George Beverly Shea, almost 103 years old, sings "How Great Thou Art"

The recent report of Billy Graham being taken to the hospital with the possibility of pneumonia prompted me to think of one of Billy’s closest friends, who is ten years older.

What's Encouraging and Discouraging about the Evangelical Church in America Today

In this 8-1/2 minute video from last year's Clarus Conference, my friend Wayne Grudem and I share about what is encouraging and what is discouraging about the American church.

The Time is Ripe for Courageous

The Courageous movie opens in theaters this Friday, September 30. Please pray for the impact of the movie and go see it this opening weekend, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The more people show up opening weekend, the longer it will stay in the theaters and the more lives it will touch!

Francis Schaeffer on Spiritual Adultery

Francis Schaeffer was one of three writers (the others being Lewis and Tozer) who influenced me most profoundly when I was a new believer in the early 1970’s. I remember like it was yesterday reading his The Church Before the Watching World, where he said the following.

More on Robertson versus Robertson and Why We Should Speak Up

In last Friday's post, I contrasted Robertson McQuilkin’s dedication to care for his wife Muriel, stricken with Alzheimer’s, to Pat Robertson’s cruel answer to a question regarding a man having an affair that if he’s going to do anything, he should divorce his wife who has Alzheimer’s.

The Church: Don't Give Up on God's Plan

I tire of the incessant church-bashing and endless tales of people disillusioned with their churches. Yes, Christians can be jerks, and we’ve all had rough times in churches, largely because they consist of people too much like us: sinner-jerks in need of grace and truth and growth.

The problem is, Jesus calls the church his bride. He died for her, and says that ultimately the gates of hell won’t prevail against her. So if you give up on the church, you give up on God’s plan.

Five Central Teachings of the Protestant Reformation

What does it mean to be a Protestant? These are five of the major teachings of the reformers by which they distinguished their beliefs from those of the Roman Catholic church of their day.

The Manhattan Declaration

Today marks the public release of the Manhattan Declaration, which Chuck Colson invited me to sign several weeks ago. After reading it, I gladly agreed to do so.

I am posting only the Preamble below, as well as a part of the Declaration about life, in the hopes that it will interest you in reading the full statement, posted at www.manhattandeclaration.org. If you read and agree with it, you may sign on with us if you so choose.

I do not participate in many things like this, but both the content and the tone of this statement is ...

The Church as a Body

I recently read an interesting book by Philip D. Kenneson: Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999).
Here is an excerpt:

This [the church as a body] is only one important lesson that reflecting on the metaphor of the church as the body of Christ might teach us. Given the rampant individualism that pervades much congregational life, the contemporary church in this country would do well to reflect seriously on this metaphor. For example:

• Bodies are wrongly understood if their parts are considered to be in some ...

Question and Answer of the Week: How to Live Wisely Financially

This week's question is another one I answered on the Revive Our Hearts website:


I hear all kinds of financial advice in today's times. I've heard about investing and saving and preparing for the future (for example, saving for our children's education or retirement). What would you say would be the best financial advice for someone who is just starting out with marriage and children and really doesn't know what to do with their finances?

Thanks for this question. If you do just two things, you will have the cornerstones of living wisely financially.