People of any book are well adept at wielding their book in ways that are contextually convenient. We, are no different. The better we know the Bible, the more able we are to conveniently turn to one verse or another, ignoring verses which should carry more weight, in order to justify our positions. Somehow along the journey, many of us are either directly taught, or simply come to believe, that all parts of the Bible carry equal weight. Perhaps it... Read more
As I logged onto Facebook today, I saw the predictable and obligatory independence posts clogging my news feed. Offensive images of the American flag with scripture scrawled about, countless posts about how “great” we are, and a host of other pro-American jargon that simply doesn’t represent what should be the humble attitude of Jesus followers. July 4th used to be one of my favorite holidays, but now, it is a celebration that deeply troubles me. Here’s why: The mere word... Read more
As the Senate recently passed long awaited immigration overhaul and the bill now heads to the house, the long-standing national discourse on the issue of immigration will likely heat up again. As we participate in these discussions my hope is that we, especially Christians tasked with peacemaking and reconciling, will find ways to build bridges instead of erecting walls. As a first step in this bridge building, I pray that once and for all, we will stop using the term... Read more
On February 26, 2012 George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Each day for the foreseeable future, the 24 hour news networks will inundate us with the daily news as he now goes to trial for the murder of 17 year old, Trayvon Martin. When this senseless killing first took place, police were slow to arrest Zimmerman, who claimed his killing was justified under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. These laws permit, in some circumstances, the... Read more
Do you suffer from church related trauma? This is a post for those who do, and those who don’t. Maybe the extent of your church trauma is having to sit through stuff like this: Or, maybe your church related trauma is a little more serious. When we were dating, one of the things my wife used to say that infuriated me was “I don’t like Christians”. “How can you not like Christians? That’s what you are, you’re a Christian!” I’d... Read more
In the past few days I have been deeply overwhelmed with the response I have received to my previous article “10 things you can’t do and still call yourself pro-life“. I have long wanted to spark a discussion in Christian circles as to what a holistic pro-life ethic should look like, and never imagined that my blog post on the subject would reach so many people and actually spark the very discussion I had hoped. Many who have responded to... Read more
Being “pro-life” had always been something that was central to my identity. I learned early on, that in order to be a good Christian, one was expected to be “pro” or “in favor of” life- which made complete sense, and still does. As Jesus followers, we follow the one who can lead us to eternal life and life abundant, and therefore should hold a worldview that is intensely in favor of life. Great. I’m all on board. What I grew... Read more
The day I truly became “born again” was the day I quit being a Christian. I can only imagine that some of those reading these first few words, are only doing so because you had an aneurysm when you read the title and your hand accidentally clicked through the link. If that’s you, please bear with me- it’s not what you think. You see, during my seminary days I experienced a crisis of faith as isn’t uncommon for seminarians.... Read more
On election day in 2012, I received an e-mail from someone who had been my friend for 16 years. He had been growing dismayed with the changes I went through during my 4 years at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, especially my new-found passion for biblical social justice, my advocacy for the poor, and my defense of immigrants. Having spent years wrestling with scripture at seminary and working that out within the context of a community of believers, I broke with conservative... Read more
Image (C) Sojourners Magazine In the May edition of Sojourners Magazine, Sojourners reveals that Liberty University- the world’s largest Christian University- has made a disturbing departure from their mission of developing “Christ-centered men and women” in order to cash in on the big business of training war-fighters. This departure from producing students who are “Christ-centered” comes by way of a new degree concentration: drone aviation. In fairness, as the article points out, there are many uses for drone aviation, and... Read more
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