Each successful doctoral completion in biblical studies results in a niche scholar; that is, a scholar who knows massive amounts about a small corner of the biblical marketplace.[1] For instance, I completed my dissertation on John Frame and Vern Poythress’s...
On “Conservative” Worship
When a person self-describes as “conservative,” the meaning of the adjective can be elusive. Conservatism can be noble in one context and ignoble in another. What gives the word meaning, ultimately, is the explanation of what one is conserving and what one is allowing...
Spiritual Bumblepuppies: Technology and Personal Presence
Is technology killing our sanctification? Recently I was excited to attend a sacred Christmas concert. Soaring Christmas music combined with splendid orchestration and lush decoration created a unique visual and auditory experience. Elegant Christmas programs are...
No Bargaining: Being a Disciple in all of Life
"I would like to buy about three dollars' worth of gospel, please. Not too much—just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted. I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust. I certainly don’t want so much that I...
Luther’s 95 Theses
On this day 499 years ago, a monk named Martin Luther (1483–1546) approached a church door in Wittenberg, Germany and posted a list of topics for academic debate at the local university. With this relatively innocuous act Luther started a movement that developed into...
Once More Unto the Breach: Electing a President and Selecting a Plumber
OK, so I told myself I was done talking about Christians and voting. But the events of the last week got to me. Not the Billy Bush video, but the evangelical reaction to it. Please don’t get me wrong—the video was awful and disgusting and demeaning and odious and...





