Nobody lives up to the norms that God had in mind when he first created human beings.

Amusement is a way of boredom-avoidance through external stimulation that fails to exercise our minds. It's mere diversion.

I am struck by how quickly I am prone to judgmentalism.

There are no clear boundary lines between what is physiological, what is psychological, and what is spiritual. Those are language domains that make sense and have integrity but overlap significantly.

Love of learning led to monasteries, which became the cradle of academic guilds.

To have my mind racing and my heart beating fast over glorious possibilities is very close to the summit of life experience for me.

Women are the first witnesses to the resurrection and pillars of the early church.

Jesus had a universal concern for those who suffered that transcended the rules of the ancient world.

My wife is one of the most extroverted people I know. She could out-talk Oprah and Joyce Meyer simultaneously.

Tithing is like training wheels when it comes to giving. It's intended to help you get started, but not recommended for the Tour de France.

As a preacher, my charge is to proclaim the message of the Scriptures. To help the people in my congregation become a people of the book. I love getting to do this.

Spiritual formation is for everyone. Just as there is an 'outer you' that is being formed and shaped all the time, like it or not, by accident or on purpose, so there is an 'inner you.' You have a spirit.

Pastors have historically understood their primary battle to be not the battle to build a big church, but the battle against the power of sin.

We all want to feel spiritually vigorous, and we hurt when we don't. This pain is intensified for people who lead church ministries.

I have always heard that you need to give yourself a long time to unplug when you do a sabbatical. I unplugged so fast I was a little concerned that I was losing brain capacity.

I am a political junkie. During a presidential campaign, I will often buy a couple of newspapers a day just to keep up.

'Amusement' is appealing because we don't have to think; it spares us the fear and anxiety that might otherwise prey on our thoughts.

People with the strongest and healthiest sense of calling are not obsessed with their calling. They are preoccupied with the Caller.

What influences our behavior, and what our level of responsibility is, are very complex issues. And anytime we try to make this simplistic, we don't serve people well.

The toppling of idols - even respectable, admired, best-practice, fastest-growing idols - is always the road to liberation.

Evil exists. Evil is real. One of the hallmarks of evil is that it seeks to convince its victims that it exists 'out there.'

Churches can become places of cynicism, resistance, and pessimism.

We do not need answers or formulas to minister in crisis.

I hate how spiritual formation gets positioned as an optional pursuit for a small special interest group within the church.