Parchment & Pen Blog

I know of only one person who I believed was being used by God significantly who had not been though some sort of faith crisis that caused them to doubt their beliefs at their deepest level . . . I am getting ahead of myself. As many of you are aware, I deal with many [...]

While I was a singles’ pastor for six years, I often dealt with issues from those whom I had married. I had these issue in both premarital counseling and post-marital counseling. In post-marital counseling things got interesting. I would often sit in the presence of a discouraged wife or husband whose marriage was less than [...]

I often tell people that the moment you get married, you have relinquished the right to teach your spouse anything. I say that with a bit of tongue in cheek, but also with some seriousness. The seriousness reflects a problem of influence we have over our spouse. Human beings are funny creatures. We can be [...]

Andy Naselli over at Between Two Worlds gives an excellent summary of Paul David Tripp’s What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage. Every time I read these lists I am convicted of how far I fall short. Yet, like all reminders, it brings hope and motivation for the future. This looks like a needed [...]

Kristie and I are married. We have the certificate to prove it. The state says we are married and so I believe it. So does my church. So do my church friends. We even wear wedding rings. We also tell people we are married. We have it all. We made our vows thirteen years ago [...]

There has been some recent discussion about this issue in my part of the woods. As with some other issues, I am open to amending my theology, especially when it is in an area of great controversy such as this. In fact, I have nuanced and refined my stand on this issue since I last [...]

At church, you numbskull! Numbskull, n “Thick-headed, dumb, oblivious to the obvious” Many of you know, but some of you don’t. I spent the early years of my ministry (wait . . . these are still the early years!) doing many things. As a pastor at Stonebriar Community Church, I spent time in various departments: [...]

I have been asked this quite a few times over the years and the issue was brought up again recently. Can homosexuals be Christians? Or, better, is there such a thing as a “homosexual Christian.” Many would believe that someone who engages in a homosexual life style is necessarily excluded from the Kingdom of God [...]

Here is a question I recieved from someone as a follow-up to my last blog. Question: I have a deep love for the lady who I’ve been dating and I’m getting set to pop the question to her.  I love apologetics. You know that. I love teaching it as well. However, apologetics is not God. [...]

It was 2000. Or was it 1999? Not sure. My wife and I had been married for three years. Katelynn was two; Kylee was on the way. We lived in a little one bedroom apartment about ten minutes from campus. I was living my dream as I started the four year ThM program at Dallas [...]

There has been some recent discussion about this issue in my part of the woods. As with some other issues, I am open to amending my theology, especially when it is in an area of great controversy such as this. In fact, I have nuanced and refined my stand on this issue since I last [...]

Where do I begin with this? Not sure. I don’t want to be misunderstood in what I am trying to say—Or better, I don’t think that I am trying to say anything, just ask some questions. I will try to give you the essence of my thoughts, then I will attempt to explain what I [...]