NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE—For almost a month, I have been blogging about the importance of preaching (and singing) the cross. But as we begin Holy Week, I want to take a closer look at the importance of the cross itself. When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, just a...
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—A few days ago, I retweeted this quote from theologian and New Testament scholar Gordon Fee: “Show me a church’s music, and I’ll show you their theology.” The sobering implication is this: your church’s theology will more closely mirror the music...
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Last week, I wrote about the importance of preaching the cross. We must continually emphasize the cross because it is something that most people (religious or secular) don’t want to hear—and it’s something that most preachers (evangelical or...
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—When I was growing up, my family did not go to church every Sunday, but we never missed Christmas Eve or Easter. This image of the “Christmas-and Easter-only” churchgoer is always in the back of my mind when I prepare to preach in the weeks leading...
TAGAYTAY, PHILIPPINES—I am enjoying a few days in beautiful Tagaytay for our annual Every Nation Asian Leadership Team (ALT) meeting. The last time Deborah and I were here, it was for my son James’s wedding. Whenever I gather with our leaders from Asia and hear the...
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Earlier today, Billy Graham, perhaps the most influential religious figure of the twentieth century, died in his home in North Carolina at the age of ninety-nine. Right now, religious and political leaders all over the world are mourning his death...
