Ministry is hard. As those who serve in ministry are often reminded, ministry was intended to be that way: 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their…

I recently began a new teaching position as the Bible department head at a Christian school in Texas. I am beginning all of my classes in the Gospels, and in each Gospel in the account of Jesus’ baptism at the beginning of his ministry. During the baptism of Jesus, the…

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 We live in a culture that often discusses peace. The United States military has a global military presence to attempt to prevent war and “maintain peace.” An ideal vacation is one in a location that is…

We live in a culture that is driven by fear. If you look at recent news, it is easy to find sensationalized “reporting” that is geared towards increasing viewership. Fear causes us to react instead of responding in faith, love, and obedience. Jesus was aware of the fear of his…

When reading Scripture, it’s so important to understand context. We need to not only answer the question “What does the text say?” but also the questions “How does the text say it?” and “Why does the text say it that way?” …

We recently did an interview with Dr. Ron Frost. It was a game-changer. One of the main topics that Dr. Frost likes to discuss is “affective theology,” which is a theology that is less Western-philosophically and rules-based and instead based on the love of God. Think — less emphasis on…

One year ago today, just a couple of weeks into the Covid-19 pandemic, my Jr. High director, Jonah, and I did the most drawn-out April Fool’s joke on YouTube live. Our youth group had been moved entirely online at that point and I thought everyone could use a little humor…

Many Christians in the United States struggle to really look like Jesus and separate themselves from the culture around them. We emphasize obedience to the point where rules dominate but relationship with God and others is an afterthought. For example, we can really emphasize things like church attendance, tithing, and…

A trend I have begun with our high school retreats is teaching through a whole book of the Bible. This is done for a couple of reasons: Given the setting, I have the ability to go longer in my messages. After a long day at school on Wednesdays, students have…