“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”Ephesians 4:29 My dog Raphael is smarter than the average bear. He rings a bell on the back door when he has to go potty. He pushes a bucket to…
Originally published as a featured article for Doorway Publishing “My heart is stirred by a noble themeas I recite my verse for the king;my tongue is a pen of the skillful writer.” (Psalm 45:1) “Human beings are communal and seek to communicate persuasively with one another. Rhetoric is about persuasion…and that old Roman teacher Quintilian defines the rhetor as, “The good…
Originally published as a featured article for Doorway Publishing Sin sneaks. This means that sin’s greatest power is found in its inherent ability to get you to think that it has no power. The average person tends to view sin as nothing more than a minor temptation or a nagging itch, nothing really to concern yourself about because the warnings…
Originally published as a featured article for Doorway Publishing Philosophy defined is the study of human existence and knowing; philosophy applied is nothing more than a bad accident waiting to happen. Reading philosophy as a hobby can be quite fascinating. Not only does the study of the mind offer an endless labyrinth of complex thought, but working through mental puzzles…
Originally published as a featured article for Doorway Publishing The audience in the crowded theater went wild. I will never forget it, the first time I saw Superman: The Movie it captured my young imagination like nothing else. I was a twelve-year-old boy when my dad took me to an urban movie theater near Downtown Cleveland to watch Christopher Reeves…
Originally published as a featured article for Doorway Publishing I am a glutton for punishment. I just can’t help it. When it comes to debates on social media, like Facebook and Twitter, I sometimes jump in the middle of a verbal fray throwing caution to the wind. My worldview leans conservative, this is true both politically and morally, which in…
For most of his time on earth William was fueled by rage. The first sixteen of those years he was both verbally and physically abused by a tyrannical father. If he missed a chore he would get hit. If he came home with a bad grade he would get hit. If he talked back or shared a contrary opinion he…
I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.Romans 16:19 I have thought a lot about this. As a parent of four, a pastor of many, and an ex-bartender/rugby player, I have always wondered how much of society’s cultural norms, values, and habits should we let into our lives, and what should we…
I needed to buy a new pair of dress shoes to go with my brand new gray J. C. Penny’s suit. Back in 1992 I was invited to travel with my pastor to Poland and Czechoslovakia to visit some missionaries and it was required that I was to have along with me some nice Sunday church clothes. It was a…
Who wants to be a leader in these strange times? Sometimes we have no other choice because God puts the people he wants in a leadership role whether we have asked for it or not. And I have found that more often than not God chooses people to lead who would rather be left alone and not be responsible for…