Summer makes for a great time to read. As I have said before (and it is not original with me), you will become who you are in no small part because of the people you meet, the places you go, and the books you read. Thus I just went to Greece, met some very cool people, and read some books along the way. Here are two more books I highly recommend. One I just finished, the other I read years … →

Note: this is a post written by me with a SEBTS student named Sabrina Crawford which was originally published here. Aphrodite. Alexandra. Nikoleta. Dimitrius. Pantelis. Adonis. Names like these may bring to mind an image of an ancient Greek god or goddess, or names marked by obscurity to the American context.  But to those of us who recently traveled to the land of Greece, each of these names represents a person someone we personally met, someone for whom we had … →

A few years ago in a Washington, DC Metro train station a street musician performed with a violin. If you have spent much time on trains in cities anywhere on the earth you know amateur musicians often play in such venues for any little spare change they can muster from those standing nearby. So what was different about this man? This violinist needed no money. He hardly qualified as a run-of-the-mill street musician. The man’s name was Joshua Bell, a … →

”In many ways we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece.” Nia Vardalos “For my part, it was Greek to me.” William Shakespeare Today, while many of my pastor friends were enjoying great preaching at the Pastors Conference in Orlando, I painted a fence. I sweated more than I have in a while, but by tomorrow at noon a playground that looked like a training ground for urban street gangs will appear as if it were just opened. I … →

I fly on planes. A lot. This Friday I am leaving for Europe in fact. If you fly, you know the drill. First, the boarding pass drill. Make sure you get that thing printed or you will not get through security. Next, the security drill. Do not kid about bombs or explosives, have a quart-sized bag for all liquids, each of which is less than 3 ounces. Have your boarding pass in hand and show your ID. Take off nearly … →