Disarming Scripture: Cold Water to the Face of Our Biblical Rationalizing

December 10, 2014 By Zach Hoag

The bottom line is that our interpretation of Scripture needs to coincide with actual reality. – Derek Flood I’ve recently been digging into Derek Flood’s new book Disarming Scripture, and it is a desperately needed word in the raging public dialogue around Christianity and violence. Really, it’s a splash of cold water to the face of our biblical rationalizing when it comes to violent and disturbing passages. The quote above appears in Chapter 6, and this chapter is perhaps the lynchpin... Read more

The Death of Christian Idealism: a Reflection on Preston Yancey

November 13, 2014 By Zach Hoag

Preston Yancey is young. Well, relative to me anyway. I’m pretty sure he’s ten years my junior which both solidifies the already pretty solid fact that I am cresting the fearsome peak of mid-life (and making damn good time), and confirms my suspicion that “millennials,” however one establishes the birthdate range, are truly a generation behind those of us who took a few breaths in the 70’s. Which means they are far from peaking: they are a generation on the rise. Preston’s first book is... Read more

Love Fierce as the Grave…and Better than Death With Dignity

November 4, 2014 By Zach Hoag

In my mid-twenties, fairly newly married, I became somewhat passionate about the passion in the Song of Songs. My pentecostal/charismatic upbringing either avoided the Song entirely or allegorized it into a lesson on "intimate" prophetic prayer and worship - accompanied, of course, by songs that said things like "take me into your chambers" and "I want to taste the kisses of your mouth" (referring to a spiritual rendezvous with Jesus that wasn't sexual at all!). Read more

BREAKING: The Mars Hill Church Organization Will Be Dissolved by January 1, 2015

October 31, 2014 By Zach Hoag

In a letter from Dave Bruskas to Mars Hill Church posted on the church’s website, a plan for making all Mars Hill sites independent and dissolving the centralized organization was announced today: The decision to plant independent, self-governed churches has significant ramifications for the existing Mars Hill Church entity. Our central staff members, who have served and labored so faithfully, have already begun work on establishing many of the details to enact this plan, under the following general priorities: (1) All... Read more

Skinny Jeans, Ruffled Feathers, and Kingdom Mission: My Interview with Scot McKnight

October 30, 2014 By Zach Hoag

One of my theological heroes is Scot McKnight. He recently released a new book called Kingdom Conspiracy: Returning to the Radical Mission of the Local Church. And it is a doozy…in all the right ways! (Check out the book website here.) Here’s my interview with Scot: Z: Hi Scot, thanks so much for joining us over here! I love your new book and think it’s a really timely addition to the conversation. But enough with my opinion – what prompted you... Read more

Learning to Make Disciples…AA Style [Fr. Tony Bleything]

October 30, 2014 By Fr. Tony Bleything

My name is Fr. Tony Bleything, I’m an Alcoholic and a Drug Addict. Okay, so I don’t say Fr. Tony Bleything at the 3 to 4 AA meetings I go to per week, but I do identify each time as an alcoholic and an addict. I’m sure I sound like a broken record at our church but I truly believe that if the church took note of the work of Alcoholics Anonymous, they would surely learn a great deal about making disciples. For... Read more

John Piper’s Divine Wife-Beating & Three Things God’s Wrath Cannot Be

October 29, 2014 By Zach Hoag

John Piper needs new PR. Especially on social media. For all of his intelligence, and apparent earnestness, he has a tendency to type out some pretty horrendous metaphors and some appalling 140-character verse. Like this beauty the other day: Lurvely. One can certainly see the hyper-neo-Calvinist train of thought here to the tune that God’s wrath toward the totally depraved elect is “drained” as he pours it out on Christ in his torture, suffering, and death. This penal substitutionary battery... Read more

Believe Something Already: Emergent, LaBeouf, & the Growing Senselessness of Doubt

October 27, 2014 By Zach Hoag

Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word. Last week, two seemingly unrelated blips appeared on my Internet radar and struck a strangely similar chord: Tony Jones’s statistics about the emergent/emerging church, and Shia LaBeouf’s interview on Interview Magazine. I’m not entirely sure what point Jones was trying to drive home... Read more

BREAKING: Mark Driscoll Resigns From Mars Hill Church, Elders Surprised to Receive Resignation

October 15, 2014 By Zach Hoag

According to the Religion News Service, Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll has resigned, much to the surprise of the remaining Mars Hill elders: “Recent months have proven unhealthy for our family—even physically unsafe at times—and we believe the time has now come for the elders to choose new pastoral leadership for Mars Hill,” Driscoll wrote in his resignation letter. Driscoll was not asked to resign, according to a letter from the church’s board of overseers. “Indeed, we were surprised to receive... Read more

Choosing My Religion? [Anderson Campbell]

October 15, 2014 By Anderson Campbell

I think I might be failing as a good, Christian father. I’ve identified as a Christian for nearly as long as I can remember. I grew up in Georgia, “Bible belt” territory. Our household rhythms revolved around faith in God. We prayed at mealtimes and before bed. We were heavily involved in our Southern Baptist church, in which my father served as a deacon. We attended every Sunday, sometimes twice, and every Wednesday evening. When I was seven years old,... Read more