I used to work at Wheaton College’s famous Billy Graham Center. In my three years there, I never had the opportunity to see the renowned preacher in the flesh—except once. Rev. Graham and his team had scheduled a June crusade at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, and I and other...
Finding Rest
The heart of Jesus to seek, to embrace, and to forgive never ceases to astonish me.
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...
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...
The Comfort of God’s Sovereign Rule
Geneva Wright This week, America comes to the end of a grueling election campaign. The process has never felt longer, nor the stakes higher. Victory for one side of the political aisle could stoke hatred and anger on the other, and after a year filled with one conflict and disaster...
Relationship and Meaning
My birth on August 1, 1961, two months early, did not go well. Only three pounds and 11 ounces, I beat the odds and survived. But for the rest of my life I would carry the burden of cerebral palsy. Through the years I have often asked “Why?” and it...
Who Are You?
“Who are you?” This question seems simple enough, but the answer is hopelessly entangled with our life experiences. If we happen to be singing on a mountaintop, for example, our self-understanding is backlit by a joyful radiance. But if we’re languishing in a valley, weighed down in lament, dark clouds...