TD Blog

It's been about a year since we've been moved back on the road full time. It really is a unique lifestyle. We're not back to the 250 days-a-year gig, but who knows but the LORD where this will go. I still love the adventure of a different bed and bathroom almost every week. Every time I get ready for that first session, I wonder why God would allow me to do this at all. O wretched man that I am. I thank God for His mercy. Read more...

I recently jumped in to The Godly Man's Picture, by the great Puritan Thomas Watson, and was immediately confronted with godliness as a sacred impression. Watson asserts that, "Godliness is the sacred impression and workmanship of God in a man, whereby from being carnal he is made spiritual". Watson goes on to lay out godliness as real, intrinsic, supernatural, extensive, intense, glorious, and permanent. Whoa. How we in the the modern era of evangelicals have twisted, trampled, tuned out or turned aside the language of godliness. Join me in personal confrontation today. Is the sacred impression, God's own workmanship found in you? #WatsonWednesdays Read more...

Exercise. With the beginning of a new year just a few days away, you might be thinking about your 2014 regimen. Or perhaps you find amusement in the travails and agony of others who make promises this time of year. Either way, allow me to draw a link, albeit vague, between physical exercise and faith.  Read more...

This morning in staff meeting, the issue was raised regarding the difference between effectiveness and efficiency. In the work world, this is a very legitimate concern when factoring in customer service, employee relations, employee benefits, ROI (return on investment), and many other areas. Read more...

In a previous blog entry, I expressed my concern about confusion over the "gospel". I've since been reading a Martyn Lloyd-Jones book on the Puritans, containing his talks given during the late 1950s and 1970s at the Puritan Conference held in London. The conference had the likes of J.Stott and J.I.Packer as shapers of the meetings. It’s a great read that deals with not only the history of the Puritans, but the struggles they faced.  I'll never be able to communicate all the stuff involved, so you should get it and read for yourself. It is mind blowing. Read more...

”Been reading any books lately?”, I started. What followed was a conversation of tremendous meaning and fulfillment…almost a call and response form of life-dumping. It was about the only thing we really have to offer: our loves, or lack thereof. It’s a conversation I wish I could say I engage in with more regularity. It was plainly human, but entirely profound. Notice I didn’t ask about “reading any good books lately”.  That’s usually how the question comes out, whether or not we intend it that way. As if reading a poorly-written book or the draft of an ill-conceived concept is somehow a waste of time. Don’t think so highly of yourself. It’s good for your brain. It’s good for your heart, too. Read more...

Are we all thinking the same thing...is the gospel in trouble? If you think about that question, it has issues. What do you think? In my travels this summer, reading a plethora of writers--evangelical writers--has caused me to revolve this issue again in my finite mind. I had a women say to me once, "Don't you think you should have this gospel stuff nailed down by now?". She actually looked at me and said, "How much more do you think there is to learn?". I'm finding as I read the Word of God and meditate on the gospel, it grows larger and the mystery deeper. I begin to have this desire like the dwarf Gimli from Lord of the Rings to get to the mines and dig, dig, dig. It may sound selfish or somewhat goofy, but I want more! I also want to get it right. If that sounds a little weird or scary to you, I'm cool with that. Read more...

This isn’t a cheap shot at the Church.  I am the Church, my wife is the Church, and a lot of people I really like are the Church.  Neither is this a swipe at the church.  I am indebted to the leadership and community of believers of my local congregation for the spiritual investment they’ve made in my life and the eternal impact they’ve had on my soul. I’m not questioning motives, assuming incompetence, or pointing to a lack of true faith. I’m just wondering why we give the notion of community so much lip service and so little priority.  We’re over-thinking, over-analyzing, over-engineering how we do church…and pushing Jesus to the sidelines as if His model isn’t relevant. Read more...

Since I’m failing to author a compelling hook of any kind, let me just spell it out for you: My knowledge of Scripture is really quite elementary. And to make my point even more clear, let’s consider hermeneutics and the application of that activity out of scope. (After all, we wouldn’t want to get too vulnerable on a public forum, would we?) Read more...

It’s a passage I’ve turned to many times in recent days. It’s an idea so simple, yet so unfitting for the mold of culture we wear. In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul writes to the believers in Thessalonica about real ministry. Read it here. Paul knew that ministry wasn’t just gospel-sharing, but life-spilling. Why are we so hesitant to share our lives with others? What seems to keep us from passing the important part of who we are on to each other? Read more...