Real, pure, unadulterated freedom happens when the resources of the gospel smash any sense of need to secure for myself anything beyond what Christ has already secured for me.

God does everything through people who understand they're nothing. And God does nothing through those who think they're everything.

Christianity is not about good people getting better. It is good news for bad people coping with their failure to be good.

From the time God saved me at 21 years old, I've always been fascinated by the parables of Jesus.

I never had an intellectual struggle with the Bible, with the gospel, with the claims of Christ.

The gospel is good news to those who know they don't measure up. It's offensive to those who think they do.

I've got three kids. I worry about them but the gospel freed me and freed my wife. We are not trying to make our kids think that we're super spiritual or we've got it all together. They see mom and dad being real people. What they hear dad talking about at home is not different from what they see from dad [at church]. That won't guarantee that they'll avoid the whole PK, MK thing. But we are hopefully not contributing to what normally produces that crisis, which is pretending.