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

Imagine being shackled in a prison cell with every freedom stripped away. Your food is sparse and moldy. Your bedding reeks. The screams of other prisoners keep you awake through the night. Most of us, given a chance to write letters home, would spend every word complaining, begging for rescue, cataloging our misery. Paul isn't most people. Writing from a Roman prison, lacking basic necessities and depending entirely on the generosity of others, Paul has one word for his situ