Phil Steiger
The gospel is not good advice, it is good news.[i] This simple sentence helps us understand the core of the good news of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews, we find this promise, “for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:10). It is... Continue Reading →
Karl Vaters has written a wonderful, almost poetic, reflection on the resilient power of small churches. I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about the importance of what are called “mediating institutions” in our culture, and what he says rings true. A mediating institution is a social organization that stands between... Continue Reading →
It was a roller-coaster week. Early in the week I received a letter from a former member of the church who left under difficult circumstances. The letter could have been anything. It happened to be a magnificent example of an honest and reconciling heart and it is precious to me. The next day our church... Continue Reading →
This bill, the "National Popular Vote" bill, is a nation-wide push to invalidate an individual state's electoral college vote, and tie them to the results of the national popular vote. It is a move away from part of what makes us a Republic to a raw Democracy. It is also the result of frustration over... Continue Reading →
The Colorado State Legislature yesterday voted to pass on HB19-1032, titled, “Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education”. The summary of the bill, from the State website, begins, “The bill clarifies content requirements for public schools that offer comprehensive human sexuality education and prohibits instruction from explicitly or implicitly teaching or endorsing religious ideology or sectarian tenets... Continue Reading →
In just the past few days, it became a matter of national importance that the Second Lady, Karen Pence, took a part-time position at an Evangelical school. What seemed important to both the New York Times and the Washington Post – both as news and opinion items – was that she was working for a... Continue Reading →
Recently we learned about a crackdown in China in which more than 100 members and leaders of a church in Chengdu were detained. The pastor, Wang Yi, and his wife were charged with incitement to subvert the state and face real prison time. As it happens, Pastor Wang Yi prepared for this, and he... Continue Reading →
With the news that Eugene Peterson has entered hospice, I wanted to take some time to reflect on what his writing has meant to me and see if you have any thoughts yourself. I only heard him speak once in person. Heather and I were at a conference on spiritual formation and will always... Continue Reading →
Like a lot of people my age, I spent a lot of time watching Sesame Street growing up. This was back when Mr. Hooper was still tending the store and long before Elmo showed up. Two of the best characters, at least for me, were Bert and Ernie. They were carefree and careful, silly and... Continue Reading →
A long-term member of our church approached me just before service this week with a serious look on his face. Every pastor has had that moment. Service is about to begin, what is this about? He has never done this before, so I honestly didn’t have a sense of what was on his mind. ... Continue Reading →
Every Thought Captive 