John Nugent is a friend and a thoughtful Jesus-follower who has written a number of valuable books. He was also my conversation partner in fourteen episodes of The Insurgence Podcast. Each episode is well worth consuming. I appreciate John’s insights, especially on some of the controversial topics we tackled on the podcast. I caught up with John recently to discuss two of his recent books, The Fourfold Office of Christ and Priestly Presence. Enjoy! When I first laid my hands... Read more

The big, popular movements in today’s Christianity remind me of a guy who nicked his foot while mowing the grass. The man showed the wound to his wife, and she didn’t know what to do. So he thought he better get down to the Emergency Room to get it checked out. So he went to the hospital, walked through the Emergency Room front doors, and when he entered, he was greeted by two more doors. One door was marked “Male,” and the other was marked “Female.” So he went through the door marked “Male.” When he got... Read more

Originally written in 2017. Two weeks ago, someone I knew back in the late 90s came to my mind. We’ll just call him “Scott.”  I started searching for Scott on Facebook. He was an ex-pastor who turned Christian counselor. He lived in Largo, Florida. I had him in my home, and I visited him in his. We weren’t terribly close, but we were more than acquaintances.  The last time I saw Scott was probably in 1998. Shortly afterwards, one of our mutual friends told me... Read more

A critical aspect of seeing the kingdom of God advance in our day is the ability of God’s people to recognize and respond to the Lord’s voice. Here’s an excerpt from JESUS SPEAKS: Learning to Recognize and Respond to the Lord’s Voice about misunderstanding the Lord’s voice. It’s possible to hear the Lord correctly but misinterpret what He’s saying to us. Even the Lord’s own disciples experienced this difficulty when He was on earth. Jesus made a statement about how Peter would... Read more

Here it is. “We have a high casualty rate. We’re the ones who get slandered and ridiculed and fired from our jobs and in every other way made as uncomfortable as possible. A certain percentage of us get killed or imprisoned. We live in virtual poverty. We turn back to our community every penny we make above what is absolutely necessary to keep us alive. We don’t have time or the money for many movies or concerts or T-bone steaks... Read more

There has been a long investigation in the USA that involves its government. One man described the investigation thusly: “We are investigating whether or not there was collusion with foreign hostile powers.” My immediate response was, “Every human government on the planet, since the beginning of Babel, has been in collusion with foreign hostile powers.” (Babel is the first “kingdom” recorded in Scripture.) As a follower of Jesus, you should be aware of this. In my signature book Insurgence: Reclaiming the... Read more

In 1938, the Chinese were at war with Japan. Watchman Nee – who was from China – attended the Keswick Convention that year with T. Austin-Sparks. At Keswick, speaking before fellow believers, which included Japanese Christians, invoked an intercessory prayer upon request of the hosts. Here’s that prayer. “The Lord reigns; we affirm it boldly. Our Lord Jesus Christ is reigning, and He is Lord of all; nothing can touch His authority. It is spiritual forces that are out to... Read more

If you breathe oxygen, you have a pre-existing condition. We all have a sin nature that we inherited from the first humans. And the spectrum of sinful tendencies that arise from that nature is endless. Yet no temptation that you have hasn’t been experienced by others, so you’re not alone. And there is always “the way of escape” (as Paul put it). Just look for it, then take it. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God... Read more

In the secular world, it is universally understood that in order to succeed in life, one must read. Entrepreneurs constantly talk about how those at the top of the financial ladder read at least one book a week. The more wisdom gleaned from others, the better one leads and succeeds. I believe the same is true when it comes to having spiritual influence and impact as a follower of Jesus Christ. Granted, most of the early Christians couldn’t read. However,... Read more

In my new book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded, I provide a number of maps for each section that tells the story from Palestine to Patmos. Those maps correctly use the term “Paul’s apostolic journeys” instead of the common misnomer “missionary journeys.” (This is explained in the book). With respect to maps of the ancient world, Paul Lawrence’s The IVP Atlas of Bible History (Second Edition, IVP Academic, 2024) represents a cosmetic refresh of... Read more