John Mark Hicks

Joshua, my son, you would have been 30 today.  I miss you, and yearn to hold you again.  One day….yes, one day.  Till then, rest peacefully. [I have republished this in honor of the anniversary of his birth on Feb. 17.] Joshua died  at the age of sixteen. I offer this chapter out of my […]

“An Oracle. The word of Yahweh to Israel through my messenger.” Malachi is the Hebrew word for “my messenger.” It is uncertain whether the Hebrew term is a proper name (Malachi) or a general description (messenger). The name is unknown elsewhere and “Malachi” is not associated with any particular region or lineage unlike other prophets. […]

May 21 is a dark day in my own history. Joshua died eleven years ago today at the age of sixteen. I offer this chapter out of my ebook on The Shack and spiritual recovery in his honor. ******** Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, […]

I now tread where every human should fear to go. So, why go there? I tire of  absolutist statements concerning Tim Tebow, God, and football games. That is probably not a very good motivation, but hopefully something positive will arise–maybe even a good conversation. (Or, maybe I just want more traffic at my website? That […]

I have been taking some time to teach (two courses–one at Lipscomb and the other at Harding University Graduate School of Religion) early in June and to rest in the rest of June. Consequently, I have not been blogging with regularity over the past two months. I make no apologies for that.  🙂 But I will […]

Now available on Amazon. Over the years I have reflected on William Young’s book The Shack in the light of my own personal journey into the world of spiritual recovery.  I found much in Young’s novel that paralleled my own experience. Previously, I posted on some significant themes I found in the the book–both in […]

Why does God need to rest? Is he fatigued? It must have been exhausting work for God to create the cosmos, the earth and everything in it, right?  NOT! So, why did God rest? In some of the ancient creation myths the gods built their own heavenly sanctuary when they finished their creative work (or battles) […]

As I have spoken on The Shack in recent months–this past weekend, for example, at the Central Church of Christ in Benton, KY–the title of this post has become increasingly clarified for me: “Sad But Unafraid.”  [Those who fear the Lord] will have no fear of bad news;              their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. […]

[Note: I am attempting to keep these SBD installments under 2000 words each, but that is–of course–quite inadequate for the topics covered. Consequently, these contributions are more programmatic than they are explanatory or defenses of the positions stated. You may access the whole series at my Serial page.] Defending God is not my job. Good […]

[Note: I am attempting to keep these SBD installments under 2000 words each, but that is–of course–quite inadequate for the topics covered. Consequently, these contributions are more programmatic than they are explanatory or defenses of the positions stated. You may access the whole series at my Serial page.] The Word, the Son, became flesh and lived […]