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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• 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 »
• Offended - Who was the most recent person to malign you? Make you look bad (or stupid)? Denigrate you (to your face, or behind your back)? Take advantage of you? Even rip you off? read more »
• Of Toy Trucks and Toasters - Christmas is a Baby in a manger. But Christmas is also God reaching out to a hostile world…. read more »
• Why Does a Church Need Spiritual Gifts? - God’s plan for the church, as explained by the apostles, is that our various needs be met by a variety of input…. 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 »
• On the Receiving End of “the Look” - Did you grow up with a mom or a dad who, if you got out of line, could stop you in your tracks without saying a word? I certainly did. If I was doing or saying something inappropriate (especially in front of other people), a cold stare would let me know I had better cut… read more »
• Little Ones to Him Belong - God has promised to use the small, the weak in special and surprising ways…. 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 »
• Well, It’s Legal, Isn’t It? - Have you noticed how frequently ethical debates these days start—and end—with the question “Is it legal?”? read more »
• “Just Go Out and Have Fun” - A seven-year-old climbs in the minivan after attending a birthday party. “Did you have fun?” his mother asks. A star quarterback tells the after-game interviewer, “We said at halftime, ‘We’re too uptight. Let’s just go out there and have fun, and we’ll win this thing.’” An employee is asked by his friend how the new… read more »
• Back to School—What Christian Kids Need Most - Notebooks and pencils and gym sox—that’s the least of it. Physical preparation for a new school year is only half the job…. read more »
• 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 »