A few months ago, as I was heading into the second Pacifist Fight Club event which was called Round 2 – “The Means War”, I received an email with links to an article which claimed that my position regarding the non-participation of the early Christian church in the military was inaccurate. The main piece of evidence supplied to me at that time was the discovery of an historical (second century) document which detailed the actions of several Christians who were... Read more
Quotes from first and second century Christian writers about the continuing posture of non-violence in the early Church following the age of the Apostles: “The Lord, in disarming Peter, disarmed every soldier.” —Tertullian from “On Idolatry” “Christians could never slay their enemies. For the more that kings, rulers, and peoples have persecuted them everywhere, the more Christians have increased in number and grown in strength.” —Origen Contra Celsius Book VII “Wherever arms have glittered, they must be banished and... Read more
Next weekend I’ll be leading a few sessions with people in El Paso, Texas to talk about how our political tribalism is dividing us and keeping us from fulfilling our mission as followers of Christ. This morning I woke up to a post where someone – a Republican Christian – called me a Liberal [I’m not] and told me I was a dumb-ass, and said I “wouldn’t know Jesus if he slapped [me] in the face.” Of course, if Jesus... Read more
It’s easily the strongest argument against belief in a loving, all-powerful God: “Why does God allow suffering?” Everyone – from the most average man-on-the-street to theologians and philosophers with lofty titles and degrees – has wrestled with the problem of evil. Believers and non-believers alike struggle to answer this question. Some Christians hold the view that God is sovereign, and that this sovereignty necessitates that God remain in absolute control of every atom in the universe – and therefore every... Read more
A fellow house church leader recently emailed me and a few other house church practitioners to ask us how we would answer this question: “How are your house church communities doing at ‘being the Church’ rather than ‘going to Church’?” In response, I’ve had conversations with several in our house church family and they’ve indicated to me that they’ve started to experience a paradigm shift between “going to church” and “being the church.” Here’s how some of them have expressed... Read more
You probably read the story this week where a Georgia politician faced calls to resign based on this statement: “…when you see blacks and whites together, it makes my blood boil because that’s just not the way a Christian is supposed to live.” Councilman Jim Cleveland, also told reporters “I’m a Christian and my Christian beliefs are you don’t do interracial marriage.” Now, before we go any further, I probably need to say that I think this man is not only a... Read more
As a follower of Jesus, I am a subversive agent of a Kingdom with unlimited powers. My mission is to overthrow this empire from within and to unravel its systems and re-boot the culture. This is accomplished by introducing the Gospel virus into the existing mainframe of reality. This “Metanoia” program is designed to re-write the code of our thinking. It has the power to re-wire hearts, reprogram minds, and transform human behaviors. The purpose of this Gospel is... Read more
There seems to be some confusion among American Christians about whether or not we’re still under the Old Covenant or the Ten Commandments. [We’re not]. See, the Ten Commandments were a sign from God of the Covenant He made between Moses and his people. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights... Read more
Ok, there are some white people in the Bible. Maybe if we look in the background at the Romans or perhaps even the Gentiles in Galatia or Ephesus. But the main players – Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jesus, Peter, James, John, Paul, etc. – are all brown, Middle Eastern people, not white. Why should I even have to take time to say this? What’s the point of calling this out? Well, maybe because some Christians haven’t gotten the memo. They... Read more
A few days ago a friend of mine posted something online that revealed his hatred for Muslims. In response, I suggested that he should consider what Jesus said about learning to love our enemies. Not only did my friend not take that advice very well, he quickly accused me of being a “self-righteous Pharisee” and said that “Jesus opposed being a Pharisee.” Before I could respond he ended the conversation by un-friending me. Now, I could write a blog post about... Read more
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