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One of the themes in John Nugent’s excellent book The Endangered Gospel is that the church is not called to make the world the better place but to be the better place now. Does such a view promote quietism, passivism (socially) and does it mean social justice doesn’t matter? Good question. The answer is No, unequivocally. I have argued this in Kingdom Conspiracy and it all revolves around mission — the Christian mission. Nugent examines three topics: vocation, missions, and witness to the... Read more

Paraclete Press, ever faithful and ever green when it comes to remembering its authors, gift wraps some Christmas goodies from their bakery every year. This year we got some granola, some Apple Pie jam, and a wonderful loaf of bread. Thanks Paraclete. Merry Christmas Paraclete, and God bless the New Year for you! Read more

By Jonathan Storment I grew up not really celebrating Christmas. I loved the Church I grew up in, but truth be told, we did more than just not celebrate Christmas, we attacked it! One Sunday, the preacher at the church told my visiting 9 year old niece that there was no Santa Claus…during his sermon! And you haven’t lived until you’ve had to sit through that kind of awkwardness. It wasn’t just my little church that resisted celebrating Christmas. At the church I preach at... Read more

Go Cubs! Story of the year! After the Cubs won their first National League pennant since the year World War II ended, Lukas McKnight found himself on the Murphy’s Bleachers rooftop, part of a small group watching Eddie Vedder play piano and sing Pink Floyd songs at the famous sports bar behind Wrigley Field. Tracking the Cubs as October turned into early November became an all-consuming pursuit, an alternative universe where you would keep bumping into Bill Murray or John... Read more

From Relevant: The Philadelphia Eagles NFL team has managed to do something not many other professional teams are doing: Many players are have forged a bond through their spirituality. Religious players are pretty common in the league, but for many of these players, they live out their lives and faiths together—going as far as being baptized by a teammate in the team’s recovery pool at the practice facility. Chase Daniel, a quarterback for the team, hosts a Bible study for... Read more

By John Frye Dear Apostle Paul, Did you goof up in your recounting the essence of the gospel to the Corinthian believers? In 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 you state your aim to remind those believers what the gospel is, the gospel you had yourself “received” as part of emerging Christian tradition. You emphasize that this gospel, your gospel, is the only gospel that saves. What is the gospel, Paul? For what I received I passed on to you as of first... Read more

We turn now to the fourth position in the new book Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church, edited by Preston Sprinkle. First we looked at William Loader’s rigorous reading of texts about same-sex relations in the Bible in their Jewish context — and he does so in a strong, traditional manner (though he doesn’t think that teaching is normative) — and then at Megan DeFranza’s careful reading of the texts more in line with exploitative relations, while not discussing consensual, monogamous... Read more

By Rod Dreher: You may have seen by now the Wall Street Journal story talking about how in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, a number of pastors and others in the Southern Baptist Convention are coming out hard against Russell Moore, the leader of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, which is the public policy arm of the 16 million-member church. They’re angry that he took such a strong public stance against Trump during the campaign. Here’s a... Read more

There’s Something about Joseph, by Jason Micheli Matthew 1.18-25      The sermon begins without explanation, with random volunteers from the audience performing updated parts of the ritual for the bitter waters: First, barley is measured out of its package- 2 quarts worth- and poured into an offering plate.      Second, holy water is poured from the baptismal font into a large clay pitcher. Next, the ‘indictment’ is written on a piece of parchment and then its burnt, its... Read more