My Facebook feed has been blowing up with Epiphany posts lately. You may have noticed that some of your friends have recently observed Epiphany and wondered what the fuss was all about. Epiphany is the “Twelfth Day of Christmas,” celebrating the revelation of God. Typical stories on and around this...

The crèche is a familiar sight during this time of the year. You can find simple nativity scenes on the mantles of homes, and more elaborate ones on town squares. Some churches even host live nativity scenes, complete with costumed characters and barnyard animals. Have you ever noticed that in many...

On November 29, my wife and I became grandparents for the first time. When I walked into the hospital to see my daughter cuddling little Charlotte, it was a magical moment, just like it was when all three of our children came into the world. The season of Advent is...

The political season seems to bring out the worst in some people. With midterm elections around the corner, I have seen snarky, rude and arrogant social media posts from both sides of the aisle.  Sadly, many Christians get caught up in this. To read their Facebook and Twitter pages, you would...

“How many of you here have ever doubted your belief that there is no God?” That was the question posed by radio commentator Dennis Prager at an annual American Atheists convention. A devout Jew, Prager noted that not one hand went up in the audience. Later, Prager noted, “I found...

I haven’t blogged all summer because, well, I’ve been depressed. I won’t go into details, but my family and I have slogged through some serious health and employment issues this year. These crises have spiked my anxiety levels and put the monkey of depression on my back once again. An...

I’m a United Methodist, which means we meet a lot. One of our biggest meetings is annual conference which, as the name implies, is a yearly gathering. This past week, we met in Waco for three days, where we worshiped, heard reports, and deliberated on a number of important issues,...

Are wives to submit to their husbands? Paige Patterson, the recently-ousted president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, thinks so.  But now, in light of the Me Too movement, Dr. Patterson is in hot water for tapes that have surfaced of him allegedly preaching that wives should be submissive instead of...

Leave your Bible on the bookshelf, where it belongs. At least, that’s the recommendation of the editors at GQ Magazine, who listed the Holy Canon among the “21 Books You Don’t Have to Read.” The reason? The Bible is “repetitive, self-contradictory, sententious, foolish, and even at times ill-intentioned.” That’s quite a list. ...

“Is that really the way you talk?” the woman asked with a little chuckle. I was preaching at an out-of-state event and meeting some of the leaders in the church. “Yep,” I replied. “This voice is all mine!” I guess the woman had never heard a real-live Texan before. We...