These are essays from the Real Live Preacher blog. 2002-2010
Originally published in August of 2006 at Real Live Preacher. The big day is finally here; you’ve made it to college. You’ve worked hard to get into Cornell, and I assume you are giddy with excitement. Almost drunk with it. This is the beginning of a modern adventure that is almost mythic for our culture,…
This essay was never published online. It was written for the book (RealLivePreacher.com) and published in 2004. There were 9 essays only that only appeared in the book. The phone call came at night. Doesn’t it seem like they always do? I felt sick. I hung up the phone and turned to my wife. “John…
This short autobiography was posted in four parts from December 14-21, 2002, the first month of Real Live Preacher. I’ve never liked it. It was roughly written, and I cringe when I read it. Correction, I cringed when last I read it back in 2004. My editor at Eerdmans agreed that it was rough, but…
Originally posted at Real Live Preacher on February 18th, 2003. Requested by Bill Gawne Sit down Christian. You cannot wave your unread Bible and scare me because I know the larger story that runs through it beginning to end. I’m trying to resist the temptation to snatch it from your hands and beat you with…
Originally posted at Real Live Preacher on September 4th, 2003. Requested by Paige Baker. I recently watched “The Believer,” a movie based on the true story of Daniel Burros, a Jewish man who was a member of the American Nazi party in the 1960s. I had such mixed emotions while watching it. I was horrified by…
Originally posted at Real Live Preacher on April 25th, 2006. Requested by Brad Chittick. I don’t know how many of you are out there. I have some statistics that suggest there are a lot of you. A very large number of you. I try not to think about that when I’m writing. It’s hard, but…