“To God Be the Glory” and “Because He Lives” bookend the sweet spot of evangelical hymnody: Fanny Crosby’s song is a classic example of the gospel hymn genre that was synonymous with the 19th-century revivals that birthed evangelicalism, while Bill Gaither’s song is a 20th-century hit of the same lineage.   As Billy Graham is... Continue Reading

Today he would almost certainly be diagnosed as clinically depressed and treated with medication and therapy. The depression could hit him so intensely that, he once said, “I could say with Job, ‘My soul chooseth strangling rather than life’ [Job 7:15]. I could readily enough have laid violent hands upon myself, to escape from my... Continue Reading

“Me too” teaching tends to do the very opposite of what it intends. Instead of causing us as Christian leaders to identify with our people at a deeper level, it often causes us to identify with them primarily in terms of our sin, rather than in terms of the good news. It frequently damages community... Continue Reading

Overwork kills your creativity because an idle brain is anything but idle. When you take time to rest, your Default Network lights up, connecting pieces of your brain that don’t usually talk to one another. The result is often bursts of inspiration and creativity.   In the 2007 film “Music and Lyrics,” an absent-minded lyricist... Continue Reading

 In spite of Cowper’s distrust of his own salvation, Newton never doubted it for a moment. He was just “astonished and grieved” by the pain his friend was suffering. “My dear friend still walks in darkness,” he wrote. “I can hardly conceive that anyone in a state of grace and favor with God can be... Continue Reading

An “in your face” friend is often also an “on my knees” friend. The same friends who confront us lovingly often regularly intercede for us. They care that much. In our sin, we become obstinate. Even if our sin is seemingly private and unknown, it affects us in some way. Others who know us well can recognize... Continue Reading

The plain wood coffins are made of plywood and were lined with mattress pads made from Walmart comforters covered by fabric. They are adorned with brass handles and a cross on top and are said to cost $215. According to the former warden of Angola, the Graham family also asked that all of the inmates... Continue Reading

The lesson I come back to after all good biographies is the same: our greatest strengths are bound to be our greatest weaknesses. We can see how inattention to nuance and ambiguity go along with self-confidence and visionary plans, just like “going along to get along” is the underbelly of being a profoundly likeable person.... Continue Reading

Lucy’s beliefs were clearly expressed in a warm letter to her daughter Barbara – an admonition to stand firm against the proliferation of heretical sects. The letter, posthumously published as On the Principles of the Christian Religion, is pregnant of a mother’s concern for her daughter and indicative of Lucy’s theological clarity.   Seventeenth-century England was a... Continue Reading

“In Christ the judgment is passed. The storm is over. The Hell is past. If you know Christ, there’ll be no judgment for you. There is therefore now no judgement to them that are in Christ Jesus. There is no hell for you. You will live eternally with the Lord Jesus Christ and with the... Continue Reading