Parchment & Pen Blog

It is hard to believe it has been so long. Two years ago my mind broke. I wrote about it while in the darkness. I can’t believe it has been two years. No, no. This is not a “recovery letter.” This is not a testimony of victory. You know, a testimony: where I was before, [...]

I blame it on my “Friday Nights” I have with my kids. A “Friday Night” only comes every so often. The kids (Katelynn 12, Kylee 11, Will 8, Zach 4) get to stay up as late as they want, eat as much candy as they want, and drink as much coffee as they want and dad will stay [...]

I see myself as an evangelical (lower case) Christian (uppercase) apologist. I think every Christian is an apologist to some degree. No, not a “professional apologist” like Rob Bowman, William Lane Craig, or Mike Licona, but we all have formulated some degree of warrant or justification for our faith. Just like everyone is a theologian, every [...]

Dear Michael, Let me leave any accolades aside (as it might seem self-serving). Besides, as the old saying goes, nothing matters before the word “but” so I will spare you of having to skim through all that stuff. There are a few things that I would like to encourage you about. Please take this as iron [...]

“Bang!!” The gun went off. My ears were ringing, my constitution shaken, and I, for a brief moment, felt as if I were in a dream. However, my heart did not stop, nor did I lose control of any bodily functions. I was quite surprised to see how composed I was. You see, before this event [...]

Name Artist Chasing Cars Snow Patrol Not Meant To Be Theory Of A Deadman You and Me Lifehouse Come Back Down Lifehouse Hanging By a Moment Lifehouse Boston Augustana Dirty Day U2 The Unforgettable Fire U2 Please U2 Yahweh U2 Walk On U2 Drops of Jupiter Train If You Could Only See Tonic Apologize Timbaland [...]

One of the first thoughts that I have when I get depressed is that I am no longer qualified for ministry. “How can you preach truth when it does not even help you get out of bed?” “You talk about a “deeper” and “truer” belief in Christ. Boy, a lot of good it does you.” [...]

“Rejoice always.” 1 Thes. 5:16 Some of you remember that back in April, I went through a serious fall emotionally. It is what some people call “depression.” I wrote about it while fractured. In short, my mind broke. I don’t know how else to put it.  There was a black hole that suddenly showed up in [...]

Hi folks, just in case you were wondering why there are no posts, I have been on vacation. Really quick: many people have expressed concern for me due to my last post on “leaving” Christ. Some of you know how I roll and know that this is just the way I often blog. I appreciate [...]

The best I can tell, it started about six years ago Jan. 4th. This is when I began to leave my first love. You know the reference. “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” (Rev. 2:4) Chilling. Even more chilling when you come to the realization that [...]

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 [...]