Image credit And what does this tell us about our reading, our philosophy, our nation? Read more

Buzz words abound in the church today. Sometimes they are little more than a publicity stunt, sometimes they are just below shallow, and other times they are genuine attempts to get to the heart of God’s mission in this world. Single terms will only take us so far so terms like “missional” or “formation” or “spirituality” may help but we need them all if we want a balanced and robust theology. When it comes to the Christian life, however, one... Read more

By Joe James, who is the associate minister at the Southside Church of Christ in Rogers Arkansas. Part 1: Lamenting Our Violence Some of you avid Jesus Creed readers may remember my story I shared here a few months back about my almost killing my neighbor. You can read that story here.  I do not bring that story up to resurrect the debates about the justifiableness of violence.  I bring it up now in order to talk about prayer. But not... Read more

Though it is at times overcooked it is just as often undercooked — the Jesus who was remembered was interpreted in that very act of remembering. We are looking at James D.G. Dunn’s Neither Jew nor Greek: A Contested Identity,  which builds on Dunn’s earlier volumes: Jesus Remembered and Beginning from Jerusalem. This is the major accomplishment of Dunn’s academic career, and I am proud to have been one of Jimmy’s students. [Post one, post two, post three.] In this post I want to... Read more

Straight from the Tribune: Here are some of the highlights: •”A Vaseline truck overturned on the highway and cars were slipping left and right.” •”My lizard had to have emergency surgery in the morning and died during surgery. I had to mourn while deciding whether to have the lizard disposed of by the vet or bring the lizard corpse with me to work.” •”I thought of quitting today, but then decided not to, so I came in late.” •”My hair... Read more

I endorsed Rabbi Evan Moffic’s book as a good example of civil discourse and dialogue. I hope that we can engage in public discussions about Jesus. Today Rabbi Evan Moffic releases a new book about the Jewishness of Jesus. Rabbi Moffic is a well-known congregational rabbi outside of Chicago whose first book answered the question What Every Christian Needs to Know About Passover. This second book, What Every Christian Needs to Know about Jewishness of Jesus: A New Look at History’s Most Influential... Read more

Eugene Peterson’s golden words: I (and most pastors, I believe) become busy for two reasons; both reasons are ignoble. I am busy because I am vain. I want to appear important. Significant. What better way than to be busy? The incredible hours, the crowded schedule, and the heavy demands on my time are proof to myself-and to all who will notice-that I am important If I go into a doctor’s office and find there’s no one waiting, and see through... Read more

Most evangelicals and liberals are united in believing that the proper response to the state is to engage it by working in the system to transform it. I’m not sure that many wonder what would happen if a deep and pervasive transformation occurred — would it become a Constantinian state or would it be almost entirely Christian except in name with room for others? Regardless… This is why J.K.A. Smith’s chapter in the book The Church and Politics is the most important chapter... Read more

Jonathan Merritt, The Atlantic: This division was first popularized in Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite, by Michael Lindsay, who was a sociologist at Rice University at the time. After conducting hundreds of in-depth interviews with American evangelicals, Lindsay concluded that the movement could be divided into two classes. He now says that this rift is as relevant as it was when he first explored it. What he termed “populist evangelicals” are the faithful masses you... Read more