Matthew Bingham’s book A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation was introduced to our church leadership team by our lead pastor at our annual leadership retreat last fall, who encouraged all of us to read it. It has since become a very influential book in our church, with many reading and discussing it, including our officer candidates. You can read my review of the book here, and I highly commend the book to you.
But what is spiritual formation? Like me, you may have heard the term, but aren’t’ sure exactly what it is. You may have heard about friends getting degrees in spiritual formation from a Bible college or seminary. Bingham helpfully tells us that the term spiritual formation has arisen to describe the biblical process of molding the mind, heart, and life of a Christian into conformity to Christ.
In his book, Bingham introduces what he refers to as the “Reformation Triangle” of scripture, meditation, and prayer which is at the heart of historic Protestant spiritual formation. Taken together, these three can be conceived as a conversation between the believer and God: we hear from God through his word, we reflect on what we’ve heard in meditation, and we then respond to God in prayer. Continue reading
Reformation Triangle of Scripture, Meditation and Prayer, Part 1
Matthew Bingham’s book A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation was introduced to our church leadership team by our lead pastor at our annual leadership retreat last fall, who encouraged all of us to read it. It has since become a very influential book in our church, with many reading and discussing it, including our officer candidates. You can read my review of the book here, and I highly commend the book to you.
But what is spiritual formation? Like me, you may have heard the term, but aren’t’ sure exactly what it is. You may have heard about friends getting degrees in spiritual formation from a Bible college or seminary. Bingham helpfully tells us that the term spiritual formation has arisen to describe the biblical process of molding the mind, heart, and life of a Christian into conformity to Christ.
In his book, Bingham introduces what he refers to as the “Reformation Triangle” of scripture, meditation, and prayer which is at the heart of historic Protestant spiritual formation. Taken together, these three can be conceived as a conversation between the believer and God: we hear from God through his word, we reflect on what we’ve heard in meditation, and we then respond to God in prayer. Continue reading
A Prayer for Summer
Our Father in Heaven,
Although the calendar tells us that summer doesn’t begin until June 21, summer has always seemed to begin for me when school gets out and we celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. I’ve always thought of summer as the months of June, July and August. Memorial Day to Labor Day. Summer is by far my favorite season of the year.
Thank you, Father, for the season of summer. I love the warm temperatures, the green grass, trees blowing in the wind, and the fact that here in the Midwest it will stay light until nearly 9:00 pm.
Thank you for seeing us through a cold, sometimes bitterly cold winter. Also, thank you for protecting us from several severe storms early this spring. Continue reading
My Favorites from the First Half of 2026
As I have done for several years now, I am sharing my favorites in a variety of categories. All items listed were released or took place during the first half of 2026, except for books, which reflect books that I read during the first half of 2026, regardless of publication date. I hope you enjoy this list, and find some good recommendations.
Movies
Top Pick: A Great Awakening Continue reading
My Review of the Movie ‘Tuner’
Tuner, rated R
***
This film is about a piano tuner that gets involved in criminal activity because of his gift of hearing. The film is directed by Oscar winner Daniel Roher (Navalny), and written by Roher and Robert Ramsey.
Niki White, played by Leo Woodall, is a young man who possesses the rare talent of perfect pitch. At one time, he was an excellent pianist, but he no longer plays. He is the apprentice to piano tuner and repairman Harry Horowitz, played by two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man, Kramer vs. Kramer).
Harry hasn’t raised his prices for thirty years. We never see Harry do any work. He enjoys Niki and loves him like a son, and eats what his wife Marla, played by two-time Emmy nominee Tovah Feldshuh (Law & Order, Holocaust), tells him he shouldn’t. Continue reading
THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes
- The Difference Between Ben Sasse and So Many Other Saints. Tim Challies writes ‘Sasse encourages me to remember and praise God for all of his people, great and small, known and unknown, who have received their final diagnosis as their final challenge—their final opportunity on this side of the grave to testify to their love for the Lord and the peace they have in him. May you and I be equally faithful.”
- Dying in Public: The Witness of Ben Sasse. Megan Fowler writes “The truth is, “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:27). The way Sasse has stewarded this physical trial reminds Christians that we have all been entrusted with a brief window in which to live. Though our death may not be as public as his, our faith certainly can be.”
- Practical Ways to Prepare Your Heart for Gathered Worship. In this short video, Paul Tripp offers practical advice for preparing your heart for Sunday.
- Sabbath is More Than Self-Care. Megan Hill writes “It turns out that the fruit of the Sabbath isn’t ultimately about our well-being. It’s about having more of God himself.”
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
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- More interesting article links
- Favorite Quotes of the Week
FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday
Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles
- In Working for Christ, There Are No Dead-End Jobs. Alistair Begg writes “Whenever you find Christians who don’t give their best to their work, you have found Christians who have forgotten who they’re working for.”
- Lisa Slayton: Wisdom for a World in Flux. “Life under the sun has always been a life in flux. And yet, in our world today, we are experiencing change at a dizzying pace. On top of that- our awareness of the brokenness in the world feels limitless. But our limitations as humans remain. More than ever we must slow down and discern ever-more-clearly, the voice of God calling us to our particular places, causes and communities- and the work that is ours to do, today. On this episode of the Wisdom Series, on Faith, Work & Rest, Lisa Slayton offers rich wisdom from her many years accompanying leaders to do just that.”
- Called to Lead. My book Called to Lead: Living and Leading for Jesus in the Workplace is available in both a paperback and Kindle edition. Read a free sample (Introduction through Chapter 2).
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
- More links to interesting articles
- The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
- Faith and Work Book Review ~ Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-Up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things by Mike McKinley
- Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels
Leadership Attributes: Self Discipline
In our series on leadership attributes, we now look at self-discipline. Self-discipline is important in all areas of life, not just for leaders. We need to demonstrate self-discipline to do those things that are important to us, even when we don’t feel like doing them. For example, we need to demonstrate discipline to read the Bible daily even when we are very busy. We need to demonstrate the discipline to get physical exercise – for me it is walking – even when the weather is not ideal. And we need to demonstrate discipline to eat a balanced diet, even when we would prefer to maintain a diet of pizza, hamburgers and ice cream. Continue reading
My Review of the movie “Pressure”
Pressure, rated PG-13
****
This well-acted and tense film is based on the true story of events in the 72 hours leading up to the D-Day invasion. It was directed by Anthony Maras (Hotel Mumbai) and written by Maras and David Haig, based on Haig’s 2014 stage play.
The Allies are ready for their D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy, which would begin Operation Overlord. The planned date for the top-secret invasion was June 5, 1944. The only thing that could delay the operation was the weather.
Even though Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, played by Oscar winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale), has his own chief meteorologist, on British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s recommendation, he brings in Group Captain James Stagg, played by Emmy nominee Andrew Scott (Ripley, Black Mirror), as chief meteorological officer for this operation.
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for more of this review… Continue reading
My Review of the movie “The Breadwinner”
The Breadwinner, rated PG
** ½
The Breadwinner is the first feature film starring comedian Nate Bargatze. It’s a humorous film about how Nate, a dad played by Bargatze tries to manage the household and take care of his three daughters while wife Katie, played by Emmy nominee Mandy Moore (This is Us), is gone for weeks to pursue a business opportunity. The film will appeal to all ages and would be a good one for the entire family to enjoy together.
The film was directed by Emmy winner Eric Appel (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) and written by Bargatze and Dan Lagana. As the credits roll at the end of the film, you see jokes from Bargatze’s standup routine that made it into the script of the film.
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for more of this review… Continue reading