In the beginning, there was nothing at all. Nothing was short and nothing was tall. Nothing was big and nothing was small. In the beginning, there was nothing at all. God created us to enjoy and learn from stories, even from a young age. The Creator’s Toy Chest children’s book series brings beloved Bible stories to life for young children with vivid illustrations, youthful characters, and rhyming text perfect for reading aloud. With Seuss like quality, my friend Brett Blair has... Read more

The following post is a guest article by Ami Tori. Enjoy! — Reciprocity is one of the most important components of a strong, lasting relationship between two friends. Being a good friend means returning the favor when someone pays for your dinner, picks up your son from school, or invites you over for a party. In fact, reciprocity in friendship stems from the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. If you want to be asked... Read more

Well, boys and girls, I ended my “Christ is ALL” podcast. I explain why and what has replaced the podcast on the 125th episode of the show, the final episode. (Moment of silence.) Interestingly, Jon Stewart ended his show a few days before I ended my podcast. I won’t write the “great minds” line here, but the word on the street is that Stewart heard a rumor that I was ending my show, and well, [fill in the blank]. Cough. If you’re... Read more

Jeffrey Harley is a friend of mine. He pastors an inner-city church in Philly and helps the poor, the marginalized, and some of the most difficult cases you and I will ever see in this life, serving as chaplain at a Christian rescue mission. Jeffrey is a member of The Deeper Christian Life Network and he attended MinistryMind 2017, where I got to spend quality time with him and a number of other ministers. (I call Jeffrey “Denzel” because he... Read more

New years are wonderful. They hand you a reset button so you can reengineer your life. I’ve lived through beautiful years, mediocre years, hellish years, and years that were beyond mention and worthy to be repressed. Granted, much of what happens to us is beyond our control. But we are in control of our reaction to what happens. A few years ago, I discovered a certain recipe for posturing myself for having a great year. In this blog post, I... Read more

I’ve been blogging here on The Deeper Journey (Patheos) since 2014 and on Beyond Evangelical since 2008. What follows are my most popular blog posts of all time. Check them out by clicking on each link. The Gospel of the Kingdom Series Bono on Jesus Alice Cooper on Jesus Elvis on Jesus John Lennon on Jesus 3 Shocking Quotes by Billy Graham The Most Ignored Sin Stop Looking for an Organic Church! The Swearing Christian: My 13 Cents Warning: The... Read more

Ben Witherington’s A Week in the Fall of Jerusalem is an informative historical peek into a tragedy that took place in A.D. 70. From the publisher: It’s A.D. 70. And amidst smoke, clamor, and terror, Jerusalem is falling to the Romans, its temple being destroyed. As Jews and Christians try to escape the city, we travel with some of them through an imagined week of flight and faith. A scribe makes his way into Galilee in search of records of... Read more

One of my pet peeves is people who don’t reply to emails. To not return an email is like ignoring someone when they greet you. Of course, I’m speaking of emails that require or ask for a reply. Amy Tori has written a new article about this problem. Enjoy it. How To Deal with Someone Who Doesn’t Return Emails Without Sounding Bossy or Annoying You know the feeling…you have an upcoming deadline…and your coworker is not responding to your emails.... Read more

Jon Zens has written a small, but remarkable, new book. It’s called Jesus is Family: His Life Together. I highly recommend it to all my blog readers. Here’s a description from the publisher. A.M. Fairbairn noted concerning the early church that “regarded as to its internal relating, it was a family…in the apostles’ day churches were so small that everyone knew every other and kept a watchful eye on one another.” Most people would readily admit that now the majority... Read more

The following is a guest article written by Amy Tori. Enjoy! — Relationships can be tough to manage. With having to keep up with work, friends, family, and other life items, it can be hard to keep everything in order, especially our relationship with God. Honestly, it’s probably one of the most neglected relationships we have, only searching for His guidance when we need it most. Needless to say, this isn’t a healthy balance and one that leaves many questioning... Read more