Articles
Where we’re headed: The future of the church in the United States, Part 2
In my first post, I suggested that the church will move away from divisive to unifying dialogue. I also noted that these predictions are rooted in my experience leaving academia and working with pastors and churches in New England. In this second of four posts, I’ll...
Prayer, Obedience, and the Only Power that Really Matters
I recently taught a class with Right On Mission called Cultural Maturity. It proved to be a timely experience given our particular cultural moment as we continue to face challenges regarding COVID-19, wrestle with tensions over history, race, and public policy, and...
The Evangelist, His Chauffeur, and the Side Stop That Changed Everything
On New Year’s Eve 1949, a fiery, young southern evangelist named Billy Graham was invited to the Boston area to speak at Park Street Church as the congregation brought in the New Year. The evening’s event would also serve as the kickoff for a weeklong crusade at the...
Where we’re headed: The future of the church in the United States, Part 1
Over the past few years as I've been working with Moody Center, based in Dwight L. Moody's home state of Massachusetts, I've had the opportunity to interact with many Christians -- including many pastors -- in New England. If you are not aware, New England has a...
Staying spiritually fit during quarantine: An exercise plan for your soul
In Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics, Samuel Wells argues that our ability to make ethical choices is seldom a question of having special resolve at the moment of decision. It is a question of preparation, or “moral effort,” through which we develop...
Uncertain Times and the Need for Unity
In one of his letters to his brother George, Dwight Moody advises him about some tensions that threaten to create disunity in the church. After expressing his concern about the Y.M.C.A., he urges George to do what is needed to preserve peace in the body of Christ with...
Discipleship: It’s not about me
"The trouble nowadays is that it doesn't mean anything to some people to be a Christian. What we must have is a higher type of Christianity in this country. We must have a Christianity that has in it the principle of self-denial. We must deny ourselves. If we want...
The significance of Northfield, Massachusetts
Pictured: D.L. Moody in his carriage in Northfield, MA D.L. Moody was a well-traveled man. His evangelistic efforts took him to cities and states throughout North America and on journeys across the Atlantic to Great Britain and Europe. Moody’s extensive travel is even...
D.L. Moody and the New England Revival Movements
The early history of New England is characterized by several distinct periods of renewed religious fervor. Dwight L. Moody, himself from the Massachusetts countryside, is one in a line of evangelists and preachers who are still remembered for their important roles in...
Our Mission: Creating Space
Throughout our 20 years of marriage we’ve lived in eight different cities and bought six different houses. As we were reflecting on our rather transient lifestyle, we realized that if we had been trying to keep up that pace, we would have needed to list, sell,...