It’s hard to estimate the impact Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, Life Together has had on my concept of pastoral ministry. And maybe no sentence has ever impacted my work more than Bonhoeffer’s, “God hates visionary dreaming.” I’m honored to have been able to share more about this passage in a recent article on Christianity Today Pastors....

Can you imagine Ron Swanson waking up to discover he was suddenly allergic to meat? No steaks, no brats, no bacon, no cheeseburgers. Can you imagine his reaction? It would have made a great episode, but maybe it sounds too far fetched. Believe it or not, a meat allergy is a real thing, and I...

This year’s debate between Jordan Peterson and Slavoj Žižek was marketed as one of the greatest intellectual debates of the century. At one point, tickets were being scalped for over $1,500 a seat. To many’s disappointment, but probably for the best, the event went off without the anticipated drama. Peterson and Žižek managed to find...

I recently found a computer emulator for playing vintage Super Nintendo games. And who knew you could buy USB Nintendo controllers on Amazon for eight bucks. Two days of waiting for our Prime package to arrive, and I sat down to introduce my son to the video games of my childhood. The first game I...

When season eight of Game of Thrones (GOT) premiered this year, HBO estimated that 17.4 million viewers were watching. Considering GOT is one of the most pirated shows in history, that number is probably much higher. HBO has spent more than 90 million dollars marketing the final season, and experts are estimating that the finale...

Round of applause for yourself. If you are reading this, you are a part of the minority these days. A 2016 study conducted by Columbia University found that 59% of the links shared on social media weren’t ever clicked by the person who shared them. That means almost 60% of the articles your friends recommended...

This winter, Netflix officially removed Moana from its catalog of streaming movies, a devastating blow to my house with two pre-schoolers. It had easily been the most played show on our account for the better part of 2018. My kids love Moana, and I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed it too. Thankfully my kids are...

This week, Benjamin Vrbicek released his new book, Don’t Just Send a Resume: How to Find the Right Job in a Local Church. I was honored to not only provide the book an endorsement but also to have contributed an article on bi-vocational ministry. Benjamin has kindly given me permission to share my portion. I hope...

Recently, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing several other podcast hosts on the Pastor Writer podcast. These days, there are some great podcasts for Christian writers. I thought I’d pass along a list of a few shows I’ve been enjoying. PS: If you enjoy a podcast, the best gift you can give this Christmas is a review....

“The modern hero is the outsider. His experience is rootless. He can go anywhere. He belongs nowhere. Being alien to nothing, he ends up being alienated from any type of community based on common tastes and interests. The borders of his country are the sides of his skull.” ― Flannery O’Connor, The Catholic Novelist in...