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In Praise of Uselessness
I’ve created a new space on this site that was really what this page was originally about: a place to write anything. I’m calling it the “wanderlog.” This ultimately is a category to protect me from me, to give me permission to write anything without purpose, without apology. Of course, I very much hope that it’s not useless, but I’m giving myself permission to be useless. And really, that’s an important value to protect. Usefulness is good, but the world pushes you to make it ultimate. I may have shared this before (maybe I should give myself permission to be repetitive, too!) but I really connected with something I heard…
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Something True, Revisited
I have two blogs and rarely contribute to either one. Why is that? It’s because I’m a writer. That’s what I do when I have time to myself. It’s what I do because I have no other choice. It’s how I see myself and how I want to be seen. Of course, I want to be seen as more than that. I don’t want to be mistaken for some caricature. So I have a YouTube space so I can share educational videos, and I have a SoundCloud account so I can share music and sermons, and I have an Instagram account so I can share pictures. I enjoy these things.…
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ETS ’21 Annual Meeting Review
Greetings! I am thrilled to be taking part in one of the few traditions I have on this site: my review of the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. What follows is not exactly hard-hitting journalism so much as reflections in gratitude on what I learned, largely for the sake of those who couldn’t be there. This year’s meeting was in Ft. Worth, Texas, and I couldn’t resist the chance to drive down and explore my old hometown of DFW. This made for a long solo drive, but I enjoyed decent weather and beautiful fall colors the whole way down. (As for the way back, well…what a difference a…
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The Gospel
For my second sermon, I decided to tackle a big topic: the Gospel. In retrospect, this was a bad idea. The passion I had to talk about it was reflective of the passion my church family had to talk as well. Such an important topic deserves extra attention, and I remember walking away knowing I made more than a few rookie mistakes. As tempting as it is to serve up only the “greatest hits,” I think it’s better to be real in this line of work. So in that spirit, here is the manuscript for my sermon on 1 Corinthians 15, delivered at First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant, MI,…
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The Stolen Blessing
My very first invitation to preach was at the church where I grew up, First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Since it was my first, I decided to start with my best sermon from preaching class and polish it up. You can also read the manuscript below: Preface & Prayer Before I begin I just want to thank you all for the privilege of opening God’s Word with you this morning. Jenny and I have been gone for six years now, but I’ve never stopped calling this my home church. I was baptized here, married here, and I learned to serve here. Many of you were my teachers in…