When it comes to child care costs, Dave Ramsey is the one who’s ‘dumber than crap’

This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on February 9, 2024. “Come on dude. That’s just dumber than crap. Seriously. Good God,” the conservative evangelical financial celebrity and New York Times bestselling author Dave Ramsey ranted at a parent who called into his radio program asking for advice. Ramsey’s co-host Jade Warshaw piled on, “It’s time to take the […]

A response to Tish Harrison Warren about livestreaming worship

This article originally appeared on February 1, 2022 at Baptist News Global. “I think it’s time to drop the virtual option,” says Tish Harrison Warren in an op-ed for the New York Times, arguing that churches should stop livestreaming their services. She explains: “Bodies, with all the risk, danger, limits, mortality and vulnerability that they bring, are […]

Lessons learned during the pandemic as a parent who found joy in the desert

This article originally appeared on July 7, 2021 at Baptist News Global. Months ago, we sat around the wooden table in our booth, enjoying our food and reminding our kids to be mindful of the other customers around us. With five kids under the age of 10, it isn’t an everyday experience to be able to […]

Of wonders and wounds, cloister gardens and chasmic Christianity

This article originally appeared on January 5, 2021 at Baptist News Global. The day I walked out of church, I had just finished assisting our children’s church lesson about how God created the world in six literal days. God had put the first two humans in a garden with one rule, and then sent them into […]

I’m a stay-at-home dad who’s learning the power of relationships

This article originally appeared on September 23, 2020 at Baptist News Global. I’m a stay-at-home dad for five kids under the age of 10. One of the most common responses to my recent piece about how John MacArthur doesn’t love his neighbor has been people attacking me for being a stay-at-home dad. Who am I as a stay-at-home […]

Coronavirus summer highlights the best and worst in Christian camps

This article originally appeared on August 4, 2020 at Baptist News Global. I stood next to my friend in the parking lot of our Baptist church with my large suitcase while our moms took our photographs. I was 8 years old. And I was about to experience my first time away from my parents overnight at […]

How John MacArthur loves the Bible but not his neighbor

This article originally appeared on July 28, 2020 at Baptist News Global. As he walked across the stage July 26 to the large, wooden pulpit, the auditorium that seats 3,500 people was filled with non-masked, non-socially distanced conservative evangelicals with another 1,000 people gathered outside who all jumped to their feet for a standing ovation. The […]

Eucharistic Presence For a Church in Exile

This article originally appeared on July 24, 2020 at Worship Overflow and reflects my desires at the time for churches entering into the Covid-19 pandemic. Little did the Church know at the beginning of March 2020, the opportunity that was about to present itself to us. Many of us have lived our entire lives attending […]

In ‘Hamilton’ King George has Calvin on his side

I watched “Hamilton” last night for the first time. And I was struck by the parallels in King George’s song You’ll Be Back to the Calvinistic view of God. The lyrics say: “The price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay …Now you’re making me mad …And when push comes to shoveI will […]

Worshiping With Our Universal Family

This article originally appeared on March 28, 2020 at Worship Overflow and reflects my desires at the time for churches entering into the Covid-19 pandemic. As the coronavirus spreads throughout the world, many churches are canceling their services for the foreseeable future. I obviously have not done an exhaustive study of how churches are handling […]

The Church in Lonely Exile

This article originally appeared on March 23, 2020 at Worship Overflow and reflects my desires at the time for churches entering into the Covid-19 pandemic. As our days of staying home due to the coronavirus turn into weeks, Christians are feeling something they have most likely never felt on Sunday mornings before, at least in the West. […]

Loving Our Lonely Exile

This article originally appeared on March 23, 2020 at Worship Overflow and reflects my desires at the time for churches entering into the Covid-19 pandemic. One of my deepest wounds that I’ve carried in life has been the wound of identifying with lonely exile. Last year, as I was talking about my career and ministry […]