Pastoral Writings from Wade Thomas Jr.
How I define myself is a good indicator of what I'm worshiping. How do I define myself in those first few moments of the morning, right after the alarm and before the coffee? How do I think of myself during the day? How do I classify myself in opposition to the people I quarrel with... Continue Reading →
The question before every human being isn't, "Am I good?" It's "What do I do with the evil and ugliness in my heart?" You have great evil, monstrous and awful thoughts and deeds, burrowing in your mind and in your behaviors. I do, too. Something must be done with them. Sin brings death, and I... Continue Reading →
We don't get to define what "life" is. We don't get to define what "human" is. If we say someone with Down's Syndrome isn't human, we're wrong. If we act like a certain ethnic group isn't human, we're wrong. If our nation passed a law stating that all humans with severe mental disabilities weren't human... Continue Reading →
The closest thing in the world to free will is a man loving what he loves. Generally when people talk or write or think about free will, I think the implication is that there is an action with no cause except the will itself. I didn't stand up because someone pulled a string in my... Continue Reading →
It's been my experience that snark deadens the soul. Sarcasm has a way of numbing the senses. It puts an opaque sheen of disbelief over any sentiment, any true human feeling, eventually any experience. Snark is so cynical, in its extreme forms, anyway, that it looks through everything, so that in the end there's nothing... Continue Reading →
Specifically, a word to Christians who have no pastors or elders who they will submit to. Who buck against the very notion. It is virtually impossible to be spiritually healthy when no other Christian has the authority to speak into your life. If you do not have any Christian who you submit to, any other... Continue Reading →
Porn twists sex into something ugly. By the very acts it depicts it says that sex requires no promise, no covenant, and no self-sacrificial love. Porn is not a joke. It is not normal. It is not healthy. It is deadly serious, aberrant, and toxic. It tries to make something that is beautiful, beautiful in... Continue Reading →
All men love things, but not all men love good ones. And the way you can tell what a man loves is what he lives and dies for. Whether it's video games or sex or reputation or knowing and glorifying the Creator, a man will live and fight for and exult in and constantly want... Continue Reading →
No one in this life is beyond the the possibility of deep sin or crisis or crippling despair. No one is beyond the reach of life simply falling apart. Which is another way of saying that no one is beyond needing Jesus. I read a 1994 Washington Post story about a normal family man who... Continue Reading →
