As I heard this couple recounting their nightly ritual, I was encouraged by what a good indicator of a gospel-centered marriage this is. When wives ask their husbands questions like “what stories do you have tonight?” it reveals several signs of a healthy marriage:

A Sign of Communication: One of the anchors of any Christ-honoring marriage is strong communication. Nightly routines that include questions like this one provide a fertile seed bed for great discussions to grow. For men (especially those who are not inclined to be talkative), how you invest in your wife through after-work conversations reveals a lot about your leadership of the marriage.

A Sign of Respect: At the end of Paul’s passage on marriage in Ephesians 5:33, he implores each wife to “see that she respects her husband.” There are few ways that a wife can show more respect to her husband than taking an interest in his work. Just a simple question like “what stories do you have tonight?” can demonstrate the way that a wife respects her husband and cares about what he does.

A Sign of Adventure: Bound up in the kingdom mandate of Genesis 1 for humanity to take dominion over the created order is a sense of adventure. This is especially the case after the fall because of Satan and sin’s opposition to man’s vocation. When a husband spends his days staring at spreadsheets or sitting in meetings, few things can remind him of the adventure linked to his work than a wife taking an interest in his role.

Throughout our years of marriage, my wife Cami has constantly encouraged me in my work, simply by asking good questions about it. Maybe just adding a simple question like “what stories do you have tonight?” to your evening routine can be something that transforms your marriage for years to come.

Well, my case of the good stuff has now become a collector’s item. According to reports, Dublin Dr Pepper will no longer be made, after the company reached an agreement with the owner’s of mainstream Dr Pepper.

Dublin Dr Pepper has been a part of celebrating most major events in our family’s life over the last 7 years. It started with using it for the toast at our wedding rehearsal dinner. Since then, we have popped a top to celebrate the birth of our kids, graduations, new jobs, and more.

In fact, I plan to have one next month when our third son Weston is born. Everything is bigger in TX, including the disappointment at this news about Dublin DP. It is the end of an era for Dublin Dr Pepper.

9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

In this passage, John reveals four characteristics of pride:

1. Pride rejects authority: Prideful people reject authority because they put value their perspective and stature more than those in authority over them. Diotrephes would not even acknowledge John’s authority. Without humility, it is impossible to submit to right authority. You can see how this plays out in your life through how you are willing to submit to the authorities God has placed in your life: in the church, in the home, in the office, and in the government.
2. Pride rejects wholesome speech: Prideful people reject wholesome speech because they use the tongue as a weapon. Diotrephes spoke “wicked nonsense” against John and others out of his pride. Prideful people are so self-focused that they use their words to cut others down in order to build themselves up. So, what do your words reveal about your character?
3. Pride rejects hospitality: Prideful people reject hospitality because they are more concerned with their own comfort than the comfort of others. Diotrephes refused to “welcome the brothers.” Prideful people see others as potential intruders who may invade their personal kingdom rather than people to whom they can serve for the sake of the messianic kingdom. What gets in the way of you showing hospitality to others?
4. Pride rejects unity: Prideful people reject unity because corporate unity often comes at the cost of personal preference. Diotrephes didn’t just refuse to welcome the brothers himself. He also stopped others who wanted to. Prideful people are so consumed with their own interests that they don’t look out for the interests of the community. In what ways are you putting your own interests before the interests of others?

I write about pride knowing full well the challenges I face in putting it to death in my own life. I’m no expert in humility (is anyone from the lone star state an expert in humility?). But I hope that you will be challenged by this passage to examine how these characteristics of pride might manifest themselves in your life.

As the father of three boys, there are a few reasons I want my sons to end up like Drew Brees, not Tim Tebow:

Underdog vs. Top Dog: Coming out of high school, everyone wanted Tim Tebow, nobody wanted Drew Brees. Brees only had two scholarship offers, none from in-state power programs (despite the fact he grew up an Aggie fan and reached out to the A&M coaching staff; Aggies are still in denial). Brees was too small. Brees was too much of an injury risk (after blowing out his knee during his junior year).

But the underdog ended up as the top dog, and this is what I want my boys to relentlessly pursue. Brees led Purdue to the Rose Bowl. He led the Saints to an NFL title. He broke Marino’s passing record. Brees made the impossible a reality. Regardless of what career path the Lord leads my boys on, I long for them to be shaped more by the power of the Spirit than the perspective of the age.

15 Seasons of Consistency vs. 15 Minutes of Fame: Though the Tebow experiment isn’t over, I doubt it will be much more than 15 minutes of NFL fame. Brees, on the other hand, has continued to defy expectations and keeps putting up season after season of incredible numbers. While the big splash often gets more attention, a consistent series of ripples in the water can have a greater long-term impact.

“There’s so many people that are a part of this. It’s not about me. It’s about this team, it’s about this city, it’s about these fans,” said Brees. His consistency both on and off the field has enabled him to transform the lackluster Saints and impact the New Orleans community. I want my sons to reflect this same consistency in their spiritual and professional life.

The people I know who know Drew Brees speak highly of his character and his Christian faith. That is no doubt true for Tebow as well. So, at the end of the day, it would be a joy for my sons to embrace the same Christian fortitude that both men reflect. But, on the day after Brees’s record-smashing game, I can’t help but be struck by how the Christian faith is reflected by the underdog who shows consistency.

As Thomas Torrance explains, “Everything in Christianity centers on the incarnation of the Son of God, an invasion of God among men and women in time.” There are several dimensions of Jesus’ birth narrative that confirm the warfare significance of the incarnation:

First, the genealogies of Christ seem to suggest that Jesus is a second Adam and new David who will reconstitute the kingdom of God and restore shalom to its rule. Luke’s genealogy presents Jesus as a new Adam who comes as the son of God in order to reverse the kingdom collapse that resulted from the sin of the first Adam (Luke 3:23-38). Likewise, Matthew’s genealogy presents Jesus as a warrior king from David’s lineage (Matt 1:6) who is also Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt 1:23).

Thus, the genealogies of Jesus show the convergence of three militant motifs of the Old Testament’s messianic expectation in the incarnation—the messiah as second Adam, new David, and Immanuel who fights for the people of God to establish the kingdom of God.

Second, the birth announcements of the angels confirm Christ as an infant warrior king. For example, Gabriel reveals to Mary that Jesus will be great, will be called Son of the Most High, will receive David’s throne, will reign over Jacob’s house, and will have an everlasting kingdom (Luke 1:32-33). John later explains that the reason for the appearance of Jesus that these angels announced was to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

The angel who announces Jesus’ birth to the shepherds points out both that this child will be a savior and that he is born in the city of David (Luke 2:11). As the angels announce the identity of Jesus, they capture the kingly dimension of his coming.

Third, the response of others to the birth of Christ indicates his royal status. As Mary marvels over the birth of Jesus in the Magnificat, she celebrates how this miraculous birth is the means by which God will bring down thrones (Luke 1:52) and fulfill the Abrahamic promise (Luke 1:55). Before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Zechariah recognizes the coming child king as a descendant in the line of Abraham (Luke 1:73) and David (Luke 1:69) who will defeat the enemies of God by the power of God (Luke 1:71, 74).

After Jesus’ birth, the wise men identify him as the “King of the Jews” to Herod (Matt 2:2), which initiates a title repeatedly used of Christ in both delight and derision. Finally, Herod’s slaughter of the innocents (Matt 2:13-18) echoes the actions of pharaoh (Exod 1:15-17)—and the Pharaoh behind the pharaoh (Rev 12:17)—in seeking to eliminate the threat of the royal seed of the woman.

The genealogies, angelic announcements, and personal responses to the birth of Christ all signal that something significant occurs at the incarnation. It is a seismic step in the kingdom warfare of redemptive history.

As Jonathan Edwards declares:

“But yet this feeble infant, born thus in a stable, and laid in a manger, was born to conquer and triumph over Satan, that roaring lion. He came to subdue the mighty powers of darkness, and make a show of them openly, and so to restore peace on earth, and to manifest God’s good-will towards men, and to bring glory to God in the highest, according as the end of his birth was declared by the joyful songs of the glorious hosts of angels appearing to the shepherds at the same time that the infant lay in the manger; whereby his divine dignity was manifested.”

As we gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas with our churches and families, may we remember that the crying infant came as a conquering warrior king.

1. Christian Preaching with Russell Moore and David Prince: This course transformed both the way I understand the Bible and the way I understand the task of preaching. It opened my eyes to the centrality of Christ in the biblical narrative and the necessity of declaring the Christ-centered message of every biblical passage. Added bonus: The stories of preaching highlights and lowlights from this course have provided many laughs over the years.
2. Christian Ethics with Russell Moore: This course taught me how to think through ethical issues from a Christ-centered, kingdom-oriented holistic perspective. The hypothetical situations we wrestled with in class discussion provoked me to evaluate my viewpoints on a variety of topics in ways that practically shaped me for ministry in the future. Added bonus: The final exam on whether to baptize a cyborg launched the trajectory of legendary ethics final exams by Dr. Moore in future semesters.
3. Theology of Marriage with Albert Mohler: This course provided a holistic examination of the biblical, theologial, and practical dimensions of marriage. The chance to take a course from our President on one of his best subjects in my first semester on campus was too good of an opportunity to pass up. This course made me a better husband and a better minister of the gospel because of the way it shaped my view of marriage. Added bonus: The abundance of reading in this first semester course made the reading list for all future masters level courses seem like child’s play.
   
4. Biblical Foundations for Spirituality with Tom Schreiner: This course honed my exegetical skills as we translated the book of Ephesians while making practical application of the text to issues of church-related spirituality and personal piety. Having a New Testament master such as Schreiner be our tour guide through the biblical text transformed how I approach the Bible in its original languages. Added bonus: The paper I wrote for this class had a fundamental impact in clarifying the topic of my dissertation.
5. Eschatology with Russell Moore: This course shaped my understanding of the Christ-centered nature of the end times. As the first class of my PhD program, it also established my expectations of what rigorous doctoral-level discussion should look like. Added bonus: I’ll never forget the first day of class (which started at 7 AM) when Dr. Moore banned laptops because he didn’t want technology to inhibit our discussion and engagement.

As I look back on my 6 years at Southern Seminary, I am thankful for all that I’ve learned and the faculty who have personally impacted my life. Today’s graduation is a day of personal rejoicing for my family.

So, why did National Public Radio want to speak with students like me about a fictional character like Gantry? They wanted to hear the perspective of people preparing for ministry on someone who was using the pulpit for personal gain. It was an excellent experience.

You can listen to the audio of the interview here, and read the NPR synopsis here.