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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• The Benefits of Not Fitting In - Certain attributes stand out in a crowd, no matter what you do. Red hair, for example. Unusual height (ask me about that one!). A non-majority skin color.Other things, however, can be covered over. Especially in the spiritual realm…. read more »
• Hope Amid the Craziness - People often say, “I don’t want to get my hopes up.” Yes! Get them up! … read more »
• Old Enough to Know Better - Throughout the ages, it has been the task of older and wiser heads to encourage the young, to hold them steady in moments of anxiety, to affirm their talents and to bolster their shaky knees…. read more »
• Welcome to the Minority - Did you know you belong to a minority group? Yes, you do, even if your skin is white, and you speak nothing but English…. read more »
• The Making of a Slowpoke - 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 »
• Lots of Sayin’ Going On - Suddenly it seems my phone is ringing twice as often these early-summer days, while my mailbox is jammed, and the roadsides have sprouted more red-white-and-blue signs than yellow dandelions. Guess what: Another political season has burst open. Here we go again…. read more »
• A Four-Letter Word Called BUSY - What’s the busiest month of the year? Obviously, December, with all the shopping, partying, concertgoing, and traveling…. read more »
• Is Marriage More Chancy These Days? - A number of the old allies have fled—the traditions and forces that used to prop up marriage as an institution. Our generation is in greater need to distinctly Christian reasons to stay married…. read more »
• Can Giving Be Fun? - I remember the day my wife and I stopped tithing. No, we hadn’t departed from the faith, nor were we even rebelling against our upbringing…. read more »
• The Joy of Zingers - Words are like hydrogen; if you know what you’re doing, you can make quite a bang. But you can also blow up innocent bystanders…. read more »
• We Don’t Know What “Lord” Means - What does a Christian mean by saying, “Jesus is Lord”? The answer all depends on which century you have in mind…. read more »