A Time for the Mature – April 7, 2024
“When we’re young, we climb trees we didn’t plant, attend schools we didn’t pay for, and worship in churches we didn’t build...”
What I Learned About Jesus from Michigan Football – February 11, 2024
Heaven’s throne is surrounded by something like, but infinitely more awesome, than the cheering fans at Michigan Stadium.
Envy: A Desire that is “Contrary to You” – October 29, 2023
Conventional wisdom says you should always “listen to your heart.” The underlying assumption is that human desires (our “hearts”) are to be trusted because they are basically good. But some desires are not good.
What I Learned About Jesus from Tim Keller – June 18, 2023
Now that Keller is no longer with us (although his teachings will endure), I am even more energized to try to lead like he did, full of both truth and grace, believing the gospel and living in grateful, sacrificial, response to it.
The Sound of Revival – April 14, 2023
In a digitized and individualized culture, the revival will be real and communal. It will be like a calligrapher’s pen on paper, like a needle on vinyl, like a room full of college students touched by the Holy Spirit. Not high tech, but high touch.
The Savior We Need – April 7, 2023
The savior we want defeats our external enemies and let’s us keep our internal idolatries. But Jesus isn’t the savior we want, he’s the savior we need.
How to Complain Biblically – February 23, 2023
The result of complaining is pessimism and division; the result of Biblical lament is collective, constructive work for solutions to the problems in the world.
Gratitude Changes the Atmosphere – November 23, 2022
Gratitude changes the atmosphere. Gratitude brings peace. Instead of noticing—and complaining about—what we don’t have, we thanked God for the many gifts he’s given.
What I Learned About Jesus from Taylor Swift – October 30, 2022
I see now that Taylor Swift’s lyric is not wrong but incomplete. The “anti-hero” is us, but who is our Hero?
“We the Fallen People” – October 8, 2022
Christ-infused thought never puffs us up or promotes arrogance. Christ-infused thought reinforces our sense of self as recipients of mercy who desperately need it.
The Surprising Way to Win a Culture War – September 4, 2022
Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, and salvation. These smooth stones are revealed by the only weapon we need to bring to battle: the word of God. This is the weapon that the enemy cannot understand or defeat.
Should We Not Have Concern for the City? – May 1, 2022
Developers understand that when city populations grow, they will need to build more restaurants, apartments, and schools. In the same way, for the church to follow God on his mission of love for people, we will need to plant many more churches in cities.
Speak Up! Listen Up! An Interview with Chuck Davis – January 22, 2022
Chuck’s newest book is Speak Up! Listen Up!: God is Listening, God is Speaking. It is a wonderful book about prayer that is as deep as it is accessible. Reading it, and applying its teachings, will change your life.
How It Started vs. How It’s Going – August 27, 2021
Everyone follows their own ungodly passions, like sheep gone astray, leading to a chaotic scene on a global scale.
Mistakes Dads Make – July 16, 2021
The emotional climate in which we were raised, the DNA we inherited, and especially the wounds inflicted on us in childhood may all be influencing our behaviors now.
Why Are We So Busy? – May 25, 2021
Busyness can be a symptom of a deep spiritual problem. When we forget God’s love we anxiously work to be loved, but when we remember God and all that he has accomplished for us, beyond us, and in us, we can take a break; we can rest.
Finding Contentment in a World of Comparison – April 26, 2021
I call this cycle “compare and despair.” Once you’re aware of it, you’ll notice it everywhere in our society and possibly in your own life.
The Emotional Vaccine We All Need – February 26, 2021
The stay-at-home orders may have crashed the economy only temporarily, but I fear they may have crushed our souls for a longer term.
How We Get Out of This Mess – January 10, 2021
The solution is not political but spiritual. It’s not in revenge but grace. It’s not in ourselves or our screens, but comes from God and his word.
What Got Me Through 2020 – December 10, 2020
On my own, I would have become overwhelmed, desperate, or unable to cope. But by the grace of God, I am still standing, whole and hopeful as ever. I sensed the presence of God with me in the gauntlet hour by hour.
Family, Forgiveness, and Freedom – October 9, 2020
There’s a lot going wrong in our nation these days, but if we can maintain these kinds of values and policies, we can keep providing an environment in which redemption stories can be lived.
Breaking News: There Is A Better Story – July 10, 2020
While emotionalized news creates compelling, even addictive programs that produce lucrative advertising revenue for the networks, their overall effect on individual viewers and collective society is psychologically damaging.
A Letter To My Future Self – May 15, 2020
As you stroll, you’ll notice people and trees and flowers of such beauty that you’ll totally forget what was on your urgent list of tasks to efficiently accomplish. Plus, you’ll become more emotionally connected with your wife as you share what’s on your hearts. Listen to her. Go on the walk. …
Are People Basically Good Or Basically Bad? – March 15, 2020
Most U.S. Presidents call upon the “good of the American people” when making appeals for unity or mission, but Philosopher Immanuel Kant said, “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.” The Bible says that every human is “created in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) but also that, as a result of sin, “the hearts of the children of man are full of evil.” (Ecclesiastes 9:3)…
Anxious About College? There’s Hope – November 5, 2019
A child who grows up without such a caring community learns that he or she must fight for survival in some kind of socially Darwinist wasteland. While getting into the best college may appear to be a solution to their understandable anxieties, it often only exacerbates them…
Article: Churches Partner to Sound Forth the Gospel in the Region – June 16, 2019
“The idea of the gospel sounding forth throughout the region is what is animating our collaboration,” said Nathan Hart, senior pastor of Stanwich Church. “We share a belief that the church doesn’t exist solely for ourselves, but for the good of the world. We share a commitment to going beyond our walls, to be the kind of church described in 1 Thessalonians.”…
Bringing God to the Soldiers and the Soldiers to God – June 13, 2019
I first met David Borden about three years ago when our church hired him to lead our Stamford initiative. I was immediately drawn to him: he has that rare combination of lighthearted youthfulness and spiritual depth…