Ecclesiastes 7 might be the hardest chapter in the book so far. For six chapters, the Teacher has been building trust with us, offering observations that, however cynical or dry, generally line up with the rest of Scripture. Then we hit chapter 7, and Qohelet seems to lose it. This chapter is part cynicism, part anger, part protest, part lament. It's the sound of a weary heart finally boiling over. Before we dig in, one reading principle matters more here than almost anywhere

Technology is a tool, and it can be used for good or for bad. A hatchet, a drill, or a hammer can all be used for creative, constructive purposes as well as causing harm and destruction. That’s how it is with most technologies, too. The internet has allowed for a lot of good to come about over the last 30 to 40 years. But much harm has also come along with it from those who would use the tech in nefarious ways. The same could be said for social media, streaming services, and

No, lectio divina is not a spell from Harry Potter. It's Latin for "divine (or sacred) reading". It's a way of reading a section of Scripture in order to truly listen. We often read our Bibles as part of a daily reading plan – which is great – or as part of a time of study. Lectio divina is not about learning information but inviting transformation. It's not just reading to check it off your to-do list; it's about checking in with your heart and soul. One commentator describe

There's a saying in our culture: "Not my circus, not my monkeys." It's a helpful reminder that we aren't the authority in every situation. If someone else's kids are acting up, it's not my job to discipline them. If store employees aren't doing their jobs, it's not up to me to manage them, since I'm not their boss. If there's small-town drama I'm not part of, I might grab the popcorn, but I won't interfere. Not my circus, not my monkeys. But what if it is my circus? What if t

There's an instinctual drive in all of us to reach for something beyond ourselves. Across history and every inhabited continent, people have searched for the eternal, the divine, the unseen force behind everything we experience. Everybody worships something. Greek Gods and Sack Lunches I've always had a fascination with religion. One of my all-time favorite Disney movies is Hercules. When my wife Katelyn and I studied abroad in Greece during college, we had to learn the Greek

If you visit my office, you'll notice something about me pretty quickly. I'm a bit nostalgic, and I'm a big nerd. Combine those two facts and it makes sense why I surround myself with toys and memorabilia from my favorite childhood fandoms: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, The Legend of Zelda, and more. Many of us do something similar. For you it might not be sci-fi, fantasy, and video games. It might be reminders of the sports teams you grew

Have you ever been handed a job, given all the right supplies, and still had no idea what you were doing? When I was in middle school and high school, I attended a private Christian school in Tennessee. Every summer, the school offered "work study" hours for students, matching them with various jobs around campus. Some worked in the preschool or elementary daycare. Others stayed inside to clean offices or file papers. My job was mostly outside. We ran weed eaters, cleared the

In my personal ranking of Jesus' parables, three stories are always fighting for the top spot: the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, and the Rich Man and Lazarus. Which one lands at number one changes depending on the day, but all three share something in common. They present great reversals, subverting our expectations and flipping the script on how we assume these stories should go. The priest should be the one to help the half-dead man on the road. If not him, then surely

The parables Jesus tells in Matthew 24-25 all point to the same call: stay prepared, stay engaged, stay ready. We never know when the end will come. Like a soccer match ticking into stoppage time, we don't know when the final whistle will blow. And just as only the referee knows when a match is officially over, only God the Father knows when the end will come. Jesus himself says as much: "Now concerning that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son,

One of my all time favorite bands is Relient K, a Christian punk-pop band that got its start in the late 90s and is still around today. My favorite song of theirs, "Be My Escape" (released in 2004), is about how God wants to set us free when we feel trapped, often in prisons of our own making. There's a line in the second verse that has shaped my faith more than almost any other song I know. And this life sentence that I'm serving I admit that I'm every bit deserving But the

Fifteen years ago, Kathryn Schulz gave one of the most quietly devastating TED Talks I've ever watched. It's called "On Being Wrong," and the whole talk hinges on one question: what does it feel like to be wrong? Her answer: it feels like being right. That idea has stuck with me for years, and I've come back to it again and again, including when I studied the Parables of Lost Things in Luke 15 (being lost can feel like you're on the right path). But I think it applies just as

The Parable of the Man Who Fell Among Robbers, better known as the Good Samaritan, is one of the all-time great stories. When rabbis and Bible scholars speak about "turning the diamond," this is one story we can turn over and over, seeing something new from every angle. That's why it has stood the test of time and still changes hearts and minds today. So let's look at this story from a few different angles. We can learn about receiving help from a would-be villain, about seei

I believe Luke 15 contains one of the greatest stories ever told. We usually call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but that title doesn't quite do it justice. Tim Keller wrote an entire book titled Prodigal God, making the case that the Father is the truly prodigal one. The word "prodigal" means wasteful or extravagant, reckless spending. Keller suggests the Father, in dividing his inheritance and giving whatever the younger son asked, is the reckless one. And that's the k

Something strange happens in our brains when we make a purchase. The pleasure chemical dopamine spikes whenever we're on the hunt. Whether you're browsing Amazon or sifting through used records at the thrift store, we get a rush, a sensation of excitement. It's the thrill of the search, left over from our hunter-gatherer days. Then, once we have found what we're looking for, those pleasure chemicals kick into overdrive. Our heart rates increase. We feel a sense of euphoria. T

A look at what the church is and isn't called to do As a pastor, and previously as a youth minister, I have done plenty of things beyond my job description. I've cleaned toilets, cooked meals, and dried out flooded basements. I've helped people move, assembled furniture, given rides. One Sunday morning I had to wrangle a bat out of the church building (not Tulip Street). I don't say any of this to brag, believe me. But I've never once seen "bat removal as needed" listed on a

I'm a millennial, so when I don't know how to do something, I go to YouTube. There is a tutorial video for almost anything you could ever need to know. I am forever in debt to those folks who simply record the process and give viewers step-by-step instructions on how to complete the task successfully. In Ephesians 6, Paul gives the church a mission: stand. Stand firm against the unseen powers attacking our hearts, minds, souls, and communities. Wouldn't it be great if we had

Few topics make modern Christians more uncomfortable than slavery in Scripture. We rush past those passages or explain them away. But if we're honest with the text, and honest with history, there's something far more radical happening than most of us realize. The World Paul Was Writing Into To understand Paul's household codes in Ephesians and Colossians, we have to understand the world that produced them. In Aristotle's framework, which shaped the entire Greco-Roman social i

In our era of digital saturation, the feeling of being perpetually overwhelmed has become the modern baseline. I've said it before: "Busy" is the new "Fine." Someone asks how things are going and we say, "Busy!" We are busier than ever, yet we must confront a sobering question: are we actually being fruitful, or merely moving quickly? This struggle for focus is ancient. The Ephesian culture was notoriously distracting, saturated with the cultic influences of Demeter, Cybele,

There is an ongoing debate, one I'd call unserious at best, about whether Jesus and Paul actually taught the same things. Some claim Paul's letters don't fully align with the Gospels, or even outright contradict them. The more provocative version of this argument is that Paul essentially invented Christianity as its own religion, something largely separated from the actual ministry of Jesus. Makes me wonder if these folks have ever really sat down with Paul's letters. Jesus i

What the Seven Ones of Ephesians 4 Have to Do with Ancient Christian Unity Maybe you remember it from youth camp. Arms around each other, swaying gently in the firelight, singing: "We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord... and they'll know we are Christians by our love." It's a beautiful sentiment. But have you ever really stopped to consider what you're declaring? We are one. Not "we should probably try to get along." Not "we agree on most of the major stuff." We a