I was talking church with a friend over coffee, and he alluded to some difficulties in his congregation. “Uh oh, what’s up?” I asked He said they’d discovered that one of their elders, years before attending the church, had been divorced. He and his current wife had been members at the church for a number of years now and he was an elder in good standing, but they didn’t know if their bylaws would allow him to continue serving in that capacity. I was shocked. I asked,... Read more
I’m sorry; I just forget. I run with a lot of free thinkers and I forget what a lot of you are going through in your churches. But the recent, ridiculous Gungor flap has brought it all back home to me. For those who don’t know, Dove-award winning Christian artists Michael and Lisa Gungor made the mistake of sharing their inability to take all the Bible’s stories literally—and they’re paying the price. The instant backlash has been deafening and vehement; venues and... Read more
Do a Google Image Search for the word “theologian,” and you’ll scroll through page after page of white men (punctuated by the occasional non-white Orthodox icon or otherwise out-of-place image). When we think of many of history’s greatest theologians they tend to be white European males. I don’t know why so many of my white male counterparts get so defensive when I bring it up, but they do. (more…) Read more
I had a discussion with someone today who told smugly told me how much he loved when Mormons came to his door, so he could put them in their place. I said, “Aren’t those usually young kids just trying to fulfill their required mission?” “Yep,” he said. “And they need to learn something about messing with a true Christian.” It was on the way home I was thinking about this list. (more…) Read more
It was an incredibly hot day and I was selling Jesus junk at a Christian bookstore when she came in. She had on a pretty, eggshell-colored sleeveless summer dress and she was asking about a Donald Miller book. And from under her arms burst more armpit hair than I had ever seen anywhere. I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but it looked like she had a 1986-era Jon Bon Jovi in a headlock. It quite literally made me nauseous. (more…) Read more
I’d be hard pressed to choose a word that best describes Stephanie Drury. Polarizing? Embattled? Fearless? I don’t know. If you asked 100 people, you’d get 100 different answers. Stephanie runs Stuff Christian Culture Likes (@StuffCCLikes), a Facebook page for people who’ve been hurt by evangelical culture (and there are a lot). She also runs @FakeDriscoll, a Twitter account that satirizes evangelicalism’s own pugnacious poster boy, Mark Driscoll. Sure, she’s irreverent, sardonic, and mercurial. But I’ve also found her to be thoughtful, wise,... Read more
Josh Kelley and I have a lot in common. We both live in Washington state, we both have a background in the same denomination, we’re both pastors. One area we differ is that he’s a published author with Harvest House Publishers, and I’m not. If I didn’t know how much we had in common before starting Radically Normal, I would’ve figured it out pretty quick. The characters and experiences he describes gave me a profound sense of deja vu. My background is awash... Read more
I’ve led worship in a number of evangelical contexts for the better part of 24 years. It’s a responsiblity that I’ve loved because of my love of music and those occasional moments of corporate transcendence. But there are some aspects that have troubled me over the years. 1. “Worship” feels like a misnomer This one feels like a no-brainer, right? Worship is more than singing songs. As Paul tells the church at Rome, worship is about presenting ourselves to God as living... Read more
Unless you’re dead (or a big fat liar), you get angry. Don’t worry—it’s a perfectly reasonable emotion. We don’t do wrong by getting angry; it’s just that when we’re angry, we often do wrong. Paul expresses as much in his letter to the Ephesians, “In your anger, do not sin.” (Eph. 4:26) But when we give shelter to anger, when we nurse and indulge it, when we give it a long lead, it becomes wrath. Where envy resents when someone else does well, wrath... Read more
I was talking to a friend who, although raised in the church, is pretty antagonistic toward Christianity. He was talking about his childhood and how Sunday school and VBS constantly beat into his head his personal responsibility for Christ’s death. Not in the “Christ died for your sins” vein, but more like, “It was your sins that drove the spikes into Jesus’ hands and feet.” The way his parents and church hammered (no pun intended) into him his personal responsiblity,... Read more
Honest to God
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