Essays and Literature

When God and the Church Let Us Down


God is who God is. The Church is who she is. And I am who I am. I will never fully understand God. The Church will always be flawed. And I will continue to struggle with my own demons, sin, and shortcomings until the day I die. Nevertheless, I have found this to be true as well: my faith and relationship with God has filled my heart with a peace that surpasses understanding, with joy I could not produce on my own, with love like no other, and with meaning and purpose in a chaotic world that sometimes seems bent on its own destruction.

Does God Care?


What Jesus’ raising of Lazarus says about God’s heart.

Coping Better with Unwanted Change: Four Steps to Greater Peace and Joy


What unwanted change is wreaking havoc in your life right now? How are you handling it?
In this four-part series, I’m going to share four steps that have been very helpful to me when I have felt heartbroken, frustrated, disappointed, sorry for myself, or any number of other negative emotions due to some unwanted change in my life. These steps (See, Accept, Appreciate, and Delight) may take some time to work through, but when taken thoughtfully and prayerfully, they can help you to get unstuck mentally and emotionally and to find greater peace and joy again.

No Easy Answers in a War Zone


How can you answer troubling questions about God that have no easy answers? How can you talk about God’s love to traumatized people in a war zone, when God seems so distant and disengaged from their suffering? Tim shares how he is sharing faith, hope, and love to those in the current war zones of our world.

Light in the Darkness


These essays are the written versions of  the video series “Light in the Darkness” pertaining to the current Myanmar crisis, which began with a military coup (Feb. 1, 2021). These essays are for all audiences, globally, who are looking for light from God. Each essay/video focuses on one spiritual truth, based on the teaching of the Bible, my faith journey as a Christian, and decades of experience as a minister and professor of New Testament and Christian Spirituality. The spiritual truths discussed are applicable for all those who are facing overwhelmingly difficult times and who are looking to Christ for guidance, strength, and courage to face their darkness.

What God Expects from Us Now


In light of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, this series of posts explores how Jesus’s teaching and example call us to reach out across racial lines to respond compassionately to unjust suffering in society. 

Pilgrimage


What can we expect from God now?


In response to the COVID-19 global crisis, a nine part essay series on trusting God in troubled times.

Politics


In Practice


These individual essays deal with a variety of issues that concern our prayer life.

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