Archive - The Perspectivalist

My Exhortation to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches at the Beginning of our Council Meeting

In 2023, we counted 97 member churches, 23 mission churches, and three candidate churches, for a total of 123 congregations; according to our latest…

Oct 2 • The Perspectivalist

September 2026

The Reformed Case for Anointing with Oil

Anointing with oil is a sign to the sick, spiritually grieving, or dying person that enables him to be a true witness to the transforming health the…

Sep 29 • The Perspectivalist

The Counselor as Interpreter

Guiding someone is a form of life interpretation. The counselor needs to take the counselee's assumptions about the world and dissect them so the…

Sep 25 • The Perspectivalist

Parenting as Liturgy+Pre-Council Counseling Conference+The Wilderness of Waiting (Cancer Journal #5)

Those 40 days between the MRI and the biopsy were a wilderness of waiting.

Sep 22 • The Perspectivalist

The Book of Joel for Dummies + The Day I Found Out My Cancer Diagnosis (Cancer Diary #4)

For Joel’s audience, the question is “On which side of the day do we want to stand?” There is a good day of the Lord, and then there is a bad day.

Sep 18 • The Perspectivalist

What the Detractors Are Saying About the CREC

Preparing for our meeting has me reflecting on these last three years. These 36 months have been fundamentally different from what I imagined.

Sep 15 • The Perspectivalist

How To Be Ready to Die According to C.S. Lewis? & Cancer Diary #2

For this preparedness to die to be meaningful, we need a dominion mandate that applies not just to the broader culture, but to the person.

Sep 11 • The Perspectivalist

Autobiographical Fragments from my Pastoral Calling, Part 5 + an Audio Sample of Mine from 26 Years Ago + Cancer Notes #1

Little did I know that a week later I would be addressing the entire class at our morning chapel.

Sep 8 • The Perspectivalist

Autobiographical Sketches of My Pastoral Call, Part 4, Iliad Excursions, and Jayber Crow

It didn’t take long to spot the guy with a tie and my name writ large. He drove me to campus, and I will never forget my first sight.

Sep 4 • The Perspectivalist

Answering the Call to the Pastorate: My High School Days in Pennsylvania, Part 3

I quickly found myself enjoying the theological banter among the seniors and arguing frequently on bus rides to soccer games and in Bible classes.

Sep 1 • The Perspectivalist

August 2026

Answering my 9-Year-Old’s Question: “Dad, How Did You Decide to Become a Pastor?” -Part 2 & A Personal Update

One day he pulled me aside and asked whether I wanted to share my testimony in an evening service. I dreadfully agreed.

Aug 28 • The Perspectivalist

Answering my 9-Year-Old: “Dad, How Did You Decide to Become a Pastor?” -Part 1

A Story of My Calling

Aug 25 • The Perspectivalist

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