How does the apostle Paul stack up to best practices in modern conflict management? My DMin cohort that just graduated explored this question but it required that we look at modern conflict management theory: See McKnight and Mamula, Conflict Management and the Apostle Paul. From Lauren Visser and Greg Mamula’s introduction chapter … (abbreviated with some slight reformatting for the blog) … I will summarize three more of the five approaches [see here for the first two] of their helpful literature... Read more

No exploration of the nature of Scripture is complete without  a discussion of Paul’s claim in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is God-breathed.” Many a statement of faith uses this phrase and references as a proof text for the doctrine of Scripture, often as the first proposition as though all else follows from this assertion. John Walton and D. Brent Sandy, The Lost World of Scripture, devote a chapter to this text. There are several important points. The first... Read more

Everyone wants peace until it means making peace with one’s enemies. At that point many would rather remain enemies. Think of Jesus: he urged his followers to turn enemies into neighbors (Matt. 5:43-48). Think of Paul: he urged the Strong and the Weak to lay down their demands on the others in order to become peacemakers among the Christians in Rome (Rom. 14-15). And to the Colossians Paul said, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to... Read more

Brief, but deadly accurate: It can be a tough pill to swallow. If we want to be brutally honest, however, we need to acknowledge that religion is about something besides religion. New survey data confirm our hunch that a religious identity isn’t necessarily about religion itself, but about something more complicated. In my recent book about evangelical higher education, I argued that we can only understand fundamentalism and conservative evangelicalism if we abandon our tendency to define these things theologically. After all, there... Read more

Thank you Steve Carter for your courage. Willow’s path has been reckless disregard for truth. Steve saw through the deceptions of it’s former pastor’s “they’re all liars” narrative and he he apologized for his complicity. This is an act of courage and integrity. From Steve Carter: I am writing to announce my resignation from Willow Creek Community Church, effective immediately.   The new facts and allegations that came to light this morning are horrifying, and my heart goes out to... Read more

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen. BCP Read more

Reading: is it reading if you are listening? Betsy Robinson: According to an Edison Research consumer survey, 65% of audiobook listeners imbibe books while driving; 52% while relaxing into sleep; and 45% while doing housework or chores. According to “The Brain and Reading,” an article by cognitive psychologist Sebastian Wren (published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory), reading uses three major sections of the brain: the occipital cortex, where we visualize; the frontal lobe, where we process meaning; and the... Read more

We planted our normal assortment of vegetables this Spring here in the pleasant Ville. Tomatoes — three different kind — swiss chard, kale, brussel sprouts and cucumber. But we’ve had an invader and I’m all but certain it’s the (un)neighborly rabbit. It occasionally wanders to our bird feeder and sniffs and chews. But I’ve seen the stinker in the garden. It reminds of Bill Murray’s caper with the varmints. The problem is that Mr Rabbit eats every leaf of chard... Read more

https://soundcloud.com/user-212639123/james-bryan-smith-on-spiritual-formation-and-the-kingdom-kr-100 We all have ideas that we tell ourselves about God and how he works in our lives. Some are true–but many are false. James Bryan Smith and Scot talk about how these thoughts determine not only who we are, but how we live. The path to spiritual transformation begins with the right thoughts about God. Turning to the Gospels, Smith invites you to put your ideas to the test to see if they match up with what Jesus himself... Read more