel Studios. We had already watched the “Young David” episodes streaming on Angel and were favorably impressed. I went because my kids asked me to go, but I was not particularly excited to see another sterilized version of a favorite Bible story. … Continue reading The David Movie: A Critical Review
To a young man from whom I am estranged
Dear Sam (name changed for anonymity), When I did not hear back from you through any of the contact information I had, I reached out to your dad. He informed me that there has been an estrangement between you and that he has no way of contacting you. I don’t know whether to interpret your … Continue reading To a young man from whom I am estranged
Lex & Deanna – A Wedding Homily
A wedding homily
The Sin of Judgementalism
What does "judge not that ye be not judged" really mean?
The Broken Tablets and the Broken Body
(Communion Meditation November 2025) Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the … Continue reading The Broken Tablets and the Broken Body
The Problem with the Jews vs the Problem of the Joooze
Americans are brash. British are diffident. Russians are fine in small numbers, but get too many of them in the same room and all of a sudden it’s like “We are RUSSIAN”. We could talk about the French, about the Mexicans, and every other ethnic group on the planet, and I would argue that we … Continue reading The Problem with the Jews vs the Problem of the Joooze
Justification
October, 2025 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through … Continue reading Justification
The Good Guys
In which I argue that Ukraine and Israel are the good guys in their respective conflicts
The Most Judgmental Jesus You Will Ever Meet
Communion Meditation - September 2025 It is an interesting time in the growth of Christianity across the world where Christians are routinely accused of being judgmental, particularly towards whatever sin happens to be in vogue. Just by way of perspective, when Christianity first began it was considered a weak religion for offering so much mercy. … Continue reading The Most Judgmental Jesus You Will Ever Meet
Why Charlie Kirk Had to Die
I was on the road at 4AM and it seems like all I could think about was Charlie Kirk. Three hours of windshield time to consider this tragic murder. This political assassination. While the manhunt is still underway for the killer, my mind went to the question of why Charlie Kirk in particular would present … Continue reading Why Charlie Kirk Had to Die
Nathan Writes 