As a father of three daughters, I have developed some strong interrogation skills. My go-to line when boys come over to talk to my daughters is, "If you don't love Jesus, my girls will get bored with you." After I drop that knowledge on them, one of two things usually happens:

Q: Any tips to help us with our marriage as we cope with stepchildren? It seems that our relationship takes continued hits as we work through their issues.

A: You've raised one of the most challenging issues faced by remarried couples. Disagreements about how to raise and discipline the children are a leading cause of divorce after a couple remarries—ahead of financial worries, difficult ex-spouses, and a host of other pressure points.

Kerry Willis is pastor of Harrisonburg, Virginia, First Church of the Nazarene. He and his wife, Kim, have a son, Grayson, and daughter, Allison. The son of a North Carolina shrimp boat captain, Kerry has two brothers, Bill and Stephen. All Willis brothers are second-career pastors in the Church of the Nazarene.

What would surprise us about you?
1) I refuse to eat Chinese food without chopsticks.

Victor Peters was well into semi-retirement as a part-time staff member when I became pastor of Los Angeles First Church of the Nazarene nearly 30 years ago*. I was only 32 at the time and the rest of the staff members were about my age. The other young staffers and I set out to solve the tough problems of the world, especially our world in Los Angeles—complex problems, unsolvable perhaps.

Interviewing Willimon (WW) is Dean Nelson (DN) of Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.

DN: You've said that sermons should offend people.

Often the most meaningful and teachable moments happen when we least expect them. Those times exist when we have taken the short cuts on the map—you know, the mental map that guides most men—and we gradually find ourselves overlooking the valleys of upstate New York when we should be driving into Manhattan. Those are the moments when frustrations quickly escalate; tools, toys, and words begin to fly, and then God stops us and says, 'Settle down—you just might learn something from this.'