Oh no! Is that the youth pastor heading up to the pulpit? You have worked really hard to invite your neighbors to church. Your neighbor does not know Jesus but is curious and is spiritually seeking. You’ve invited them to Easter, Christmas Eve, even the time you had a solo in that morning’s special music. They never came. Finally, one day, they agree to attend worship service with you. How exciting! You get to the sanctuary early to save them... Read more
If you missed the first two installments of my reflections on the Parable of the Lost son, click here and here. I had a math teacher in high school, Mr. Brown, who was well known as the funniest teacher at our school. He always had a joke for us, most which ran off the rails toward the end as, we were told by another teacher, he realized that he couldn’t tell that joke at school. One day in class, he... Read more
Caring for the poor and hungry has always been an emphasis with Christianity and is a major theme of Christian Scripture. What does the Bible say about the poor? A lot, actually. Old Testament Law Caring for those in need was a major theme of Old Testament Law. Israel, God’s people, were expected to look out for those in need and care for them. They were to create a society in which generational poverty would not exist and debts could... Read more
If you missed part one of “What is an Evangelical, Anyway?” I discussed the Modernist-Fundamentalist divide which saw half of the American church move in the direction of modern science and philosophy and the other half retreat with their high view of Scripture and the supernatural into seclusion. This is important; their withdrawal from the world helped spark a new movement which would come after World War II: the neo-evangelicals. In this series, at least at this point, I am... Read more
When I close my eyes and think about home, certain things come to my mind. Home is that beautiful old Tudor on Jenkinson Court in suburban Chicago. Home is shooting buckets in the driveway behind it or zipping down the bike path toward my friend’s house or popping over to Shirl’s for a chocolate ice cream cone. Home is turning on the radio and hearing Pat Hughes’ voice calling the Cubs game that afternoon. Home can be geography, a place... Read more
In order to define what an #exvangelical is, we must first define what an evangelical is. You might think that is an easy task, but it is not as clear as “a white conservative Christian who votes Republican.” Different people mean different things when they apply the term “evangelical.” Evangelicals don’t always agree on what makes someone an evangelical. So, what’s an evangelical Christian, anyway? Good News People The word evangelical comes from the Greek word “euangelion” which means, “good... Read more
Jesus was the greatest storyteller the world has ever known, and the parable traditionally known as “The Prodigal Son” is, perhaps, his masterpiece. Every detail matters, every character a stand-in for someone in his audience. In the space of 21 verses, Jesus summarizes the Christian story, his mission, and the father’s heart of God. He shows us what God’s love looks like. The father in this story appears to be an older, wealthy, respected Jewish man of his time. We... Read more
Many, many years ago there was a Jewish man living in Damascus in what was and still is Syria. This man was almost certainly from Jerusalem, part of a group of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution for their belief that a man named Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of their holy Scriptures. Followers of this Jesus were being imprisoned and worse—word had it that a young deacon named Stephen had been stoned to death after witnessing to the Good News... Read more
One of the major trends in Christianity right now is the idea of deconstruction. Now, this is not postmodern, Derrida-esque deconstruction. Simply, it is the questioning and rejection of certain tenets of one’s faith that one was taught. Many people have deconstructed their faith so far that they have left evangelicalism—they are now #exvangelicals. This is a thriving and growing online movement of people who have left the evangelical brand of Christianity. Even though I write for the Evangelical Channel... Read more
What do basball fandom, religion, and group identity have to do with one another? Plenty! Last Saturday was Faith Day at the Cincinnati Reds game. Our church bought group tickets and about 20 or so of us went down to the game. It was a lot of fun; the Middle Girl even caught a foam baseball that was shot out of a cannon. In the 8th inning, however, someone started The Wave. As it approached our section, I adamantly shook... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In