This is about one of the most important books anyone who teaches or preaches the Bible should read. We Protestants teach everyone this: You must read the Bible for yourself. Of course, we don’t want those “you”s to get too clever and start saying things that aren’t there, but there is a lot in this teaching we hold so dear. And that is why everyone who reads and teaches the Bible needs to read Mark Allan Powell’s What Do They Hear? I think this... Read more

If I were to go back to the beginning of my academic career, say when I began teaching and writing, what would I do differently that would help my reading and writing? That’s an easy one, because I know exactly what I’d do and it is something I’m recommending for those of you who are young and beginning your career of writing. (Or if you’re old and up to trying something new.) Read the best writers. About twenty years ago... Read more

On Holy Thursday it is appropriate to stop and think about these events and their meaning for us as Christians. The cross is important, through death on the cross the powers of evil are vanquished. The kingdom of God triumphs over the kingdoms of this world. But in a real sense this victory comes when resurrection defeats death and with it the violence and depravity of this world.  A sacrificial death alone is not enough. The Christian claim and hope... Read more

In Adam Hamilton’s new and pastorally-rich book called Unafraid: Living With Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times, he sorts out fear and takes it on. I recommend this book for those who are suffering from fear and for pastors who need to address fear in the congregation. I was impressed with the range of endorsements: “I want every American to read Adam Hamilton’s Unafraid. There is no saccharine advice in this book, only honest assessments about the danger of nurturing fears and the... Read more

This is the aim of many of us in the USA when it comes to guns: Protest, oppose the NRA, voting and — I think this is big — hurt the gun producers at at the pocketbook: Remington Arms Co filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a Delaware court on Sunday to carry out a debt-cutting deal with creditors amid mounting public pressure for greater gun control. It listed assets in the range of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities in the... Read more

I am grateful to be asked by Bishop Todd Hunter to participate in his innovative Telos Collection. I will be speaking on the topic of Engaging Culture at the 2018 Intersection Conference, hosted by @teloscollective on May 17-19. Would love to see you there! Check out the other speakers and register at https://bit.ly/2t7SlYk. #intersection18 Read more

By Jason Micheli Yes, You Have to Believe in the Resurrection Near the end of Kurt Vonnegut’s war novel, Slaughterhouse Five, the narrator envisions a bombing mission in reverse. Fires go out. Homes are repaired. Bombs that were dropped over towns and cities are raised back up through the sky into the bodies of the American planes. The bombers fly home backwards where they are taken apart rivet by rivet and, eventually, even the soldiers become babies. Vonnegutt’s vision is one... Read more

By Terri Fullerton The phone rings in the background. The secretary answers the phone. She knocks on the door during your staff meeting. It’s your spouse. it’s an emergency. You step into your office, close the door and pick up the phone. Initial silence is broken by tears and panic-infused phrases. Your heart beats faster as you hear the words of your three-year old son’s test results. Blood work Cancer. You fly out the door. The ten-minute drive home feels... Read more

Intelligent design (ID) “is the theory that the universe is too complex a place to be accounted for by an appeal to natural selection and the random processes of evolution—that some kind of overarching intellect must have been at work in the design of the natural order.” Most today, so far as I read, would not be entirely comfortable with the idea of “random,” but Yes, that seems to be how ID is understood today. I quote David Steinmetz from Taking... Read more

Linda Brown, of Brown v. Board of Education, has died. (CNN)Linda Brown, who as a little girl was at the center of the Brown v. Board of Education US Supreme Court case that ended segregation in schools, has died, a funeral home spokesman said. Brown died Sunday afternoon in Topeka, Kansas, Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel spokesman Tyson Williams said. She was 75 years old. Brown was 9 years old when her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her at Sumner... Read more