Category Archives: Orthopathy

The Pastor Who Preached in Boxer Shorts

A parable for all those missional types Once upon a time there was a pastor of a church somewhere just above smallish. Living and preaching outside the city of Coolumbus for over a decade had given him plenty of time … Continue reading

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The 20th Century Artistic Famine

I have a rule that I will never buy paintings that I could have painted better myself. That rules out virtually all modern art. The last great painter in my view was John Singer Sargent, who died in 1925. After … Continue reading

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Is Fiction Necessary?

Many parents, however, have little taste for fiction, though they allow it for the “little kids.” Some parents disdain fiction because they are bony pragmatists, not having the time, but others even claim that it is unspiritual (“I just want … Continue reading

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There’s More to Worship Music Than Propositions

Saved in my digital library are a collection of about 10 songs that I formed into a playlist for running in the background as I am working at my desk. Now, I think the whole idea of running songs in … Continue reading

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An Open Letter to Spurgeon’s Church

There is gold all around us, yet it stands in unexpected places. When my colleague reviewed The Forgotten Spurgeon by Murray, it prompted me to check out the book that has been waiting on my shelves. Murray titles should not … Continue reading

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How Culture Teaches

Propositions are critically important, but not all knowledge is propositional. Unlike science, culture is not a repository of factual information or theoretical truth, nor is it a kind of training in skills, whether rhetorical or practical. Yet it is a … Continue reading

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Our Real Danger

For every careless saint who burns himself out and breaks up his family with misdirected zeal, I venture, there are a thousand who coast with the world, treating Jesus like a helpful add-on, but not as an all-satisfying, all-authoritative King … Continue reading

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Scruton vs. Carson on Culture

Roger Scruton, Culture Counts (2007) 1-2 and 106: By “culture” I mean what has been called “high culture”–the accumulation of art, literature, and humane reflection that has stood the “test of time” and established a continuing tradition of reference and allusion … Continue reading

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The Message of Hair

Recently, I was striding through a mall at a fairly rapid gait when I paused to read a brief paragraph written below the sign for a hair stylist. It was a trendy little shop–actually more of a kiosk. Had I … Continue reading

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A Church’s Silent Messages Cannot be Ignored

My teammate and I pastor small churches in a pair of rural villages in South Africa. At a service where both churches were present, the same question came to my mind on two occasions as I sat, sang, watched, prayed, … Continue reading

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