There is an ever-widening relational chasm between generations. The blazing speed of technological and societal change has ensured that this chasm is broad and challenging to cross. I have eight-year-old twin boys, and their experience of the world is vastly different than my eight-year-old experience. When I was eight, the peak of entertainment was a Gameboy Color (a handheld digital Yahtzee game was a close second). My twins are growing up in a world where any show, movie, or game is instantly available on a handheld device with a stunningly vivid touchscreen. At eight years old, my grandfather was in the fields picking cotton. Middle school students today would have no idea what they should do if an atomic bomb struck their town, but that was the junior high reality for my grandparents....

Longevity In Ministry On Sunday, November 12, the members of First Baptist Church Jacksonville celebrated John Sullivan for his 68 years in ministry. 68 years is a long time to be alive—much less to be in ministry. For some perspective, I am 44 years old. That means that before I took my first breath of air in 1979, Dr Sullivan had been doing ministry for 24 years. That accomplishment is remarkable in its own right. But it is remarkable for another reason. I started in vocational ministry in the late 90s. If you made a list of the leading figures in evangelical Christian ministry at that time, you would discover that many of them didn’t make it. Far too many names on that list have disqualified and disgraced themselves through pride, abuse of power, sexual immorality, and financial scandal. I...

Men, there is a problem out in the world today. The world is confused on what it means to be a man. There is a lack of understanding of what a man is and what a man is to do. This confusion has brought about stunted growth in masculinity in general and a lack of male leadership specifically. This confusion has found its way into the church, and we need to face this problem head-on. In times of confusion and misunderstanding, followers of Christ must return to the Bible, for it alone provides clarity and direction. One of the most common metaphors used to describe a follower of Christ in the New Testament is that of a soldier. Christians are described as “fellow soldiers” in Philippians and Philemon, and elsewhere, a faithful disciple is a “good soldier” who aims to please his commanding...

After months of planning and praying, William Carey was finally ready to depart and take the gospel to India. But before he left, he met with a group of pastors who had been helping him prepare, including his close friend Andrew Fuller. Fuller would later reflect on the meeting, saying, “It was like Carey was preparing to go into a deep, dark, unexplored mine and was saying to us, ‘I will go down into the pit, if you will hold the rope.’ And we responded by taking an oath together, ‘While we live, we will never let go of the rope.’” This is one of the most powerful images of the relationship between the church and our missionaries. Our missionaries go down into the pit, taking the gospel where it is not known and planting churches where none exist. And our responsibility is to hold the rope...

Sunday school originally began at the end of the 18th century in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Working-class children spent long hours in the factories six days a week and had no time for education. Sunday School was developed to teach basic literacy on the only day they had available. It was quite literally a school. Today, we have long dropped the aim of teaching reading and writing to children during Sunday school, but we have maintained the goal of religious instruction. But in our adult Sunday school classes, our aim is even broader than basic Bible facts. We rely on Sunday school to be our main forum of discipleship and care in our church. In many churches in America, of which the average size is less than one hundred people, you wouldn’t necessarily need something like...

Every person knows what it means to be angry. Anger comes in many shapes and sizes. Our anger could be in the form of a visible volcanic explosion, or it could be in the form of an invisible silent iceberg. Anger comes in varying degrees of frustration and hatred. But whether mild or severe, loud or quiet, we have all been angry. There are many resources (Calming Your Heart by Robert Jones) you can pick up to fight the hatred in your heart. Jenny and I have decided to read a devotional book (A Small Book about a Big Problem by Ed Welch) on anger before and after the arrival of each of our children because we know the temptation to be angry with little sleep and screaming newborns. But the most important resource to address your anger is the Bible. The book of Proverbs is rich with insight...

One of the marks of saving faith is a deep love for others. And love always manifests itself in action. If I love someone, I am compelled to care for them not just in word, but also in deed. Galatians 6:10 says, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”  Our lives present us with thousands of opportunities to do good to others. There are so many people out there who need help, who I can serve, who I can care for. Where do I start? Well, Paul says we should do good to everyone, but he then focuses us in on a particular group of people to prioritize — the church.  Why the emphasis and priority on church members over outsiders? One reason is because this pattern of doing good first to the church reflects God’s special...

Love in Action One of the most often repeated commands in the New Testament is to “love one another.” But we live in a world where where it seems like no one shares the same definition of “love.” If you were to search online for examples of love, you’d come up with hundreds of stories, quotes, and pictures trying to grasp at what love really is. We ask, is love just a feeling? An emotion? Is it something you give or take? Is it something you do? Is it just some abstract, philosophical idea? How can I know love when I see it? So, in all this confusion, how are Christians supposed to go about loving others if we’re not even sure what love itself is? This problem gets worse when we find out that over one-third of the “one another” commands in the Bible are about loving one another. Jesus himself...

Church isn’t popular anymore. “I’m not a fan of organized religion.” “Jesus is cool, but Christians are too judgmental.” “I’m taking a break from church to work on myself.” “I love Jesus, but not the church.” Church attendance is declining, and even worse, Christians are skipping out too. In a culture where over half of those who identify as Christians aren’t participating in a local church, we have a serious problem. So what can we say? How can we convince those who claim the name of Christ to commit to being a part of a church? Even more, how can we convince those on the fringes of church life to fully enter church community? We’re going to have to do a lot better than offer self-centered generalizations like “It’s good for you” or “You might like it if you give it a shot.” These Christians...

Luke 15:20: “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him” One of the most difficult, most painful things you can experience is when someone you love has turned their back on God and has become wayward. The harsh reality is that most of us, if not all of us, have experienced this in some way or will experience it soon. We live in a culture that has completely turned its back on God. Thousands of people each year choose to forgo a relationship with God and live for the world. Unfortunately, our loved ones are not immune from this sad trend. The reality of this trend means that we should be thoughtful in how we minister to them. The Lord can use us to play a critical role in bringing...