In today’s Christian landscape the senior pastor has become the single focus of ministry and church life. This one person is expected to perform every wedding and funeral, to baptize every new believer, to preside over every Lord’s Supper, to teach and train and admonish and counsel and encourage every single member of his flock. He, or she, is also expected to oversee the finances, preach every Sunday morning and evening, and to guide the Church through whatever challenge... Read more
I’m sad to say that I needed someone to point this out to me, but the very popular post and video going around from Christian speaker, Louie Giglio, regarding the cross-like shape of the Laminin molecule and how that is, supposedly, pointing to how Jesus is the one who “holds all things together” as referenced in Colossians 1:15-20, is totally false. Sorry. It’s not true. The first problem is simply that the purportedly cross-shaped Laminin protein is not... Read more
NOTE: Recently, my friend Dr. Scott Bartchy – Professor Emeritus of Christian Origins and History of Religion at UCLA – sent me two documents to examine. Both of them contained more than enough insight to fill up this blog for the next few months. This blog is one of many to come based on these new insights. ** Due to our own lack of awareness about first-century Jewish culture, we have been blinded to several key nuances found in the... Read more
Most Christians are convinced that Jesus is the Son of God. But not as many are convinced that they are also the son (or daughter) of God, even though the New Testament goes out of its way to stress this fact. For example: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating... Read more
Try to imagine it: No Bibles anywhere. No King James. No NIV. Not even a paperback copy of “The Message”. What would that be like? Regardless of how such a thing might happen, try to imagine what it would be like to never have access to the Bible – ever again. In some ways, I think our world might actually be a better place if no one had a Bible anymore. Maybe if we didn’t depend on... Read more
Not only am I really tired of all the so-called end times prophets picking dates for the End of the World based on some obscure Bible passage, a few wonky mathematical equations, the alignment of the moon and the stars and a little bit of old-fashioned B.S. thrown in for good measure, I’m downright angry about it. I mean, I can’t decide what’s worse: The fact that these sorts of predictions continually get promoted or that so many Christians endlessly... Read more
It’s one of the saddest statements in the entire Bible. When God tells the prophet that His people are rejecting Him as their King, you can almost hear God’s heartbreak. God’s original design was for us to be His people and for God to be our King. That’s the way it was from the time God called His people out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness and into the Promised Land that He had prepared for them. But... Read more
Political Tribalism in America Is Unbearably Toxic. Christians in America are oblivious to the way their political entanglement and tribalism have led them away from Jesus and into the heart of darkness. It started a long time ago. As Princeton historian Kevin Kruse details in his book, “One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America,” our country’s religious prostitution began in the 1950’s. That was when, as Kruse explains, business leaders plotted to link Christianity, Republican politics, and... Read more
Know your Enemy.“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” – (1 Peter 5:8) Understand who is NOT your enemy.“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” – (Eph. 6:12)Know your weapons. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons... Read more
Several years ago I was writing a column for Relevant Magazine called “Subversive” which featured interviews from various voices in the Emerging Church Movement. One of those voices was Spencer Burke. He not only helped to launch an emerging church here in Orange County, but he also started an online magazine called theOoze.com and also wrote a great book called “Making Sense of Church”. That’s why one afternoon about twelve years ago I was sitting across the table from... Read more
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