This is a story about a boy named Elvis, his very grateful mom, and the man she says rescued their lives. Elvis was four when I visited his home at the edge of a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. His mom hugged me and held my hand and smiled and cried… Read More
Do faithful followers of God experience anxiety and depression? David did. I have. David models a way through mental illness in Psalm 42. •David got REAL David was honest with God and others about his thoughts and feelings. He admitted he was thirsty, panting, weeping, doubting, not eating, feeling alone… Read More
Is COVID-19 foretold in the book of Revelation? Who is the “Beast” and what is his “mark”? View Post
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19 It’s Thursday. Rabbi Jesus and his students gathered to celebrate the Passover in the same way faithful Jews had for generations before.… Read More
Pliny the Younger, the governor of Bythinia, wrote a letter to the Roman emperor Trajan around 112 AD seeking advice on how best to persecute the Christians. In that letter, he said Christians did were doing a weird thing – they gathered together before the sun came up and sang… Read More
I’m so thankful that Compassion International is not a political organization and that its leaders will never make the news by taking a political side. I’m an “ambassador” for Compassion – speaking in support of their ministry at colleges, churches, conferences, and concerts. I’m not an employee of Compassion International… Read More
I’m headed to Kenya tomorrow with Compassion Bloggers! I was in Kenya 7 years ago. Many of you followed along then. Remember when I met a boy named Eliud? He was 18 then, orphaned, living in a house made of wood and cardboard, in the second largest slum in all… Read More
At an Amy Grant concert, there are a lot of women who got through adolescence and college and marriage/divorce and motherhood listening to her music. There are the men who claim their wives made them come but, truth be told, have been secret fans for decades. And then there are… Read More
What does that word “justice” mean and what does the bible say about it? I was recently invited to speak about biblical justice at an event. And of course I said “yes.” And of course I had no idea what the word “justice” even meant. I knew it was in… Read More
America’s collective ego has put on flesh and decided to run for president. Despite Trump’s decidedly consistently unChristlike character, belief and behavior, American evangelicals are lining up to vote for him. Or are they? View Post
It’s the painters, poets, and performers of the world who take their lives. Sylvia Plath. Robin Willams. But not Phil. Phil was at the top of his class in seminary. He was the prototypical strong alpha male leader. He earned a PhD and wore a suit and tie and boots,… Read More
Philippians 4:10-13 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is… Read More
My oldest turns fourteen today. At the end of the month I’ll have a birthday too. Christmas birthdays are rough – everyone’s so busy that it’s hard to get a party together. But Jesus has it the worst doesn’t He? At his party everyone else gets all the presents. Sometimes… Read More
I’m sharing a bus this month with a bunch of really fun single people in their twenties. As we criss-cross the country together I can’t help but compare our lives – and realize how much mine has changed. They quote the funniest parts of TV shows and commercials and know… Read More
Only Jesus and poverty make me cry. But I came close that night, stuffing clothes into my suitcase. Again. The rule is – the RULE is – that after being gone five days I should have been home five days before leaving again. But we broke the rule. There was… Read More
Celebrate the birth of Jesus with traditional carols and modern folk originals. Take a listen to Christmas Vol.1 below. If you like what you hear, please use the resources on this page to share it with somebody today. Thank you and Merry Christmas! [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/59114343″ params=”auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false” width=”50%” height=”40%” iframe=”true” /]… Read More
We’ve all heard of the five stages of grief and many of us have even moved through them ourselves. Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance The typical responses to extreme poverty are very similar, in my experience. Many of us even seem to move through them sequentially. What’s your response right… Read More
I lift it gingerly from the store shelf and the shopkeeper rushes over to make the sell. Bethlehem loves American tourists. “Is it real gold?” It is. It’s Russian. From the 17th Century. An icon. The orthodox, he explains, consider icons to be “windows into heaven.” Not just depictions of… Read More
“Please, do you want a picture?” Our guide herded us into position in front of the photographer. “This is how we live,” she said.
God put on skin and moved into this neighborhood two thousand years ago. Today Bethlehem is part of the West Bank, cities walled in behind concrete erected by the Israeli government.
Inside the walls unemployment is almost 60% today. Outside, in the rest of Israel, it is less than 6%. Inside the walls Christians make up, at the very least, 15% of the West Bank’s population. Outside the walls Christians are less than 2% of Israel’s population.
Almost all of us bought a copy of our group’s photograph. To support our brothers and sisters living in Bethlehem. View Post
I gave the class a biblical definition of justice in four parts: Deliverance of the oppressed into freedom. Deliverance of outcasts into community. Deliverance of the poor into enough. And… “The fourth would open up a can of worms I can’t put back together in one class,” I said. “But… Read More
“What’s the least I can give?” I was dumbfounded and impressed that he actually had the guts to ask this out loud. But it’s probably crossed everyone’s mind at least once right? Even for a second while making the budget and paying bills? I’d never say so… But I’m not… Read More
“You are my first customer of the day,” he answers when Becky asks how much the bracelet costs. Becky is the very worst haggler. She listens. She smiles. She never walks away. “In Arab culture,” he continues, “the first customer is good luck for the day.” He speaks through a… Read More
When King Saul and his sons fell in battle the rest of the Israelite troops fled for the mountains – thousands of them not able to outrun the enemy. The next day the Philistines walked the miles of corpses, stripping the bodies of valuables and weapons. When they came upon… Read More
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” -John 1:36 Soldiers drove wooden stakes into the crevices of walls throughout the city, lit them, and waited for the heat to burst the limestone bricks. Smoke rose from the hill for days as survivors from the massacre were dug from the rubble,… Read More
At age 49, Mr. X suffered a stroke that transformed his mind. Afterward, he quit his job to live a life of “excessive and persistent generosity.” He “gave liberally” to strangers – food and drink to children living on the streets of his hometown in Brazil, for instance. His wife worried… Read More
Shaun Groves