Editor’s Note: When actor Gary Sinise took on the role of Lieutenant Dan Taylor for the 1994 film Forrest Gump, he had no idea just how it would change his life forever. Not only did his performance garner an Oscar nomination, but it set Sinise on a new path — one of service on…
Writing a Better Story
Nearly every day in the summer, I take my dog to Westmoreland Park, where she plays in the creek. She runs up and down through the creek bed, diving headlong into the water, chasing ducks. Sometimes when I watch her I think about how good life can be, if we only lose ourselves in our…
A Man’s Deepest Question
The story of Adam’s fall is every man’s story. It is simple and straightforward, almost mythic in its brevity and depth. And so every man comes into the world set up for a loss of heart. Then comes the story we are much more aware of — our own story. Where Adam’s story seems…
Blessed are the Peacemakers
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” —Matthew 5:9 White attending Sunday School as a child, my classmates and I were asked to memorize Bible verses. We began with single verses, and over time worked up to memorizing several verses and entire passages. Among them were Psalm 23, Psalm…
Becoming a King
It is not what a man does that is of final importance, but what he is in what he does. The atmosphere produced by a man, much more than his activities, has the lasting influence. — Oswald Chambers Travel with me for a moment back to the narrow dirt roads of a first-century Roman…
What is a Man?
All too often, some of the most critical aspects of our lives require absolutely no formal training — marriage and parenting, for example. You do not have to take a class to become a parent or even to marry someone, even though these are both lifelong commitments. No formal training is required for these…
Better to Be Known than Famous
If we are going to walk in the fame for which we were created, it will require that we learn to distinguish between His fame and the fame of this world. * Known But whoever loves God is known by God. — 1 Corinthians 8:3 We try to be famous when we should long…
A Different Kind of Men’s Group
Editor’s note: Nate Larkin is the founder of the Samson Society, a fellowship of Christian men with groups that meet virtually and in-person across the globe. Many men (but not all) first come to the Samson Society from a place of brokenness, addiction, or pain. But no matter how they arrive, all that attend recognize…
Relinquishing Control
When you can’t sleep, don’t count sheep — read Scripture. Distinguish between God’s voice and the voice of fear. Worry takes a look at catastrophes and groans, “It’s all coming unraveled.” God says, Every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. — Romans 8:28 MSG Worry claims, “The world…
How Long Can You Keep This Up?
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. — C. S. LEWIS, THE PROBLEM OF PAIN I grew up believing my father was a sandy blond golfer-turned-insurance-broker from Omaha, Nebraska. As a black-haired, olive-skinned kid from Orange County, I never connected with that narrative. Surfing was…