Landon Donovan on the Fickleness of Praise

Former pro soccer star Landon Donavan was the standard-bearer of American soccer for more than a decade. When Donovan was growing up in California, he ...

An Imaginary Talk with God about People-pleasing

Think about this the next time you feel pressure to please someone or to please a group of people rather than trying to fear and please God. Picture yourself ...

University Professor Stands Up for His Faith

At age 26, Ken Elzinga joined the faculty of the University of Virginia. After a tenured colleague warned him that being explicit about his faith would ...

Actor Hugh Jackman's Wounds Still Drive Him

The actor Hugh Jackman, who has played lead roles in X-Men and Les Miserables, describes some of the deep wounds that still drive his life even years ...

Violinist Scans the Audience for His Master Teacher

In his book What God Thinks When We Fail, Steven C. Roy tells a fictional story about a young violinist who lived in London many years ago. Although he ...

Criticism Avoiders Anonymous

"Hello. My name is Clark." (The people gathered in the room respond, "Hi, Clark.")

"I am a…" (Group says, "You ...

Tested through Other People

It is no use pretending we are broken before God if we are not broken in our attitude to those around us. God nearly always tests us through other people. ...

Applause in Worship

Applause is like a wet puppy--once let in the house it is difficult to control. Some aspects of vitality are not appropriate in a worship service. Also, ...

Spectator Spirituality

Whenever I attend yet another church spectator event, I am reminded of A. W. Tozer's disdain and despair for "that strange thing--the program," ...

You Can't Please Everyone

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody.