Some of you may be wondering why I’d be writing a blog post on the Catholic pope since I’m an evangelical Christian (though not a typical one). Does this mean I ascribe to Catholic theology? No. No more than I ascribe to many versions of Protestant theology. However, I do like the Catholic concern for the poor as well as their emphasis on the corporate, collective nature of the church. When it comes to my Catholic brethren, I follow the... Read more

Jeff Vanderstelt has just released a new book. It’s called Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life. I caught up with Jeff to discuss the book. Enjoy the interview! Instead of asking, “what is your book about,” I’m going to ask the question that’s behind that question. And that unspoken question is, “how are readers going to benefit from reading your book?” Jeff Vanderstelt: My hope is that they would come to a fresh... Read more

Leonard Sweet (my co-author of Jesus Manifesto, Jesus: A Theography and Jesus Speaks) wrote a theological review of the Speilberg film, Lincoln. There are no spoilers in it, so if you’ve not yet seen the film, there’s nothing to worry about. Read it below. — How do you measure a life? The same way you measure a nation. By the power of its story. Some of the most beloved stories of our nation mythologize one of the nation’s greatest storytellers... Read more

Clash of Kingdoms: What the Bible Says about Russia, ISIS, Iran, and the End Times by Charles Dyer and Mark Tobey is a new book by Thomas Nelson (my publisher). I caught up with the authors recently to ask them about their book. Enjoy! Instead of asking, “what is your book about,” I’m going to ask the question that’s behind that question. And that unspoken question is, “how are readers going to benefit from reading your book?” Charlie: Readers will gain... Read more

Marc Dupont has just released a new book called Breakthrough in a Time of Breakdown. I caught up with Marc recently to discuss his new book. Enjoy! Instead of asking, “what is your book about,” I’m going to ask the question that’s behind that question. And that unspoken question is, “how are readers going to benefit from reading your book?” Marc: Many, many people are aware the Bible is filled with promises of God’s care, blessings, and provision. Actually there... Read more

Keith Giles has just released a new book entitled Jesus Untangled. I caught up with Keith to ask him about the book. Enjoy! Instead of asking, “What is your book about?” I’m going to ask the question that’s behind that question. And that unspoken question is, “how are readers going to benefit from reading your book?” Christians who read this book will be challenged to follow Jesus in a deeper way than they’ve probably ever considered before. Tell us a... Read more

The following excerpt was written by Victor Montalvo. Victor is the lead pastor of Reality Community Church in Sanford, FL, the city where Trayvon Martin was killed. Reality Community Church is a diverse congregation — a mix of Latino, Anglo, African-American, and Asian congregants. — Did the jury make the right call? I just don’t know. The reality is that, above all else, this was an extremely complicated situation with both individuals involved operating from a sense of fear. Trayvon feared he... Read more

One of my favorite commentaries is The New International Greek Testament Commentary. While I don’t own the entire set, I have several volumes. The most recent I’ve obtained is The Epistle to the Thessalonians. I’ve been thumbing through it, and like the other volumes in the series, I’ve found it to be helpful. Here’s a description from the publisher: The letters of Paul to the newly founded Christian community at Thessalonica hold a special place within the Christian tradition as... Read more

I love books. My library contains thousands of them. But I’m a slow reader. Very slow, in fact. That’s why I value Leaders Book Summaries. This is a service for Christian leaders who want to up their reading game, enabling them to consume scores of books in record time. I’ve interviewed Dave Frederick twice over the years. Dave is the founder of Leaders Book Summaries. Here are the two interviews back to back. You can also get a FREE issue... Read more

As all my blog subscribers know, I try to let you know about excellent resources for the deeper journey. Today, I wish to do just that. The IVP Bible Dictionary contains 8 volumes of the best and most up-to-date scholarship available on both Old and New Testaments. I own the whole set and it’s indispensable for deep Scripture studies. Every serious student of the Bible should own this set. Christian Book Distributors has the book on deep discount right now.... Read more