It was hard to write about the virtues and vices of Saul and David . I saw myself in many of the negatives and only a few of the positives. But to write about the character of Jesus, now that takes a whole other level of daring. He doesn’t present to us character as we are. That was the purpose of writing on Saul and David. Jesus Christ presents to us the character of what we may become. So as you read this, please remember that I’m just doing my best. My presentation of Jesu

Saul looked the part. David was formed in hidden places. One had stature, image, and public strength. The other had been shaped by God in fields, caves, failure, and repentance. This post explores a searching question for every Christian—and especially every church leader: What holds a person up when the pressure comes?

9th in the Wide Witness, Deep Root Series There is a reason nobody hangs a swing from a branch of a hollow tree. A branch like that may look sturdy enough from a distance. It may still have bark. It may still have leaves. But if you hang real weight on it, the branch gives way, the rotten tree comes down, and somebody ends up in the begonias. A lot of modern discipleship feels exactly like that. We want fruit before fiber. We want visible sweetness before invisible strength.