I just finished my fourth public conversation with a Muslim leader. In this case, Rihabi Mohamed, PH.D. I found him to be polite, articulate, and caring. A model dialogue partner. * Three things (of many) that I'm learning, through these events: 1. Know thyself Muslims educated in the Quran tend to press Christians on several issues for which I must be prepared, such as...

My daughter Kelli and husband Greg have a vision for educating their five boys in the ways of the Lord. This includes giving them plenty of "why's" to believe in Jesus. So Kelli recruited me to give the first lesson, which I delivered recently to the two oldest -- Isaiah (11) and Joshua (9). Both are NBA fans. Here's what I said: Hey boys,...

Students on campus sometimes ask me what makes my interpretation of the Bible -- or anyone else's -- the right one. Two replies 1. We need to discern the intent of the biblical authors There's a rule that most Bible scholars follow: A text can't mean what it never meant. * So we need to figure out what the text meant in its original...

A church I'm familiar with closed its doors, recently, due to low attendance numbers. Lacking sufficient volunteers and income, they were forced to call it quits. I visited the final service. The message for the morning was presented from the OT book of Numbers, and had nothing to do with arithmetic (but rather, a blessing for the people. Beautifully done.) The book of Numbers...

In the prior post I asked the question of whether growth is a proper measure of a ministry. Some say yes, because the kingdom of God should be ever expanding. Others object. They measure ministry by how faithful its leaders have been in discipling the flock. Such faithfulness may lead to numerical growth, but if not -- it’s OK. Myself? I can see both...