The Protestant Work Ethic

I enjoyed reading “Whatever Happened to the Work Ethic? The financial bust reminds us that free markets require a constellation of moral virtues” by Stephen Malanga.  Darrow talks extensively about the Protestant work ethic that can help impoverished peoples understand the biblical worldview that lifts people out of poverty and toward a culture of beauty, [...]

The Rise, Reduction, and Recovery of Kingdom Mission (Part 2 of 2)

Winter reminds us that “the First Era” of Protestant missions (from 1800 to 1910) was “Kingdom Mission” focused, as the wonderful first chapter of The Legacy of William Carey by Ruth and Vishal Mangalwadi so powerfully illustrates. The “Second Era” (from 1865 to 1980) “introduced a distinct polarization between those concerned about personal salvation and those [...]

The Rise, Reduction, and Recovery of Kingdom Mission (Part 1 of 2)

During my senior year of college I sensed God’s call to work with the poor. I attended the Urbana missions conference that year (1987), and while there applied (and was later accepted) to serve overseas with Food for the Hungry. Sometime during the spring of 1988, I met with the missions committee of the evangelical [...]

Sabbatical Reflections: The Pursuit of Happiness (Part 3 of 3)

There is a recurring theme in the Scriptures: “Blessed (happy) is the nation whose God is the Lord.”  Both corporate and individual happiness has little to do with “hap” and everything to do with recognizing God as the center of personal and national life.  This is what the Founding Fathers of the United States understood [...]

Sabbatical Reflections: The Pursuit of Happiness (Part 2 of 3)

What does the Bible have to say about happiness? How does it use the word happy?  How does the creator of the universe describe the conditions for happiness?
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word asar means happiness or well being.  It is used to describe the “prudent man.”  “Blessed (happy) are all those who put their [...]

More on the new Truth and Transformation

The following is the foreword to Vishal Mangalwadi’s new and most important book yet—Truth and Transformation: A Manifesto for Ailing Nations, written by Dr. Art Lindsley of the C.S. Lewis Institute:
Many have spoken and written on the crisis of our times—economic, religious, moral and political. Some have said that the culture wars are over and [...]

Truth and Transformation: A Manifesto for Ailing Nations

It is a rare book that has me as excited as Vishal Mangalwadi’s new one does, Truth and Transformation. It simply is one of the most important books I’ve read on the power of a biblical worldview for social and cultural transformation. If this is a topic you care about—as I assume it is if [...]

A Prosperous & Happy Society, Created by Individuals & Institutions, 4/4

Avoiding “The Europe Syndrome”
In my last two blogs, we looked at the essential roles of families, churches and civil government in fostering healthy societies, and how socialist and communist states are defined by the encroachment of the civil government into the roles of both families and churches. The result of this usurpation contributed significantly to [...]

A Prosperous & Happy Society, Created by Individuals & Institutions, 3/4

A Recipe for Disaster
In my last blog, I talked about the unique role and contribution that families, churches and civil government play in fostering healthy societies.
Social disintegration and disorder occurs when these three institutions do not understand, or fail to fulfill their God-given role. It also happens when one of these institutions assumes the role [...]

A Prosperous & Happy Society, Created by Individuals & Institutions, 1/4

The Pursuit of Happiness
When you think of “happiness,” what comes to mind? My pastor recently preached through the book of Philippians and contrasted joy and happiness this way: Happiness is fleeting, transitory, and based on circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, remains-despite our circumstances-if it rests on a deep confidence in God’s unfailing love (see [...]