Author Archive
Helping Oppressors or the Oppressed?
Because the weight of the recent discussion about wifely submission has leaned towards the topic of abuse within marriage, I’ve been seeking the Lord for more clarity on this painful issue. First Peter 3 encourages wives to adorn their spirit by quietly hoping in God through respect and submission. But repeated or prolonged patterns of [...]
Grace for Slackers
“Woman, get in your place and stay there!” With these words in last week’s post I was preaching boldly to myself while some of my readers were startled. If you are a woman who has heard those words spoken without compassion and understanding, I apologise for setting a tone that may have alarmed you. I [...]
When Your Husband’s a Slacker
“I wish he would lead us in family devotions.” “Why doesn’t he get off his lazy backside and get a job?” “He never does anything with the kids.” “When is he going to see that I’m run off my feet while he plays internet games and watches the footy?” “What’s wrong with him? Doesn’t he [...]
Legalism’s Whip
Helen’s lips trembled and her aqua-blue eyes brimmed with tears. “At the Christian college I attended, students were not allowed to ride in other people’s cars. But one day when I was shopping with roommates, a friend passed us in her car and offered us a lift back to campus. We gladly accepted. Feeling guilty [...]
Spice Up Your Public Bible Reading
Switching on my iPod, I prepared to skip the Bible reading and go straight to the preaching. But something about the well-modulated tones stridently spiced with a Bronx accent arrested my attention. Aside from the fact that the woman’s voice was reading from a modern translation, this oral presentation of God’s Word brought fresh perspective [...]
When a Backyard Barbecue Becomes a Heavenly Rendezvous
Do you ever come away from spending time with another Christian feeling unsatisfied with the quality of fellowship? That you talked about sports and politics or cooking and kids but never really touched on deeper topics of the heart? Do you long for conversations to stray past the safety zone of general topics and delve [...]
Why I Wouldn’t Give my Friend a KJV
Revered as it is for its poetic language, renowned as it is for its weighty contribution to everyday English, and respected as it is for its scholarly accuracy, the language of the King James Bible is not the way that we speak in the twenty-first century. The English of 1611 is simply not the English [...]
Points of Light on a Southwest Flight
Air travel in America has morphed since my first trip in 1983. In those days dressing up was the norm, meal service was complimentary, and bags flew free. Now we wear what’s most comfortable, buy our own food, and pay extra for bags. Except on Southwest. That’s the US airline where bags fly free. We [...]
Hope for Homosexuals
In the last blogging segment I wrote a post called “Straight Talk about Gay Guys”, trying to touch on the issue of homophobia in our local churches and in ourselves. The topic of homosexuality—both gay and lesbian—is uncomfortable for many of us. But it won’t go away, and it’s probably closer to home than most [...]
Cultivating a Culture of Growth in the Church
Another sad story of church stagnation. Faces lined with weary stubbornness dot the congregation. Numbers are depleted since our last visit a few years ago, but besides the smaller numbers, nothing has changed except the decorations in the church lobby. Knowing a little of the background of this once thriving church, I wonder what led [...]
Tell Me More
A loud red t-shirt with bold silver letters bearing a Tongan message was a recent gift to my husband. Not knowing the Tongan language, he had to ask several Tongan friends what the words meant. “Difficult to say in English,” was the usual response. Finally, he found someone who was willing to hazard a rough [...]
Bible Truths for the Right-Brained
Ever heard the joke “Left-handed people are the only people in their right minds”? Roger Sperry, who won a Nobel prize in 1981 for his work with split-brain research, is responsible for much of our understanding of how the two halves of the brain control different functions. In summarising some of his findings, Sperry wrote [...]
