“Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand” – Proverbs 8:1-2 Cult leaders build followings by designing mazes of hidden knowledge. A hooded figure beckons you into a hidden house,...
What Happens When You Stop Getting Bored?
You know what scares me most? Boredom. And I have a sneaking suspicion it's the same for you, especially if you’re under thirty. I worked with teenagers for over a decade and people would regularly ask: ‘What do you think is the biggest challenge for teenagers today?’...
Have you heard the other side?
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” – Proverbs 18:17 I listened to my friend recounting the failures of someone he didn’t know was also my friend. I wanted to hold up my hand, to interject that his account of the...
The people who say just the right thing
“The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” - Proverbs 15:28 I have a mentor who always knows exactly what to say. Sometimes it’s a word of encouragement. Sometimes it’s a question. Sometimes he challenges me...
Truth by Consensus
Postmodernism has produced its heir, and its name is Consensus. In 2016, the Oxford Dictionary announced that “post-truth” was its word of the year. The concept post-truth refers to our contemporary sense of justice, in which objective reality and facts bow the knee...
1 Step Evangelism
Aren’t you about due for a fresh round of penance for your disappointing evangelism efforts? Chances are your church is already offering a healthy assortment of channels through which you can merit some level of atonement for your recent oversight in this area. Or at...
Dealing with false accusations
“Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.” – Proverbs 26:2 We are one sentence, perhaps even one word away from being canceled. It’s not a matter of political alignment or position. It’s not a matter of...
Saying things that last
“A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears will endure.” - Proverbs 21:28 Wisdom and proverbial sayings, they have a way of turning a phrase. A proverb gives you something pithy, but also something a little enigmatic. The phrase of wisdom is a...
How to be authentic
I’ve never actually met a fully authentic person. I’m not sure I would want to. It’s been said that a person begins to lie as soon as he becomes polite. There’s a lot of truth to that. It all depends on what you mean when you talk about being authentic. Do you really...