My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke; for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.  Proverbs 3:11-12 In taking a closer look at this particular proverb, I notice the first two lines are a contrast. First we are warned: Do not reject God’s discipline. This word “reject” has the meaning “to spurn, despise, or make disappear”. When the book of Hebrews quotes this proverb, the word gets translated as “make light of” in the NIV. The image is of a little…

Today was an ordinary day around the Gross household except for three things: Meanwhile, a friend of ours had the most unordinary day imaginable. She and her husband held close their 20-something son as he passed from this world, losing a prolonged and painful battle with a rare cancer. I cannot even process what that must be like. And, yes, before Sarah went to bed at the close of this ordinary day, I did hug her a little longer than usual.

I got all enthusiastic and read one of the 14 books assigned for this semester – the shortest one. I had seen the title before, but had never read it: Why Johnny Can’t Preach. Dr. David Gordon wrote the book in 2004 while battling cancer. Facing his own mortality and hoping to spark a necessary conversation, he wrote to get something off his chest: his criticism of the generally poor quality of preaching in the American church.  I find his critique of American preaching to be tough but fair.  Gordon outlines 3 questions the hearer should be able to answer…

I am officially at the halfway point with my doctorate program. Three semesters down and one more to go before one year of labor on the dissertation.  I have to admit that the semester I just finished was perhaps my least favorite. It wasn’t that the teaching was subpar – my professors were both incredible. The topics were both interesting to me. The only problem was that one class – on world religions – was not particularly relevant to me and the other – on postmodernism, Critical Theory, and woke ideology – was depressing as all get out. Starting in…

The after school hours of my childhood were spent at my parents’ business. Long before Walmart and Target, they owned what used to be called a “5 & 10 department store”.  The building was a former movie theater and the balcony had been converted into an office. This space also served as a holding pen for me and my 3 brothers, at least until we were old enough to man a cash register.  The railing of the balcony had been replaced with a half wall, which some of us could see over if we stood on our tiptoes. There were…

In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” It’s not just “fool” and “raca”, either. I believe the following are also prohibited by Jesus: Moron, imbecile, cretin, dolt, numbskull,…

Here’s a bad take on the importance of youth ministry within the church. I once worked as a youth pastor under a senior minister who told me – to my face and on more than one occasion: “I don’t even know why we employ a youth pastor. After all, you work with … what? Ten or maybe twenty percent of the congregation? And they are ten percent who DON’T PAY TITHES.” At least I knew exactly where I and the teens of the church stood with him! This man had no filter on his mouth, obviously.  I can’t imagine another…

“But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Such is the warning from Jesus in Matthew 5:22, early in His Sermon on the Mount.  Before now, I had never noticed something interesting about Jesus’ condemnation of those who would call their fellow man a “fool”. Take a look at Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:17. That’s where…