I met Brian a few years back when I picked him up from the airport for a conference I was coordinating at Claremont School of Theology. During our ride back, we chatted about atheism, progressive Christianity, and ways we thought they could work together. And as much as I wanted to find fault with him, his insipid kindness won me over. Since that time, I have been working with Churches, trying to find ways in which we can work together.... Read more
Some chose to leave. Some chose to stay and fight. I became lost, and chose to write. Saul sends his greeting To Evangelicals spread throughout Christendom: Saul of Tarsus, along with the brothers Franklin and James, bring you greetings from outside of prison. I have been thanking God for your incredible faith during the difficulties you have faced under the Obama administration. I have been told that this “persecutor of conservatives” has forced believers everywhere to have health insurance... Read more
The internet, one might think, was invented as a place for angry, excessively confident people to try to fix others. But I think Glennon Melton has it right when she offers this contemporary parable about fixing: “Imagine that you have a new friend that you just love, and she’s coming to your house, and you finally liberate yourself enough to skip the panic-clean before she arrives. You decide that you trust her enough to walk in and see your messy... Read more
I know, I know. I said last time that I was finished publishing on here. However, this series is for my critics. Enjoy! PART ONE: The Cultural Perspective In general I try to keep my articles much shorter than this, however because this topic is so convoluted it required much more. In one sense this article is a result of a personal journey through my study of homosexuality within our culture. The article is divided as such: Part... Read more
From Mike Clawson, curator of Emergent Village cohorts: Over 15 years ago, a small group of young Christian leaders began talking about the ways in which postmodernism was transforming their approach to faith and ministry. That conversation soon expanded and evolved into what eventually became known as Emergent Village, “a growing, generative friendship among missional Christians seeking to love our world in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Over the past decade and more, EV has been a key catalyst in... Read more
To be honest, I had completely forgotten that I was a contributor to this blog. Back in April of last year I had started a post called, “farewell emergent?” Up until that time, I was really interested in the whole “conversation,” and I wanted to be part of it. I was reading as much as I could, listening to as many podcasts as I could, and I even started a group that was sort of an emergent “cohort” of skeptics... Read more
A brief note on the form of things: Last April I wrote a post titled The Bible is NOT the WORD OF GOD: a polemic against Christendom. The article was meant to be a provocation towards rethinking the way we speak about the bible. The reaction it received was very interesting as it seemed to indicate a sharp divide between those who agreed and disagreed with the premise. In general, I make it a point to avoid apologetic type argumentation... Read more
It took me a long time to write this. I thought I should try to be objective since I was supposed to be reviewing Michael Gungor’s book. And that was a book I had to think about. A lot. As it became clear that I was far from impartial, my responsibility to write about this band still loomed. Plus, along the way I decided that Gungor is the perfect anthem band for the Postmodern Church/Movement. And yes, I confess, I... Read more
“What do you believe in heaven or hell? We don’t believe in heaven cuz’ we’re livin’ in hell.”—Raekwon Lately I have been thinking a lot about religion and hip-hop. I recently came across Dr. Monica Miller’s interview in the Washington Post about religion and hip-hop, which prompted me to write a piece of my own. From the age of 13, when I was first introduced to hip-hop culture, to 18, when I finally opened up to other music, all I... Read more
Human imagination has always been captured by great mythic stories filled with mysterious wisdom. This is one of those stories that engages, draws you in, and takes you to a liminal space where you have to wrestle with the earthly experience humanity finds itself. “Earth Interrupted” is that story, where you are interrupted to think deeply about earth. Bill Dahl is a story teller who senses the urgency of our time. The following is an interview Bill completed regarding the... Read more
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