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

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