Contemplating the various Good Friday observances—or lack thereof—taking place today, I found myself recalling a conversation I had fifteen years ago while living in Virginia Beach. I had the privilege of performing the role of High Priest in the tenth anniversary season of The Man Called Jesus, a top-shelf passion play that, with changes of [...]

I’m in North Carolina this week, just outside Asheville at the beautiful Ridgecrest Conference Center, one of my favorite away-from-home places in the world. Ever since I met my sweetheart in Greensboro and we honeymooned on the Outer Banks, I’ve had a special place in my heart for Carolina (only yankees and outsiders call it [...]

It’s been a busy time around here, what with multiple priorities to manage at work, a staff that’s one man short (guess who gets to do the extra work?) and of course preparing for this year’s American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conference in Minneapolis later this week. It’s a particularly exciting conference for me, because [...]

An incredibly encouraging sign appeared in my kitchen this morning. It was something I haven’t seen in a while, a phenomenon that spoke to me loud and clear about God’s grace and His passion for “healing the broken hearted and bandaging their wounds.” (Psalm 147:2)
As I doctored my coffee, Wookie asked for–in her usual demanding [...]

I’ve just returned from a pre-screening of the new film Evan Almighty. I’ve been curious about this one, ever since I saw an ad for it on the back cover of a major Christian magazine. And banner ads on several Christian websites. And trailers on several Christian TV programs. Do I detect a pattern [...]

Back in 1990 or so, I lost the right to call myself “unpublished” (and disqualified myself from a remarkable number of writing contests) by selling the first article I ever wrote to Christian Single for a whopping $64. My pastor, and his drawer full of rejection letters, never forgave me. If I had realized that [...]

I’m writing this from a splendid, weathered rocking chair in a place known affectionately as “Rocking Chair Ridge.” It’s a wonderful little strip of elevated concrete that spans the gulf between two buildings at the Ridgecrest Conference Center, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I’m here for the Blue Ridge Mountains [...]