Starting this month, the YouVersion Bible App will feature a 7-day reading plan based on my book GO: Following Jesus to the Ends of the Earth. I’m excited to share this plan with the many people who have the YouVersion Bible on their phones and to encourage people towards greater involvement in missions.
You can access the plan through the YouVersion Bible app, or you can go there directly here: GO: 7 Day Reading Plan.
Over the next several weeks, interspersed with other posts, I will feature the reading plan on my blog. Either way you view it, I’d love for you to check it out and share your thoughts.
Plain talk. Wisdom from the old school. Jordan Peterson has sold 2 million copies of his book (a million more than when this book cover was printed). Many of his fans are young men. What’s the big deal? Why is Peterson so popular?
Peterson himself has a simple explanation for his extraordinary popularity: In a culture that sanctifies victimhood, he proposes that people confront life’s inevitable pain unflinchingly. So here is Peterson in a nutshell: Life is suffering. We can only bear it if it has meaning. And meaning is created when you take responsibility – by confronting hardship and firmly steering your ship forward, even against waves that will, ultimately, overwhelm it. This is a message people are “hungry for” in our times, he says (from an article on Haaretz.com).
Peterson covers a lot of ground in his book. I found the ongoing topic of growing into adulthood especially fascinating. I resonated with this passage from Rule 11: Do Not Bother Children When They Are Skateboarding. Peterson is describing how men like to work with each other: “Men enforce a code of behavior on each other, when working together. Do your work. Pull your weight. Stay awake and pay attention. Don’t whine or be touchy. Stand up for your friends. Don’t suck up and don’t snitch. Don’t be a slave to stupid rules. Don’t, in the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, be a girlie man. Don’t be dependent. At all. Ever. Period. …are you tough, entertaining, competent and reliable? If not, go away. Simple as that. We don’t need to feel sorry for you. We don’t want to put up with your narcissism, and we don’t want to do your work.
I’ve worked with groups of men in various situations, both in ministry and non-ministry arenas, and I find this description accurate and freeing. Add to this Peterson’s profound respect for truth as found in the Bible and you find a guru that many young men find attractive. And one this older man finds compelling as well.
Few stories in the Bible are as terrible as the story of Herod murdering all the infants around Bethlehem following the visit by the Magi. When told of the newborn king, Herod sent troops to kill every boy 2 years old and younger. The Bible is unvarnished in its depiction of the evil found in the heart of mankind.
I saw this painting in a museum in Spain recently. The artist set the biblical story in a more modern setting, in the low countries of Europe in the late 1500s. A close view reveals the callous horror of the crime. I stood for several long minutes, soaking in the pain and loss. Visit the website of the museum, enlarge this painting and take a long look.
Here’s a reminder of what the spiritual forces in this world will do to keep Jesus from those he came to save. I’m reminded that although we “battle not against flesh and blood,” we certainly do battle. Sometimes our faith is challenging, and sometimes our faith involves life and death. Sometimes evil murders innocents. Understand the gravity of our faith. Gratefully, this is not how the story ends, but these stories are hard to deal with while we wait.
One of the newest projects from the Global Missions Research & Development team that I lead is called Teach with Cru. This program involves sending new graduates abroad to serve as teachers on university campuses and in Christian high schools. Most of these teachers will focus on English instruction, the most sought after language to know in the world.
Did you know that many countries that aren’t so keen on Christian missionaries will openly welcome Christian English teachers? Teachers find doors open where more traditional missionaries don’t even get to knock.
As you know, a good teacher is a powerful influence in the life of a student. Remembering how teachers changed our lives, it’s not hard to imagine the impact outstanding teachers can have around the world, as they teach English and live out their Christian faith in many challenging situations.
Join me in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2026. If you spend 30 minutes a day on social media, you can read through the Bible in a year. Download the 5 Day Bible Reading Plan, grab your Bible and join in. You’ll be glad you spent this year with the men and women of Scripture.
Seers, Sayers, Schemers & Saints
Stories to encourage you with the leadership experiences of overlooked men and women of the Bible. Their lives will inform your story, and move you to step out and lead.
GO: Following Jesus to the Ends of the Earth
This book contains reflections on the Lordship of Christ, the Great Commission, and a life of adventure and eternal significance. Read this book and you won't be able to sit still!
