Gaining a heart of wisdom
Starting in the book of Acts, the history of missions is characterized by controversy. It may have begun when Paul and company set out with freshly-minted instructions from the Jerusalem Council, defining the parameters of the message they were sharing. It was certainly evident when the citizens of Lystra decided to fold Paul and Barnabas… Continue reading The Missionary Experience: A Path of Faith in the Midst of Paradox
It should come as no surprise when a brain that has been marinating for decades in North American evangelical culture has an immediate and visceral response to the names of prominent historical Christians: C.S. Lewis: Green light and heart emojis (but, remember, he did smoke . . .) Francis Schaeffer: Amazing intellect, but too bad… Continue reading The Life and Theology of Karl Barth
Published in 1927, My Utmost for His Highest has sold more than 13 million copies and has never been out of print. Over the course of its 90+ year history, it has been translated into 40 different languages, and Oswald Chambers's unique and timeless wisdom is quoted far and wide. However, until recently, little thought has been… Continue reading Biddy Chambers: A Sacramental Life
"One death is a tragedy. One million deaths is a statistic." ~Joseph Stalin Banking on this banality of evil, the Khmer Rouge murdered or starved 1.7 million Cambodian citizens during the years in which they were in power, all with an eye toward establishing themselves and their Community ideology. Having wiped out 25%… Continue reading Love, Faith, and Courage in the Killing Fields
Her story has all the makings of a melancholy fairy tale: award-winning poet and brilliant writer caught in a disastrous marriage flees to England and meets the world-renowned author she has been pen-friends with since first reading his books. Following her divorce, they marry and enjoy four years of bliss until her death from cancer… Continue reading Joy Davidman Lewis, Author
For the past twenty-one years, my designated occupation on our tax forms and all official (and unofficial) documents has been "domestic diva." Given the flashy title, my house should look a lot better than it does, but my fierce and steadfast focus within that job title has been to raise four young men to love… Continue reading Love Them Into Being
The only thing better than a good biography is SEVEN good biographies, and that's what Eric Metaxas offers in 7 Women and the Secret of Their Greatness. Through touching down at seven distinct historical and geographical points, my mind was coaxed beyond its tendency to "see everything in the dark glass of [my] own era, with… Continue reading Seven Women. Seven Virtues.
As a child of the Cold War era, I learned a chilling fascination for anything to do with "The Iron Curtain." When my high school music teacher started spending her summer vacations on short-term missions trips to Eastern Europe, I was certain that I, too, would be called to minister in lands closed to the… Continue reading Brother Andrew: Still Opening Doors
During their years of captivity, the people of Israel needed encouragement. The prophet Zephaniah reminded them of God's presence in their midst, His power to save, and the fact that He rejoiced in His love for them, a joy that was expressed in song! "The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will… Continue reading New Girl. New Song.
There is a way of speaking and writing that travels well, that finds its way into the small spaces of full days and busy brains so that truth, like a clinging burdock seed, gets caught and carried along for the ride. Tony Reinke has portrayed this aspect of John Newton's theology in Newton on the… Continue reading An Ocean of Theology in a Thimble
Living Our Days 