Just Love

Welcome to 2026!

We are looking forward to what God might have in mind for this year. Of course, we’re open to being wrong, and he’s free to take us down whatever road will best serve him. So the most important part of this year may be something I don’t even see coming yet, like last year’s connection to the former 2x2s.  With that in mind, here are a few of the things I’m excited about from my vantage point today:

First, we have a new book trailer for It’s Time: Letters to the Bride at the End of the Age, a book that I love discussing with people, as God shapes our hearts to be reflections of his glory in an ever-darkening world.  Here it is.

If your email doesn’t link to the trailer, you can view it here.

If you’ve read the book and resonated with its message, feel free to share this video on your social media or in emails or texts with friends. Include a sentence or two about your own experience with the book. I am grateful for how this book is finding its way into the world and for those who help share its message.

Second, tomorrow, my latest book, Just Love, is going to the copyeditor and will hopefully be available later this winter. Written with Tobie van der Westhuizen from South Africa, this book offers a view of the Gospel that I wish I’d been taught when I was younger. By mistranslating a simple word in the Bible, our early translators distorted the Gospel by emphasizing personal piety over Jesus’s invitation to love others the way we are loved by him. The effects of that have been profound, and getting it right would change everything about how we see God and learn to live with him. We’ll have more on this soon.

Third, though I haven’t done much traveling in the last four years to walk with my wife through her trauma recovery, she is doing so much better now. That opens the door to take advantage of some of the opportunities Jesus is bringing my way.  There will be three chances to hang out early this year if you’re near any of these locations:

• January 31-February 1, in Southern California, two days of conversation with former 2x2s.
• February 19-22 in Bradenton, FL, for an all-day conversation about It’s Time: Letters to the Bride at the End of the Age.
• Twin Cities, Minnesota – in late March or April. The date is still to be determined.

Finally, this past December, I was invited to a Zoom conversation with 2x2ers from all over the world. For those who would like to see it, that conversation was recorded and is available for online viewing: When the Ground Shifts Beneath Your Faith.