Christian, husband, father, churchman, author, speaker.
Meet AlexWe have an unfortunate way of domesticating the Great Commission. We nod along at “go and make disciples,” then quietly file it under the work of professionals—the missionary, the pastor, the unusually bold few—while the rest of us go about our worldly affairs. I have caught myself doing exactly this: applauding the goer while keeping … Continue reading A Manual for Mission: 6 Lessons for Senders and the Sent From Luke 10
God is a global God—and it’s also clear that he has had a heart for Africa from the beginning of redemptive history. The earliest sojournings of the patriarchs found them in Egypt, witnessing to the one true God in a pagan land (Genesis 12:10). Later, those same people saw the glory of God through the … Continue reading Four Biblical Keys to Flooding Africa With the Gospel
The lack of a backup plan is not a sign that God wants you to wait. A friend of mine preached recently from Luke 9, the passage where Jesus sends out the Twelve with nothing—no money bag, no extra tunic, no backup provisions of any kind. Two of his observations have stuck with me. Here … Continue reading No Safety Net in Obedience
Will being a Christian cost you something in the present day? If you merely identify as one—even if you aren’t—will that help or hurt your social standing? Most of us already know the answers. We feel the cultural temperature. Aaron Renn has called the years since 2014 the negative world—the stretch in which Christian conviction is no … Continue reading 7 Marks of an Offensive Christian Witness From Acts 17
Immigration is as controversial as it has ever been in American life, particularly as patterns of migration from Latin America intersect with broader global movement and displacement. Some cross borders fleeing violence or persecution. Others move primarily in search of economic opportunity and stability. According to the United Nations, an estimated 122 million people, including … Continue reading Between Borders and the Kingdom
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two … Continue reading Easter Sunday: Seeking the Living Among the Dead
Early in my musical training, a wise, older musician taught me that equally as important as the notes one plays are the intervals—what is not played in between the notes. In the intervals is where tension builds, thoughts develop, and sublimity resides. Likewise, in the interval between Good Friday’s minor tone and the triumphant chorus … Continue reading Holy Saturday: The Glory of the In-Between
Of the various characters that appear in the Gospels’ accounts of Good Friday—Pilate, Herod, the chief priests, the soldiers, Simon of Cyrene, the thieves—one character that is often forgotten is the temple. Throughout the Gospel narratives, the temple looms as a significant player in the story. Jesus cleanses it twice (John 2:13–17; Matt. 21:12–13), teaches … Continue reading Good Friday: A House Condemned
We tend to think of Holy Week as a week that brought some small sense of dread for the Lord Jesus—from a human standpoint—based on his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and the willpower required to willingly submit to the cross. We do not often associate Holy Week with joyful anticipation. Yet for our … Continue reading Maundy Thursday: Passover Fulfilled
Any of us who have been in church budget meetings know something of this attitude of pious austerity that affects Christians of all stripes. For some reason, no one is more careful with money than when it is time to judge how someone else spends it, especially in the Lord’s name. Many of us have … Continue reading Holy Wednesday: Costly Devotion, Cheap Betrayal
Family, church, community, nation, the world. Many Christians feel pulled in every direction. Ordered to Love offers clear, biblical guidance for rightly ordering our loves.
