I know I’m getting old and all that, and I’m aware this means that I’ll be tempted to look unfavorably at people who are younger than myself. I know I’ll be tempted to consider what people were like when I was young and to stand in judgment of what people are like today. Yet even with all that in mind, it’s undeniable that the younger generation today is different from the generations that came before it. That difference is expressed in many different ways, though perhaps the ones we notice most are the levels of anxiety experienced by young people along with their relationship to social med ..read more

Euthanasia makes a lot of sense. At least in our culture at this time, it makes intuitive sense that those who are ill without hope for a cure or those who are in pain without likelihood of relief ought to be able to choose to end their own lives. Our culture assumes there are few higher virtues than autonomy and that an individual’s right to self-government should extend even to matters of life and death. Hence we see the rising acceptance and legalization of euthanasia throughout the West, though it comes in the form of several variations and euphemisms—physician-assisted death, physician ..read more

As I travel the world, I love to visit locations that are especially noteworthy within the history of the Christian faith. These may be spots where great events unfolded or spots where great people once lived or labored. Sadly, it is rare that these locations are still in any way consecrated to the Lord and to the spread of the gospel. In many of these places, you’re more likely to hear about the sexual revolution than the Protestant Reformation and more likely to have a guide lead you toward atheism than Christianity. I once found a notable exception, though, in the Netherlands. The Watchma ..read more

There are certain categories of books that you can read once and never return to—you read a single title on that subject and it tells you all you ever need to know about it. But there are other categories of books that you need to return to on a regular basis. In my experience, that includes books on giving—on living a life marked by financial generosity. Over time I find my natural tendency is toward keeping rather than giving, toward saving rather than freely distributing. So I need to regularly read books that will interrupt my apathy and reaffirm what I know to be good and true. Gospel Ge ..read more

I admit it: I felt a little skeptical about Ask Pastor John. To be fair, I feel skeptical about most books that begin in one medium before making the leap to another. Books based on sermons, for example, can often be pretty disappointing—a powerful sermon at a conference can make a bland chapter in a book. Yet once I got into this book, once I saw what it is and isn’t, and once I began to actually read it, my skepticism quickly subsided. Ask Pastor John Tony Reinke Buy from Amazon Buy from Westminster Books Perhaps the most important thing to note about Ask Pastor John is that the autho ..read more

There is much to love and appreciate about our God, much for which we ought to give him praise and thanks. One of the attributes we may consider too seldom is his goodness, and as an aspect or component of his goodness, his kindness. And that is the subject of Nate Pickowicz’s new book The Kindness of God: Beholding His Goodness in a Cruel World. The Kindness of God Nate Pickowicz Buy from Amazon Buy from store The fact is that we live in an unkind world. We live in a broken world in which we sin and grieve and suffer. We live in a world in which evil comes to each of us and in which evi ..read more

The United States has produced more than its fair share of fascinating figures. Over the course of its storied history, it has produced a host of figures who have shaped the nation, the continent, and the world. Many of these have been its presidents and politicians, though others have been its inventors, its business leaders, or those who have in other ways shaped public morality. While each of these people has a public side, they also have a private side. And sometimes people who make a great impact publicly can live with great immorality privately. In the late 1990s, the Clinton/Lewinsky ..read more

There is nothing new and nothing particularly unusual about apostasy—about people who once professed the Christian faith coming to deny it. From the early church to the present day, we have witnessed a long and sad succession of people walking away from Christianity and often doing so with expressions of anger, animosity, and personal superiority. Yet while apostasy is not new, the modern nomenclature is: Today it is often referred to as “deconstruction.” And the specific form it takes is new as well—people using social media to chart their rejection of the Christian faith and to join with o ..read more

I still remember, and may never forget, the first time I stopped to consider envy. I was reading a book by Os Guinness and was blindsided by a section on that particular sin. I immediately understood that it was prominent in my life and immediately began to take steps to address it. The process took some time and the sin still lingers, but its power has been broken and its grip diminished. I am still prone to occasional bouts of envy, but, by grace, I have learned to identify it and counter it. Envy Mike Fabarez Buy from Amazon Because I know I am prone to the sin of envy, I find value in ..read more

An election year is upon us and with it all the debate, suspicion, and rancor that is sure to accompany the culmination of another four-year cycle. Though the election is still months away, I’m already dreading the inevitable interpersonal struggles that will come with it and even the strains it may bring to the unity of my local church. What’s crazy is that we don’t even live in the country that will be holding the election. Yet because America is so close, so powerful, and so culturally dominant, its debates inevitably extend above the 49th parallel and across the world. Love the Ones Who ..read more