Following a noteworthy career in magazine, curriculum, book and Bible publishing, Dean Merrill is now concentrating on indepen­dent editorial work. Some of his projects are solo writing, many are collaborations with well-known personalities, and still others involve overall directing of complex editorial projects.
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• Goldilocks and the Music Wars- A guerrilla skirmish rumbles across churches. It is not a battle for righteousness or holiness, but instead a struggle over formats and styles…. read more »
• Whatever Happened to Group Prayer?- I’m talking about the entire congregation “going vertical,” disregarding their neighbors to the left and right in order to lift up their hearts and minds simultaneously to the Lord above…. read more »
• We Need a Turnaround- Your 9-year-old comes thundering in the front door, hot and sweaty from chasing up the sidewalk with his friends. Unfortunately … read more »
• Bible Translations: It Doesn’t Matter What You “Like”- Have you noticed that Bible translations even have their own Facebook pages now? The NIV, the NLT, the ESV, the NASB and others are busily telling their stories and collecting tens of thousands of “likes” from their fans. They’re all getting whupped, however, by the venerable King James Version, which has nearly 1.8 million…. read more »
• Underneath the Public Image- It was a dark and stormy night—literally. Thunderheads plumed into the April sky…. read more »
• What’s Your Legacy?- My city, though only a half-million in population, has the No. 1 Subaru dealership in America. Here in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the all-wheel-drive feature means they sell a ton of Legacy models (plus Imprezas, Foresters, Crosstreks and especially Outbacks) to wannabe off-roaders…. read more »
• Heading for “the Airport”- Some mornings when you open your inbox, you wish you hadn’t…. read more »
• Who’s in Charge Here?- read more »
• Good Morning, Isaiah- We can dismiss the morning devotional time as a throwback to decades past, even an obligation of legalism, or we can rediscover its value today…. read more »
• Why Ask Why?- We act surprised in the face of evil only if we’ve been fantasizing that the world is a pleasant, decent place…. read more »
• The Clumsiness of Laws- When we get frustrated with today’s culture—the sleaze, the hostility toward religion, the broken promises, the disrespect for human life—we’re prone to want a legislature somewhere to ban such behavior…. read more »
• What’s the Main Attraction?- Unchurched people aren’t all that interested in slick performance and jolly socializing; they already know where to find those horizontal things. What they yearn for is something upward…. read more »