Before you go off on me as being somehow un-American, I was born into a typical Pittsburgh blue-collar family. My Dad's first job was in a coal mine before he worked his way to owning a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership and fulfilling his version of the American dream. My favorite actor always has been and always will …
Continue reading Christianity’s Fate Is Not Contingent on America
My friend Cristal, who authors the Refusing to Tiptoe blog is on an amazing adventure with God. This is a very thought provoking read that got me thinking a great deal about where I put my security and what I want most in life. It is well worth the few minutes to read and the …
What movement you ask? It's rather simple. It is the movement to follow Jesus by actually living out the most important thing He told us to do, 'love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself". In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul tells us that no matter how spiritual, …
I had a seminary professor who was what I call a true liberal. By that I mean, she really believed in and lived according to the idea that we all have the liberty to hold our own opinion of things, live by them, and express them. Our differing opinions, when shared and engaged, make us …
Continue reading Chick-fil-a and Wondering “Where Have All the Liberals Gone”?
I am coming to the end of a week in Burundi in Eastern Africa. I don't know how many times I have been to Africa in the last 6 years. It is probably approaching twenty. I do know that I have been to eleven different countries from Egypt to South Africa. Without fail I am …
I was doing some research for a class I teach on the Book of Genesis when I came across this very provocative comment by John Calvin. His insight into the inherent problem with human politicians is as relevant for our day as it was his 500 years ago."It is a very common disease, that men …
Make no mistake, this is a book about sin. It is about the hideous nature of sin, the way it corrupts, destroys, and slowly sucks the life out of people. It is not the kind of thing most people want to talk about these days. Sin has been replaced with "dysfunction", "addiction", "syndrome" and a …
Continue reading “Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be” by Cornelius Plantinga
It is impossible to turn on the news today or go to the internet without being confronted by the news of President Obama's statement that he supports the right of same-sex couples to get married. While I can certainly appreciate his compassionate heart for people who feel they are unfairly being denied the possibility of …
I need people in my life who are enough like me that we can connect, but different enough that they stretch me and make me more than I am without them. Sean Cooper is just such a person. His office is three doors down the hall from mine at Northland. In fact he is in …
Once again Caleb, the son of my fellow blogger Cristal, has wisdom beyond his years that every adult should pay attention to.
As we were leaving the Chimpanzee movie last week, I expressed to Caleb my frustration with the bad guys (or evil chimps) in the movie.
Caleb paused.
Then, using his gift of goodness, he gently corrected his mother.
You’re only seeing what the producer of the movie wanted you to see and the way he wanted you to see it.
Allowing the truth to soak in briefly, Caleb explained.
Scar and his guys were hungry, too.
But, the movie didn’t show us that part.
He was right. I’d taken the bait. Hook, line and sinker. I was mad at Scar and his gnarly chimps for attacking Freddy’s troop. (Because that’s where cute Oscar lived.)
I’d only looked at the surface of what the film had provided.
Caleb, on the flip side, perceived the other group of chimps in a different light. Realizing they were hungry, he had compassion for them. Even when…
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Just days before we boarded a plane for South Sudan, another fight broke out along the boarder between Sudan and South Sudan. Three days and five flights later we arrived in Malakal, a boarder town that just a few months ago witnessed two days of street fighting between rebel infiltrators from the north and South …
Continue reading A Witness to Grace and Courage in South Sudan
I love this post from my friend Cristal. She has a very refreshing and challenging perspective on following Jesus. Once you read this post you will also see that she has an amazingly wise and provocative 12 year old son named Caleb who has a better perspective on Jesus, faith, and religion that most adults I know.
This week, we are preparing our hearts for Easter Sunday using a Holy Week Worship Guide (thank you, Nick).
Caleb and I were together on our Holy Week journey one morning when I read,
Each year, thousands of faithful pilgrims made the trek to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and Jesus and His disciples were among them.
As I began to proceed, Caleb brought our voyage to a halt. His inquisitive mind craving the truth.
Wouldn’t that have been religious of Jesus?
Religious.
We are hearing much about religion these days.
Caleb explains he saw a man wearing a shirt which professed God hates religion but loves relationships.
Then did God hate Jesus celebrating the Passover, mom?
According to my 1949 Webster’s Dictionary, religion is the service and adoration of God as expressed in forms of worship.
An awareness of conviction of the existence of a Supreme Being,
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I am not great at sound-bite theology. You know the kind I am talking about. It's those pithy little sayings, often in 140 characters or less that seem so spiritual, deep, and insightful. They are easy to remember getting passed on time and again until they become accepted as a given, collective, cultural, truism. To …
Continue reading Why Forgetting the Church and Just Following Jesus is Not an Option
I have done all I could to avoid writing about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. It seemed obvious that there was no need for one more voice to be put into the cacophony of anger, confusion, and dismay over what is at the bottom line an unbelievably painful tragedy for two families. But two things have led …
Continue reading The Trayvon Martin Case: What Would Jesus Say to Sanford Florida, You, and Me?
The video of Week Ten of our study of Genesis is now online. This week begins the life of Abraham and his call from God. Interesting how he can be incredibly faithful and daring in one moment and afraid and disobedient the next. Genesis Week 10 VideoDan
The Provocative Christian 