It’s impossible to be the president of the United States and to follow Jesus. But we Christians love fighting about this or that candidate as if they will bring the sword of the Lord to bear upon this land. This doesn’t mean that someone can’t be a Christian and president, but that their ability to actually follow Jesus’ call to discipleship is automatically stunted. In fact, it might be impossible. But that doesn’t keep candidates from trying to cater to... Read more
This documentary looks awesome. Seriously though. A hardcore conservative pastor calling out against gun violence. Why is this awesome? #1 This is the logical extension of prolife ethics. #2 It is consistent with the ethic of Jesus and nonviolence. #3 It is consistent with the ethic of Jesus and “love thy neighbor.” #4 It trumps political categories!!!! HuffPo says: Bringing a preserved fetus to an anti-abortion demonstration would have been one of the more politically explosive moments of the Rev. Robert... Read more
The more I watch the news, scroll through my Twitter and Facebook feeds, and listen to NPR, the more I wonder if peace is possible. The idea that we are progressing as a human race is simply folly. American bombs kill innocent aid workers in hospitals. ISIS displaces large segments of Iraqis and Syrians. Regular folks are being beheaded. The tension between Israel and Palestine hasn’t a hint of slack. Peace feels futile. Can you relate? Perhaps you are like... Read more
Sex-trafficking of children is heartbreaking–perhaps more than any other evil act on earth. As a dad, the thought of young children being exploited in this way is almost too much for me to bear. In this post, I’m going to offer you some impressions from a book that made a big impact on my life: God in a Brothel – An Undercover Journey into Sex Trafficking and Rescue. Let’s begin with a reflection from “Daniel Walker” (a pseudonym): I noticed... Read more
This is an animated film, but for some reason it was still hard to watch. There is so much truth in this short video, but I’m not so sure we can handle the truth. It hurts. But there is hope. Followers of the way of Jesus can choose something better. A life free of violence. A life free of animal cruelty. A life free of the destruction of creation. A life free of anything that doesn’t look like a God... Read more
In no way do I want to create a one-for-one correlation between St. Paul and Kelly Gissendaner. Paul's violence was religiously motivated (always evil in light of Christ) and Kelly's was motivated by other things. But, the fact is that they do have one thing in common: they both committed unthinkable murders and they both found the light of God which changed them into dramatically loving people. Read more
Yes, it finally happened. After the dream was birthed about five years ago… we finally did it. We launched a church in Seattle. Here’s our vision: We seek to create spaces of friendship, activism, and spirituality for anyone disconnected from intentional spiritual community. That’s it. If someone is disconnected from intentional spiritual community, they are our “target.” (holding back gag reflex after typing “target” in the context of church) As a result, I hear lots of stories from folks who... Read more
In the next few posts, I plan to share about ways to learn Greek. Several tools, methods, resources, approaches, philosophies, etc. are out there that claim to be “the best.” I don’t think any way is “the best,” but the approaches I discuss will all be paths that I think can be extremely beneficial for the early Biblical and/or Attic Greek learner. This first post highlights the Conversational Koine Institute, headed up by my good friend Michael Holcomb. I’ve sat... Read more
KURT NOTE: Today we have a guest contribution by Jeff Clarke, who has been a guest before. I’m always challenged by what he writes. This post is about the wind and fire of God… some Holy Ghost stuff… Read and offer feedback if you can! ——————————————————- For some time, I have struggled with the narrow pneumatological focus within Classical Pentecostalism. It’s as though we have defined the work of the Spirit almost exclusively in reference to Spirit baptism (with tongues... Read more
KURT NOTE: The following is a guest post by Ryan Furlong. Deep stuff here! —————————————————————————– I suppose stories are vehicles for far more than we give them credit. Far from the typical plot diagram one’s high school English teacher delineated on William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” or Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—outlining the discrete plot elements of exposition, complicating action, climax, declining action, the denouement, and some sort of resolution—stories produce infinite possibilities for meanings and interpretations of those meanings... Read more
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