Daniel McCoy

Who are the Anabaptists, and what can we learn from them? To understand the Anabaptists, it is helpful to see their story in the larger context of church history. When I teach church history, I simplify it by using game board pieces to make it easy to remember: Thimble: The Monopoly thimble represents the early […]

What does the Bible say about work? That depends on where you flip to. The entrepreneurial and successful “Proverbs 31 woman” has a very different relationship to work than the demon-possessed, fortune-telling slave girl of Acts 16. The sluggard will need one set of verses, while the workaholic will need another. Because the question takes […]

Betrayal. You’ve probably experienced it. You might have caused it. It’s the cruelest of vices as it stabs the back only after inviting the embrace. Its victims didn’t see it coming, and that’s why its pain cuts deepest and lasts longest. It’s the affair that wrecks a trusting spouse. It’s the vertigo that sets in […]

Isn’t it frustrating when recipients of God’s lavish grace bark at each other during the church board meeting? Or when a sermon fills you with a blaze of courage only to get snuffed out afterward by small talk with somebody who makes you feel small? Or when you fill up on the Bible first thing […]

What are we to make of the story of Jesus washing feet? This act was meant to give Jesus’ disciples a dramatic example of love to follow so that they could continue being like Jesus for each other after he had left the earth. The Story Here is the basic story of Jesus washing his […]

When you were a kid, did you ever find yourself saying, “You’re not my boss”? Hopefully not to your parents, but perhaps to a bossy older brother or a bossy neighborhood kid? Believe it or not, saying “You’re not my boss” is a great habit to get into. Let me explain. There are all sorts […]

Amish romance novels are a thing. No, I haven’t read one. But this intentionally lackluster genre is apparently a hot seller. Another interesting phenomena (for being so uninteresting) is Hallmark movies. Some people find their predictability irresistible. I’ve heard flip phones are coming back into style (and not just from the uncle who refuses to […]

When you’ve been fasting longer than a day, food becomes a temptation. When you’re trying to get nationally known, popularity becomes a temptation. Likewise, when Jesus was fasting in the wilderness, Satan’s first two temptations would have been tempting. Jesus was hungry, so it made sense that Satan would tempt him with the “stones into […]