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Select a Category A Simple Church Way Hard Conversations Lead A Quiet Life as Resistance Reading in the Trenches Sacred in the Everyday Chaos Series: Advent Series: Bible Study Essentials Series: Four Walls of Gratitude Series: Reading Shelf Series: Sojourn Series: This Is The Lord's Table Series: Year in Review Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People The Holy Work of Parenting The Pilgrimage of Jeff McLain Theology in the Wild Uncategorized

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April 2026

April 04, 2026

Monitoring the Soul: A Review of Multiplier by Dave Ferguson

At the start of Multiplier, released in 2026 by Zondervan Reflective and Exponential Resources, author...

March 2026

March 08, 2026

Hard Conversations: We Accept the Already & Not Yet

Many of us have unfinished projects, unchecked to-do lists, and incomplete tasks. If not, ask...

March 01, 2026

Hard Conversations: We Find Our Identity in Christ

For the past few weeks, I have been blogging through a series called Hard Conversations....

February 2026

February 19, 2026

Guard Your Heart: What’s Shaping the Source?

Lent is a season for examining the heart, leaning into surrender and honest confession. Coming...

February 16, 2026

Hard Conversations: Being Loving Is As Important

Three weeks ago, we began this blog post series on Hard Conversations by acknowledging something...

February 11, 2026

No Sponging: Work With Your Hands. Be Dependent on No One.

When I began the Lead a Quiet Life blog on Patheos in October 2023, it...

November 2025

November 18, 2025

Reading Shelf: Six Bible Translations for Meditation & Study

In keeping with this blog's call to lead a quiet life of stillness and faithfulness,...

November 11, 2025

When God Seems Silent: Naming Values for the Season

“You will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way. Follow it, whether...

October 2025

October 21, 2025

Sojourn: Becoming Missional (Part Five)

This is Part Five of the Sojourn Series. You might enjoy reading the earlier chapters...

October 20, 2025

Sojourn: Becoming Vineyard & Anabaptist Again (Part Four)

This is Part Four of the Sojourn Series. You might enjoy reading the earlier chapters...

October 15, 2025

Sojourn: Becoming Anabaptist (Part Three)

This is Part Three of the Sojourn Series. You might enjoy reading the first two...

October 10, 2025

Sojourn: Becoming Vineyard (Part Two)

This is Part Two of the Sojourn Series. You might enjoy reading the first Part...

October 09, 2025

Sojourn: Becoming a Spiritual Pilgrim (Part One)

Recently, while watching some old video of me twenty years ago on tour with a...

October 01, 2025

A Dangerous Reminder: Synagogues & the Shape of Shared Faith

Not long ago, I stood inside a re-created first-century synagogue at the Museum of the...

September 2025

September 15, 2025

5 Books That Shaped My Rule of Life and Quiet Life Pursuit

Later this week, I am headed to the beach to celebrate my wife, Katie McLain,...

September 08, 2025

Beaten by the False Gospel of Busyness

One of my favorite quotes comes from Kurt Vonnegut in A Man Without a Country....

September 01, 2025

Shared Learning: Rethinking What Church Can Look Like

This Sunday at River Corner Church, we tried something a little different. We experimented with...

August 2025

August 22, 2025

Walking the Four Stages of Faith with Good Leaders

In my last blog post, I looked at the four stages of faith and conversion...

August 18, 2025

Four Stages of Faith and Conversion

Scripture reminds us that faith and conversion are not just moments but a journey. There...

August 12, 2025

ICNU: The Power of Calling Out the Good in Others

I recently wrote on this for our work newsletter, but sometimes, four simple words—“I see...

July 2025

July 24, 2025

A Quiet Way: Embracing Simple Church at River Corner Church

Recently, my wife wrote about the importance of keeping church uncomplicated (check her blog out...

July 23, 2025

When God Rewrote My Never: A Story of Returning to School

What’s something you said you’d never do… but then you did? For me, it was...

July 22, 2025

This Is the Lord’s Table: A Gathering for the Scattered

The Lord’s Table is a powerful opportunity to examine ourselves in a way that moves...

July 16, 2025

Quiet Wins: The Hidden Strength of a Slower Life

We live in a culture that often embraces a "go big or go home" way...

July 10, 2025

The Way of Life: Four Ancient Postures in the Didache

In the commentary introduction to The Two Ways—a volume that pairs the Didache with the...

July 01, 2025

This Is the Lord’s Table: A Sacred Pause for Examination

The Lord’s Table is a powerful opportunity to examine ourselves in a way that moves...

June 2025

June 27, 2025

Pray For Those Who Take from You in the Cover of Night

Sometimes we pray things we don't want to mean, and prayers we don't want to...

June 12, 2025

This Is The Lord’s Table: The Promise of Trust

When I was growing up, the Lord’s Table—also called communion, the Eucharist, or the Lord’s...

May 2025

May 28, 2025

Bible Translations for Everyone: 5 Takes on Translations

If you're trying to choose the right Bible translation for your life and ministry, Bible...

May 26, 2025

Fuller Seminary: What’s Said and Left Unsaid

I earned a Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry in 2020 and a Master...