My pastor has long used the phrase, “Preach the Word and let the chips fall where they may.” In a nutshell, this encompasses his philosophy of ministry (and my own). The central task of the preacher is to preach. This should be a relatively uncontroversial statement to make in one sense, but in our current church culture, where the pastor is more often seen as a CEO or “brand builder” rather than a shepherd, it is an unpopular statement to... Read more
My short-term memory is not great due to some stupidly sinful choices I made prior to knowing Christ. Because of that though, memorization has always been an exceedingly difficult task for me. Part of this was due to the aforementioned stupidity of my own sin, but part of it was simply bound in up the fact that I became a Christian at the age of 21 and grew up in a non-religious home. I had no concept of much of... Read more
One of the most misused verses in the Bible is Matthew 7:1, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” Professing Christians and non-Christians alike will quote this verse in a myriad of ways—mostly though as a tool for deflection. In other words, it’s used as a “gotcha.” Drop Matthew 7:1 in any particular debate over issues of sin and apparently the debate is over. However, much like any other misused verse in the Scriptures, the problem is resolved simply by examining... Read more
It was recently brought to my attention that Daily Reformation has taken to teaching Universalism, a theological position condemned for heresy by the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 543. The doctrine itself teaches, at its most basic roots, all will be saved in the end. There is no final judgement, where the determination of eternal death will be carried out, but everyone will come to a saving knowledge of the Lord. Think of Rob Bell’s Love Wins. There have been... Read more
In the face of a new year sure to be full of disease, political tension, social unrest, and a wavering global economy, I choose to have joy. Read more
For as long as I can recall, I’ve never been one who is given to making New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t faulted those who do—but in my own personal experience, I saw them as relatively pointless. My sentiments behind this were simply that if you earnestly wanted to do these things, you should just do them, rather than make much ado about nothing. That’s not to say the goals in and of themselves are unimportant, but rather, what resolutions often... Read more
The Metaverse is a pending possible disaster for our humanity, the communal nature of the church, and any person desiring to model their life after Christ’s. Read more
In a recent exchange between Denny Burk and Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Twitter regarding her book Jesus and John Wayne, a relatively simple question arose: When I read your book, I thought you treated evangelical opposition to gay rights as a negative thing. Others have told me that you personally affirm the church's teaching that homosexuality is sinful. Do you believe homosexuality is sinful? — Denny Burk (@DennyBurk) November 26, 2021 To answer his question, Kristin Du Mez provides... Read more
The pet industry in America is a booming industry. For the past several years, American pet owners have collectively spent nearly 100 billion dollars or more annually on their pets. While much of this can no doubt be accounted for with things like food, vet bills, and the like, there is a rather large market for all sorts of goods that go well beyond the scope of basic pet care. It shouldn’t be all that controversial to posit that the... Read more
One of the more interesting conundrums of our times is the notion of virtue and ethics within progressive circles. The reason I say this is relatively simple to any who have observed what has transpired over the course of the last couple of decades. Progressive ethics are always in flux; they are ever searching for a new, deeper sense of morality that ebbs and flows with the ideological whims of the broader culture. What I mean by that is simply... Read more
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