Read more

Ancient Echoes is a repost of a piece I wrote a year ago. I’m sharing it again because the moment has caught up with the message.

Some words don’t expire; they echo.

Happy Reading!

Some things never change.

I know that sounds provocative coming from a guy in the business of change, as both a pastor and coach, but hear me out.

I’m not saying they can’t change. I’m saying they don’t.

Not at the deepest level.

At the core of history, despite the shifts in culture and technology, the fundamental realities of human existence remain the same.

To quote the wise man, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”

Think about it.

If you sat down with anyone from ancient history, what would they say about the world we live in now? Sure, they might not recognize our technology, but they’d recognize our struggles: the pursuit of power, the loss of moral clarity, and the longing for something transcendent.

This is why history repeats itself. Not because time is a loop but because humans remain stubbornly predictable. Look across history, and you’ll find three cycles that show up again and again:

1. Empire & Decay

2. Moral Drift

3. Technological Advancement & Amnesia

Let’s take a closer look.

1. Empire & Decay

History is full of empires that seemed invincible until they weren’t.

Egypt ruled for centuries, only to be overtaken by the Assyrians.

Assyria fell to Babylon.

Babylon fell to Persia.

Persia fell to Greece.

Greece fell to Rome.

[insert Jesus’ lifetime]

The pattern is always the same. Civilizations expand, accumulate wealth, reach their golden age, and then collapse from the inside.

Rome is a classic example.

The most powerful empire the world had ever seen. At its peak, it controlled much of the known world. It had advanced infrastructure, a powerful military, and a legal system that shaped the West. But it reeked of political, economic, and moral corruption by the time it fell.

And the people didn’t see it coming.

The emperors lived in luxury while the people were pacified with panem et circenses, bread and circuses.

Keep them fed. Keep them distracted.

Sound familiar?

No, America isn’t Rome. But it’s naive to think we aren’t following a similar trajectory.

We are the most powerful nation in the world, yet deeply divided.

We have 24/7 entertainment, yet depression and loneliness are skyrocketing.

The great lie of every empire is that it will last forever.

The truth of history is that none of them do.

2. Moral Drift

In the Old Testament, a cycle that beautifully summarizes the human condition plays out repeatedly.

It goes like this:

Faithfulness: The people follow God.

Comfort: They get comfortable.

Drift: They start making compromises.

Disaster: Everything falls apart.

Repentance & Restoration: They cry out to God, and He restores them.

Repeat

This isn’t just an Israelite problem.

In the early days of Rome, it valued discipline, self-sacrifice, and civic virtue. But as they grew wealthy, they grew corrupt, abandoning the things that had once made them strong, and within a few centuries, the empire was gone.

Plato saw this pattern coming long before Rome fell. He warned:

"The excess of liberty, whether in states or individuals, seems to only pass into the excess of slavery.”

To quote the prophetic words of Christopher Wallace, “mo money, mo problems.”

Moral drift doesn’t happen overnight. It’s slow. Subtle.

America is teetering.

We live in a time when “everyone is doing as they see fit.”

Truth is no longer fixed. Morality is no longer shared.

We see it in racism that refuses to die, sexism that keeps reinventing itself, and injustice that hides behind progress.

We’ve seen empires collapse under the weight of their own contradictions.

Rome declared peace while crushing dissent.

America declares equality while injustice lingers in its systems.

When a society is in moral drift, it doesn’t just decline. It unravels.

Will we look up one day and find our empire gone?

3. Technological Advancement & Amnesia

One of the most overlooked dangers of progress is that the more advanced we become, the easier it is to forget what matters.

Take the Tower of Babel. Humanity came together to build something unprecedented, a tower to the heavens. It was technological progress and architectural genius.

But the deeper issue?

They weren’t building to glorify God.

They were building to glorify themselves.

And in their pursuit of greatness, they lost their way.

Take the Industrial Revolution, for example. It led to massive economic growth, life-saving medical advancements, and global connectivity. But it also dehumanized workers, disrupted family rhythms, and turned people into machines in the name of productivity.

Now, we’re in the Digital Revolution. We have:

More information than any generation before us, but less wisdom.

More access to Scripture than the early church could have dreamed of, but less time reading it.

More ways to connect than ever, but are less connected.

Aristotle warned about this centuries ago:

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

We have access to endless knowledge. But without formation as an anchor for our souls, we’re just building another Tower of Babel.

Don’t mishear me; technology isn’t evil.

But it’s dangerous when it becomes an end instead of a means.

If history teaches us anything, it’s that these cycles will continue.

Unless we choose another way.

That’s the invitation of Jesus, not to escape history but to learn from it. Not to follow the cycles but to break them.

Here are three things we can do:

Live as if the Kingdom of God is more real than any empire.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” -Jesus.

Anchor ourselves in truth when the world is drifting

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” -Jesus.

Build our lives on something stronger than technology, culture, or progress.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” -Jesus.

The question isn’t whether history will repeat itself.

The question is, will we wake up before it does?

Read more

Read more

Read more

Read more

I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember.

As a kid, I spent countless hours chasing Harry Potter through the halls of Hogwarts.

Those stories did more than entertain me; they awakened my imagination and shaped how I see the world around me.

Looking back, I’m convinced that God was already at work in those early pages. He was forming something in me long before I had language for it. My love for reading would one day become a vocation in a world shaped by information, ideas, and influence.

Today, I read more than ever. It’s a core discipline of mine as a pastor and public theologian. It sharpens my thinking, stretches my convictions, and helps me engage culture with clarity and depth.

With that in mind, here are my top five books of the year in no special order.

1. 107 Days by Kamala Harris

If you’ve been following me this year, this pick probably won’t come as a surprise.

I’ll say this upfront: I have a lot of respect for what she pulled off with this book. Few political memoirs have carried this level of expectation and delivered in a meaningful way.

This one did.

While I don’t believe she should run again, reading this book gave me a deeper appreciation for her story and the complexity of the moment she stepped into. It challenged some of my assumptions and gave me a fuller picture of the person behind the headlines.

If you’re looking for political tea, this one is hot.

I shared a more in-depth reflection when I first read it back in the fall. You can find that review below. ⬇️

2. How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley

Whether you love or hate Donald Trump, you can’t deny his impact on American politics over the last decade.

Of the many accusations leveled against him, one of the most frequent is that he represents a form of modern fascism.

But what does that actually mean?

Jason Stanley’s How Fascism Works offers more than a soundbite; it offers a framework.

Rather than focusing exclusively on any single figure like Trump, Stanley examines the patterns, language, and strategies that have historically enabled fascist movements to take shape across cultures and eras, with particular attention to the role of nationalism. As he explains:

“Nationalism is at the core of fascism. The fascist leader employs a sense of collective victimhood to create a sense of group identity that is by its nature opposed to the cosmopolitan ethos and individualism of liberal democracy.”

The power of the book is not in telling you what to think, but in helping you recognize how certain ideas take root, spread, and gain legitimacy.

Whether you agree with all of his conclusions or not, this book forces an uncomfortable but necessary reckoning: understanding how fragile democratic values can be and how easily fear, nostalgia, and tribalism can reshape a society.

I highly recommend it, especially if you want to make sense of the world around us.

🔐 Not an Inner Circle Member Yet?

🕵🏽‍♂️ You’re viewing a free preview of this month’s edition of On My Shelf.

Would you like books 3-5 plus future insights, delivered to your inbox monthly?

I’d love to invite you into the Inner Circle.

👇🏾 Click the link below to join and unlock the full post.

Read more

⬇️ If you missed Part 1, Darkness Before Dawn, you can read it below before continuing.

Read more

Read more

Although these reflections don’t come directly from Jesus' teachings, they fit squarely within the mission of Work These Words.

Jesus didn’t appear in a vacuum; He stepped in…

Read more

Read more

Thank you for being here.

Whether you’re a free subscriber or part of the Inner Circle, I’m truly grateful.

In today’s creator economy, attention is currency, so thank you for lending me yours.

For a while, I wrestled with what I could offer that would make the paid subscription feel distinct from the free one.

And I think I’ve finally found the answer.

This Substack (with Sean Dreher) houses three newsletters:

🗣️ Work These Words — The teachings of Jesus and how they apply to our world.

💭 Against the Grain — Paul-like reflections on culture, conscience, and curiosity.

📚 On My Shelf — Books shaping my world and work behind the scenes.

Until recently, On My Shelf was available to all subscribers.

But I’ve decided to move it behind the paywall as an exclusive gift to the Inner Circle.

🔐 Not an Inner Circle Member Yet?

🕵🏽‍♂️ You’re viewing a free preview of this month’s edition of On My Shelf.

Would you like this month’s reflections plus future insights like it delivered monthly?

👇🏾 Click the link below to join the Inner Circle and gain full access.

Read more

A quick note: Pay attention to what Jesus did and did not say. He didn’t say you couldn’t have both. He did say you couldn’t serve both. Money isn’t just a tool; it’s a riva…

Read more

Read more

Since this piece was written, the House has officially passed the bill to end the government shutdown, and the President has signed it into law. While this development changes the headlines, it does not change the heart of this article. In many ways, it underscores it.

Read more

Read more

Read more

³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or th…

Read more

Read more

Read more