gentleness

Single believers are caught in the middle of a game of tug of war. On one side, Team Culture pulls and yells, “Forget marriage, at least for a little while! You do not need a spouse; go pursue your dreams and be your best self!” The opposing Team Church yanks back, “No, getting married should be...

The much-loved hymn, ‘I greet thee who my sure Redeemer art’ – included in the Strasbourg Psalter of 1545 and attributed to John Calvin – contains the lines, Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness, No harshness hast Thou, and no bitterness These words have often drawn comment, or been quoted...

Several years ago I missed a turn for one of my speaking events. It didn’t take me long to realize I was on the wrong road, but I didn’t know how to find my way without help. So I pulled into a gas station and asked the locals for directions. Thankfully, they were kind and helpful, and before long...

They had one job to do: stay awake and pray. Peter, James, and John, often like the rest of us, failed to accomplish the one simple task they had. Christ took his most trusted inner apostolic circle deeper into the garden with Him as He went a stone’s throw further to spend time in prayer. He...

Have you heard that ancient Chinese curse which parents would proclaim on only the most disobedient of their children? The parent, looking at their bad kid, would proclaim: “O, may you live in interesting times!” Turn on the news and you may be tempted to think that that curse is our reality -...

Radegund of Thuringia – Giving Refuge to Women in Violent Times In 531, an army of Frankish soldiers invaded the Kingdom of Thuringia (in today’s France), sacked the palace, killed the royal family, and took the royal children back to the Frankish capital, Athies. Among these children was Radegund...

The Reformers confronted the Catholic church with five scriptural principles by which they sought to reform the church. If the 21 st century church is to once again transform the culture by the proclamation of the gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ, it must reclaim its heritage: the five solas of the...

“Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23b). Suppose that several young couples decide to live in community. Questions arise. Shall we try to live near each other? If so, where? In the city or the suburbs? What is our view of child safety? Is the goal to remove risks or to teach...

There are tremendous pressures in our culture. Talk radio proclaims that “America, as we know it, has been, or soon will be lost.” Members of Christ’s church can succumb to fear and the cries that “we need to do something!” There is talk of violence. Some speak of the potential need to take up arms...

Hamu Lujonza Kaddu Mukasa and the Early Church in Uganda In 1882, twelve-year-old Hamu Lujonza Kaddu Mukasa, son of a chief in the Buganda Kingdom, was sent to the court of King Mutesa I to serve as a page. There, his life began to take a course he had never imagined. From Mukasa to Hamu At court,...