Mike has written a terrific book to equip our children for cultural apologetics—how to think and engage ideas of the day from a Christian perspective. It’s called The Persuasive Christian Parent: God's Provision for Building an Enduring Faith in Your Children. Here’s a Q&A I did with Mike.
Deeper Dimensions of Relational Intimacy: An Interview with Kelly Flanagan
As a pastor, I commonly encounter individuals and couples who desire deeper relationships, particularly with those who are closest to them. There are, of course, many challenges that stand in the way of such closeness, not least of which are our own selfish tendencies. Identifying and dealing with those tendencies...
Surprised by Joy in the New Year
A few years ago. my phone bonged while I was driving to the office. Evidently, when there is an important national news story, my phone departs from the normal vibrate mode and lets out a big bong. In this case, it was a new study showing that many Americans were...
A Frank Sinatra Christmas
At the dinner table during Advent about ten years ago, we were discussing the secularization of Christmas. My “indescribably beautiful” (and intelligent) wife suggested we should have two celebrations: a “winter holiday” for the masses who are more into Santa and materialism, and Christmas, for Christians. While I understand her...
This Is How Hope Wins
I had a birthday recently. Not a milestone or anything, just another passing year. Yet this birthday was significant in that not only did it bring with it the usual end-of-year introspection, it represented the close of the year when Covid-19 changed everything.
Living in the “Now and Not Yet” of Advent 2020
Why exactly do we celebrate Advent? For many people, the season exists mainly to mark off the days until Christmas. In 21st century America, this lead-up period is almost as much fun as the holiday itself: buying presents, decorating a tree, eating Christmas cookies, and gathering as families for an...
Hoping Against Hope
By Chris Castaldo The great English journalist and satirist Malcolm Muggeridge, reflecting on forms of despair in the 20th century—particularly among proponents of Stalin in Russia and Western nihilists devoted to materialism and abortion—said modern man has a “suicidal impulse,” a type of self-hatred. This impulse has spawned a bewildering...
Gratitude for Everyday Miracles
Miracles happen every single day in our universe, and you don’t have to be a Christian to believe in them—and to be thankful.
When Your World Crumbles
I lost a lot of confidence this year. I lost confidence when my plans for the year were canceled. I lost confidence when a family member passed away due to COVID-19. I lost confidence in our country’s unity. I lost confidence in my college decisions. Others have lost substantially more...
We Need Renewal
There is one thing on which most Christians today agree–we need genuine renewal. Faced with rising violence, economic crisis, political turmoil, and a growing sense of despair, we recognize that our fundamental challenge is not political or social; it is spiritual. And because such challenges require divine insight and strength,...