The good cop, bad cop approach may work well when eliciting criminal confessions, but it was never intended for the home. You might notice it when one parent says, “Don’t tell your father [or mother]” and then modifies or subverts what the other parent said. These parents may have any number of reasons for their […]
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Does the love of God still feel like breaking news in your life? If we’re honest, sometimes the “old, old story” seems, well, old to us, particularly if we’ve been a Christian for many years. But the writers of Scripture never tire of recounting this theme. They never take it for granted. Psalm 136 gives […]
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Recently my son asked to skip church. He was straining to understand why we keep returning week after week when, as he said, “I’ve already heard about God.” It’s a fair question and one that I think shows how his short little life has been fairly uncomplicated so far. Adults know better. Life is complicated. […]
The post Glory Awaits Us: An Easter Reflection appeared first on CCEF.
Living with anxiety is hard. Yet as finite beings in a fallen and broken world, anxiety makes sense. We are each confronted with life circumstances we cannot change, decisions with no obvious right answers, and a future that is more uncertain than we would like. Our lives always entail a degree of risk—there are no […]
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My goal in this brief article is to consider a specific pastoral question: What is a wise approach to those in your church who see a secular therapist? Since this question is part of a long and winding road, we will make a couple of stops before we arrive at an answer. The modern therapeutic […]
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Many people imagine they’re immune to infidelity’s seduction, but they are not. King David was “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam 13:14), “who found favor in the sight of God” (Acts 7:46), and who composed half of the Psalms—if he was not exempt from the allure of adultery, then we are not either. […]
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Last summer I saw a lifeguard rescue someone from the ocean. The lifeguards had posted signs, as is customary, informing swimmers of that day’s rip current risk level. On this day, the risk was moderate, so there was reason to be cautious. The lifeguards had put cones in the sand permitting people to swim only […]
The post Grace from the God Who Guards Your Life appeared first on CCEF.
People in the church often say foolish and hurtful words to those who are grieving. “If I were you…”“At least you still have…”“Just [pray, read your Bible, keep praising the Lord, etc….]”“What is God trying to teach you?” Those last two don’t seem too bad. Prayer is good. It is the “just” that makes it […]
The post When We Hurt Those Who Are Hurting appeared first on CCEF.
As I listen to people recount the hurts they carry with them, many ask me, “Is it sinful to keep a record of how others have hurt me?” They are thinking about 1 Corinthians 13:5, which says, “[Love] keeps no record of wrongs.” I find this question central for abuse victims. They wonder how to […]
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One skill that is important for pastors and counselors to develop is the ability to bring together the complicated pieces of a person’s life and identify an important theme that helps simplify the chaos. Otherwise, your care for the person can be like a packed sermon that has so much information and so many points […]
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As ministry leaders, it can be easy for us to resonate with the role of being a shepherd to others but minimize the role of being sheep ourselves, can’t it? Whether you’re a pastor, campus minister, or Bible study leader, you become familiar with and skilled in feeding God’s truth to others. And yet, as […]
The post Because He Cares—for Me? appeared first on CCEF.
My daughter loves elephants. She always has—so we often find ourselves watching elephant documentaries. Recently, we watched one that took […]
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