Thanks primarily to Donald Trump’s rhetoric, some Christians have been quoting the Apostle John lately: “perfect love casts out fear.” I’m no Trump supporter, but I think these words have been misinterpreted. What they actually mean can help us during this election season! To be clear, I think love often takes risks. It often includes […]

Many Christians believe Jesus never fails. But that’s not what scripture says. Our acknowledging that Jesus sometimes failed can help us make sense of life and live more abundantly. Jesus Cannot Heal All One my favorite examples (among others) of Jesus failing is his attempt to do miracles in his hometown. The people of Nazareth […]

The well-being of the world depends, in part, upon our decisions to promote overall well-being. That’s just a fancy way of saying: we need to love! Many people know that love, altruism, and compassion plays central roles for making sense of life and living life well. For centuries, various religious traditions and philosophers have recognized this. […]

I thank Derek Rishmawy for his Christianity Today review of my new book, The Uncontrolling Love of God.  I offer this response as a way to clarify and note differences between Derek’s views and my own.

The Revenant is in my opinion and the opinions of many, this year’s best picture. Revenge, a common plotline of action movies, drives the main character. But The Revenant’s storylines and conclusion raise questions about who properly takes revenge. The movie is based on the true struggle for survival of trapper-hunter Hugh Glass (played by […]

We all want to make sense of life. The stakes for Christians in the endeavor to make sense of life are as high as stakes can be. I’ve been thinking for some time about two major questions in my quest to make sense of life. The first is familiar to just about everyone, at least […]

The way we interpret the Bible makes a difference. I’ve been reflecting on my past biblical interpretation in light of environmental concerns and animal care. One of the best loved verses of Scripture — and one many Christians memorized at an early age — is John 3:16. Here is the version I learned as a […]

In my previous essay, I talked about what forgiveness is not. Now let me talk about what it is. As I write this, I’m aware that I can’t cover all topics related to forgiveness. And I’m aware that I speak primarily from my own experience, aided by my interpretation of the wisdom found in Scripture, […]

A series of painful events in my life have me pondering anew the meaning of forgiveness. Family and friends have also asked for help as they struggle to forgive those who hurt them. I want to share some ideas I’ve found helpful in my own efforts to forgive in the midst of pain. An impressive […]

I spoke at The Table church about what has been happening in my life and at Northwest Nazarene University in recent weeks, months, and years. I tried to share my testimony in terms of ten love lessons I have been learning. The full talk/sermon was recorded as a video (thanks, Hal Paul), and you can […]