Mustache Contest in Europe John Byron interviews Jimmy Dunn… thanks John (and Jimmy). Speaking of interviews, Tim Dalrymple has a good interview with Bob Roberts. And Tim Dalrymple, at Patheos, now has a series of interviews on faith and national idolatry. Good piece on a more open world. Daniel Kirk on evangelicalism. Derek Leman on Christians and Jews on the Torah. Don Johnson counsels us to get lost. Bill Donahue counsels to pay attention to signs of soul erosion. Frank... Read more
One of the secrets to good pastoral work is listening, and Dan Kimball does this well. Here is the line-up of sermons at his church in the next few weeks: October 17: Jesus and judgmentalism: Should Christians judge anyone? Christians are known for being judgmental. When I wrote the book They Like Jesus But Not The Church, it was a major thing constantly said so I wrote a chapter on that topic. The bookUnChristian gave statistics that 87% of people describe... Read more
The most recent Christianity Today may be the most significant number published in a long, long time. Why? Because the central story, written admirably by Molly Worthen, is about Al Mohler. He’s called “The Reformer.” Well, I’d reserve that term for two or three people, max: Luther, Calvin, and the Anabaptist leaders in Switzerland, Germany and the low countries. But no one should underestimate Mohler’s influence in American evangelicalism today. Some are annoyingly rankled about Mohler and his cover story;... Read more
What does the image of God look like when we begin afresh from Jesus? In Sharon Baker, Razing Hell: Rethinking Everything You've Been Taught About God's Wrath and Judgment, that question is asked. Here's how she puts it: "And as we we construct an alternate view of hell and read the Bible through one specific lens [the Jesus Lens], we will choose to pay more attention to verses that more consistently harmonize with the life and teachings of Jesus" (76). We all pick and choose, she says, and I agree with her. The question is "how do we learn to pick and choose so that we read the Bible/history the way the Bible writers/persons read?" How do we avoid being arbitrary in this conscious "picking and choosing"? What are the alternatives? Read more
After an initial set of comments, BioLogos has now come out with an agreed-upon statement of faith — and they get it right. There was a good deal of interesting discussion in the aftermath of my last post, which began by assessing whether BioLogos should post a faith statement. “Just what do you people at BioLogos believe?” we have frequently been asked. Given the theological diversity of our staff and that of the BioLogos community in general, we have been hesitant... Read more
The book Theology After Darwin contains a series of essay centered around a simple question: What are the implications for Christian theology if Darwin was right? If we were to take a poll on this blog asking this question I venture to guess that the doctrines of sin and the Fall would top the list of concerns. After all, evolutionary creation calls into question the existence of Adam and Eve as historical individuals and this has serious consequences ... or does it? Read more
Churches also need to have spiritual disciplines. In James Bryan Smith's new book, The Good and Beautiful Community: Following the Spirit, Extending Grace, Demonstrating Love (The Apprentice Series), we get a sketch of the disciplines that can characterize -- not just an individual -- but a community of faith. The sixth characteristic is "generosity." Here are two scenarios: you are a pastor and someone either calls the church or comes by the church and ask for money for a meal. They may look like they need money and a meal, or they may not -- what do you do? You are an ordinary person and someone approaches you and begs for money or food. What do you do? Big question: What are the marks of a generous church and of a generous Christian? Read more
… No protests at funerals (or weddings). If a person doesn’t have the decency to respect the seriousness and sacredness of certain events, then that person has earned compelled silence. Sure, this bites into our sense of free speech, but there are restrictions. We think funerals are one of those. Agree? Read more
… according to Jesus? This question is one of the most important questions we can ask. It stands next to other questions, like “How do we understand the Christian life? Is it spiritual disciplines? Is it church attendance? Is it social justice?” I ask what the Christian life would look like if we let Jesus set the vision and the categories in my next book One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow. It is a discipleship book — Jesus calls and it is... Read more
Last Friday Kris and I drove to Elkhart, IN to do a Jesus Creed conference and to preach at Winding Waters Brethren Church — whew, thankfully no home Notre Dame football game traffic to contend with. Pastor Michael Thompson, who has a wonderful blog, is a friend and so it was great to be with him again, and to see Joy and their two little girls — Malena and Natalie — and to see Joy’s mom, Judy, a friend from... Read more
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