From the Margins: Following Jesus in a post-Christian culture

January 1, 2013 By 14 Comments

[This article originally appeared in winter 2012 issue of In Part, the magazine for the Brethren in Christ community in the U.S. I highly recommend you read the other articles from this past issue that explore the theme of Anabaptism.] I met David randomly. I’d been sitting in a coffee shop one evening, working on a [...]

Filed Under: Anabaptism, Church Ministry, Church Planting, Community, Culture, Emerging Church, Faith Journey, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Kingdom of God, Missional, Nationalism, Nonviolence, Politics, Social Justice Tagged With: , , , , , , , 14 Comments

What are we selling this Christmas? – Why Jesus was born in Bethlehem and not Rome

December 13, 2012 By 7 Comments

Each year Christmas comes along and so do various controversies. The first of these is the sloganeering of it all: do we dare say “happy holidays?” How dare we be the sort of people that love our neighbors by not imposing our Christ-Mass holy day onto their December agenda! Only if one believes that America [...]

Filed Under: Culture, Discipleship, Missional 7 Comments

The Cost of Living Out the Sermon on the Mount

December 6, 2012 By 5 Comments

The Sermon is Jesus’ invitation to know God’s perfect love so well that the impulses of Christ become our own. This is not merely an ethic of obedience, but an invitation into a relationship that transforms our character to match the virtues of Jesus himself.

Filed Under: Anabaptism, Books, Missional, Sermon on the Mount Tagged With: , , , 5 Comments

Puppies and the Kingdom of God

December 3, 2012 By 2 Comments

Some people may think that I’m “over the top” when it comes to dealing with animal ethics. But stories like the one in the following video remind me of how big a concern the welfare of animals needs to be for the local church. After all, we know that when the fullness of the Kingdom [...]

Filed Under: Animal Advocacy, Kingdom of God, Missional 2 Comments