Pastor's Pen

These two books by Philip Yancey form a pastoral theology of pain, disappointment, and faith. I’ll summarize each individually, then give a combined overview, maybe like a cliff notes. Both of these books have helped me to minister and be ministered to. I first discovered Yancey through a missionary who lost his 5 year old son while serving in Africa.  This book made all the difference in the worl...

As we approach the new year, many of us feel a deep calling to draw closer to God, seek His guidance, and intercede powerfully for our lives, families, church, and world. That's why we're inviting our entire church family to join in a 21-day Daniel Fast, beginning on January 1, 2026, and concluding on January 22, 2025—just in time to launch us into our intensive 24-hour weekend prayer retreat star...

I’ve been reading Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile, the story of Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister. One passage stopped me cold: Hitler, in speech after speech, insisted the war was entirely Churchill’s fault. Britain could have peace tomorrow, he claimed, if only that one warmongering drunk in London would step aside. Germany, Hitler said, had no interest in the British Empire at al...

Have you ever wondered how people in the Old Testament were saved—how they were declared righteous before a holy God? It can appear that it was through their own personal righteousness and law keeping, however, the same gospel that saves us today was at work even then, by faith. 1. It Was Always About Faith-  The Bible makes it crystal clear: Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as rig...