Divided We Stand: How Christian Faith Can Heal Our Land

Last updated on: October 11, 2016 at 8:30 am By David Rupert

I’ve been thinking divisions lately, since they seem to be so prominently highlighted in conversations, media, and politics. The discussion last week in this space about “intolerance” is still raging. My online friends are now neatly divided into political camps with heated exchanges on Facebook. Even in this forum, it seems as if every article I write someone tries to goad the division, to drive a wedge deeper. Us Versus Them The world has devolved into two basic groups — “Us” and “Them.” That’s... Read more

Does Christianity Promote Intolerance?

Last updated on: October 5, 2016 at 8:08 am By David Rupert

In the public square of opinion, just about anything goes these days. We no longer simply recognize diversity, we celebrate it. We don’t just acknowledge our differences, we embrace them. What was once fringe is mainstream. As a Christian White Male, I’m told quite clearly that I “must tolerate” everyone and everything. However, I am finding that I am no longer tolerable by others. Some of it is a rebound from hundreds of years of single-race, single-religion rule in a... Read more

Beyond Black, Beyond Blue, What Really Matters.

Last updated on: September 22, 2016 at 7:37 am By David Rupert

I was too young to remember the 60’s. As a toddler I only cared about nap time, snacks and my Tonka trucks. I was innocent while the world around me exploded with violence, riots, racial tension and war. I remember my father later telling me about the times, what he felt when Kennedy was assassinated and then Martin Luther King. It wasn’t black. It wasn’t white. It was just wrong and he felt it. That’s how I feel today. With... Read more

My Life Lessons, Retold in Punctuation Marks

Last updated on: September 15, 2016 at 12:29 pm By David Rupert

There was a point in my life when a question mark hung over my head. You see, I didn’t know the future, and it scared me. I couldn’t figure out tomorrow, next year or the future. I was paralyzed by the thought of just not knowing. Uncertainty led to stupidity as I tried to order the future around my pride. I eventually found a relationship with God, a place to turn the question mark into a period. But the story wasn’t over.... Read more

When Christians don’t pledge allegiance: Bronco takes a knee

Last updated on: September 22, 2016 at 7:28 am By David Rupert

Another NFL football player, Denver Bronco Linebacker Brandon Marshall has decided to not stand during the traditional playing of the National Anthem. He is using his proclaimed Christian faith as the reason for taking a knee. “Honestly, I’m a man of faith so I prayed about it long and hard, and I feel like it was the right thing to do,” he told a local news station. This isn’t the first time Marshall has stood up for the faith in the... Read more

Not Like Me: A millennial who lost his faith in God

Last updated on: August 30, 2016 at 12:55 pm By David Rupert

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This is part of an exploratory series where I’m “expanding my table” and inviting other voices into my world. “Not Like Me” is an honest attempt to reach across traditional and perceptual divides to try to understand and perhaps gain a little insight. Are you not like me? I invite you to send a note. Today, let me introduce you to Chris – a deeply engaging, interesting young man who isn’t like me. He has rejected his Christian upbringing. Perhaps... Read more

3 Words That Will Set You Free: “I Don’t Know”

Last updated on: August 15, 2016 at 9:15 am By David Rupert

I remember standing behind the lectern, laser pointer in hand. Teaching, leading, I imparted knowledge and inspired action. But to be honest, I was no expert. I just learned how to study and how to relay the finer points. Hundreds of times I looked at eager eyes from the chairs pulled into a circle. Opening the book, pointing out history and theology and imagery, everyone said how great it was. I really didn’t know anything more than anyone else. A long time ago... Read more

Not Like Me: A Series on Finding Commonality through Difference

Last updated on: August 6, 2016 at 8:44 pm By David Rupert

Next week I’ll begin a new season-long series here at Red Letter Believers called, “Not Like Me.” I will be specifically seeking out people who are different than me and then we will have a conversation. I want to know what makes them tick, what motivates them and what the hopes and dreams they carry with them. It’s my hope that through this series I can learn about “others” and that you’ll come along for the ride. We live so... Read more

“What were you thinking?” Overcoming the pains of regret

Last updated on: August 3, 2016 at 7:53 pm By David Rupert

My brother rode over the home-built jump at the end of the road over and again, circling around to get just a little more air or turn the handlebar in a circle before landing. My pant leg was full of grease from getting caught in the bicycle chain, but there was no stopping until the darkness pushed us grudgingly indoors. The next day, we started all over again. I found a matchbook in the middle of street and flipped open the cover... Read more

Finding Purpose: Will Retirement Be My Social Insecurity?

Last updated on: August 2, 2016 at 8:29 am By David Rupert

When I was in college, I remember having a conversation with a few friends about one of our classmates who was 30 at the time. We called him “the old man.” As young men, we talked about aging in dire terms, framing it in the context of our parents and grandparents. We decided that the 40th birthday indicated a point of no return. And 50? That was one-foot-in-the-grave territory.Eventually I turned 30. And then 40. And now I’m past 50.... Read more

In 1 John, how do we know what love is?