Author Archives: salooper57

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About salooper57

Husband, father, pastor, follower. I am a disciple of Jesus, learning how to do life from him. I read, write, walk, play a little guitar, enjoy my family.

When Worlds Go Out of Phase: Physics, Faith, and the Fall

Posted on October 24, 2026 by salooper57

Of course, I am using the “phase” terminology metaphorically, but that does not mean it is merely an illustration. Something similar to phase differences in the natural order has occurred in the spiritual order. Its effects have been deleterious, inhibiting humans from hearing God and seeing him even when he came among them in the person of Jesus Christ. Continue reading →

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The Fruitful Disciple (John 5:1-8)

Posted on October 20, 2026 by salooper57

A fruitless disciple is a contradiction, an unfulfillment, a broken promise. If the life of Jesus is not producing fruit in us, something is not right. If we belong to Jesus, we should be fruitful. Continue reading →

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“Help My Unbelief”: How Great Figures in Faith Navigated Doubt

Posted on October 17, 2026 by salooper57

What most people don’t know is that a year after his Aldersgate experience, Wesley wrote in his journal, “I know that I am not a Christian. I know it because I do not feel that I love God and his Son Jesus Christ as my Savior.” Continue reading →

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Was Paul Really “Compelled by the Spirit”? Questions for Acts 20–21

Posted on October 10, 2026 by salooper57

As I have already written, I am not criticizing the great apostle, but I am questioning whether the NIV is right to translate “compelled by the Spirit,” implying it was God’s will that Paul be beaten, arrested, and imprisoned. Continue reading →

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Peeling the Onion of Fear: How Christ Reclaims the Human Heart

Posted on October 3, 2026 by salooper57

I am still peeling the onion of my fears. I’ve been at it for a lifetime, and I expect it will take a little longer than that. Currently, I am trying to peel away the layer called claustrophobia. (I had a small victory: I got into an MRI machine, which is something I swore I would never do!) Continue reading →

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I Am the True Vine (John 15:1-8)

Posted on September 30, 2026 by salooper57

…it seems to me the church has made precisely the opposite mistake. We have not reached back into old covenant concepts, teachings, sayings, and narratives nearly enough. We’ve reached back to the evangelical trailblazers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Continue reading →

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The God Who Isn’t Finished: Hope for Those Who Think It’s Too Late

Posted on September 26, 2026 by salooper57

I saw B in a Walmart a few months after her mother died. I turned down an aisle and caught a glimpse of her at the other end. I thought that I should go and speak to her, but I chickened out and slinked into a different aisle. Continue reading →

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Way. Truth. Life. (John 14:1-6)

Posted on September 23, 2026 by salooper57

… the call to trust Jesus doesn’t usually come when everything is going smoothly; it comes when our world gets rocked. It’s when something bad happens to our kid and we’re going out of our minds with worry, that Jesus says: “I’ve got this. I’ve got you. Trust me.” Continue reading →

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Restoring Our Center of Gravity

Posted on September 19, 2026 by salooper57

Politics cannot do it. Neither can education or social activism. Medical and psychological treatment are not equipped for it. These things are all good and helpful – even necessary – but they cannot, in and of themselves, provide a solution. Continue reading →

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The Church Since 9/11: What Is Going On?

Posted on September 12, 2026 by salooper57

Churches today are less full than they were twenty-five years ago – marking a nearly 30% decline in attendance. Smaller churches, according to the sociologist and pastor Ryan Burge, are on the verge of extinction. Continue reading →

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