Here’s what you need to appreciate about Willy Wonka… He is a stronghold for the oppressed (Psalm 9:9). Willy prioritizes the redemption of persecuted peoples, like the Oompa-Loompas. The Oompa-Loompas faced terrible hardships and peril in Loompaland (nothing but thick jungles infested by the most dangerous beasts in the world – – – > hornswoggles […]
I have a strong inclination to protect the lambs of Jesus against prowling wolves who trick people into exchanging their identity in Christ for lesser things. I’m very concerned about the great harm that comes to people when they fixate on anything more than they fixate on the Word of God (a.k.a. Jesus of Nazareth […]
There is A LOT being written about abuse of power these days. I’m sad to say that the stories from Scripture below are hardly ever emphasized. They might be alluded to or mentioned, but typically they are not what we pour ourselves into. Jesus of Nazareth loved and cared for people best by insisting that […]
Jopsul was lazy and messy. Jopsul excused himself from hard work while expecting a lot from others. Jopsul was commanded and encouraged to work quietly and to earn his own living. Jospsul was told that if he rejected this command, the community would take note of him and have nothing to do with him, in […]
I recently got an internship with a big organization. This morning I sat in on a meeting with the leaders of the organization. The boss of the institution was getting reports from his leadership team, and one of the veteran department heads asked the boss a very awkward question… “Why have you done evil to […]
“He [Bilbo] used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary. ‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,’ he used to say. ‘You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your […]
Y’all know Brandon Hawkes. He’s one of our favorites. He’s an amazing disc golfer, and his sincerity is palpable. Brandon recently asked me some questions about ECPC’s evangelism training program. In the course of our conversation, Brandon made the following observation, “It seems that many people are shouldering an unnecessary sense of personal deficiency and […]
2/3/2021 (one day after Groundhog’s Day) Dear David, One of our favorite movies is “Groundhog Day,” so you can imagine how excited we are to write this letter to you after having celebrated The Marvelous Marmota Monax Jubilee just yesterday! We are also big fans of Stephen King, and we just finished reading “The Green […]
My buddy Tim says, “A binding promise is crucial for creating deep and lasing trust and zeal.” Tim told me about an article by a guy named Lewis B. Smedes, entilted “Controlling The Unpredictable: The Power of Promising,” where essentially LBS locates the very basis of our identity in the power of promising. LBS says, […]
1/18/2021 Dear David, We received your letter back on 9-28-2020. And at long last, we are writing you back! Tell us more about yourself (where you’re from, the best and worse part of life for you at present, favorite book [besides the Bible], favorite film, best birthday gift you ever got, etc.). The best way […]