When Praise Turns to Rant   An evangelical preacher, during Sunday worship, declares, “Before I turn to the Word, I’m gonna do a diatribe.” This diatribe was laced with vitriol, secular politics, anti-Covid conspiracy news, and a serious mistrust and dislike for liberals. This is the opposite of praise. Look at Psalm 22. This is the hard-nosed, authentic, tough praise of the people of God. True praise includes lament. The key to the meaning of praise lies in the person... Read more

Kari Lake Entertains “Strapping on a Glock” As Answer to USA’s Problems Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake urged her supporters to “strap on a Glock,” a popular handgun, to prepare themselves for an “intense” election period ahead. “The next six months is going to be intense,” Lake said during a rally Sunday in Mohave County. “We’re going to strap on our seatbelt. We’re going to put on our helmet — or your Kari Lake ball cap. We are going... Read more

John 20:19-31   There’s a country song that insists “Somebody done somebody wrong.” The church has done “some-bodies” (lots-of-bodies) wrong over the centuries. The emphasis here is on “bodies” because our culture likes to pride itself on the body even while the culture war has harshly judged bodies that are not male, straight, and rich. The new culture war is against trans people. Do you think that we ever realize how many people have their identity, dignity, their very hold... Read more

Marjorie Taylor Greene has a new calling as a doom and gloom preacher. After a small earthquake struck New York and New Jersey on Friday, Greene sent a warning on X, formerly Twitter: “God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent,” she wrote. “Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come. I pray that our country listens.” Earthquakes and eclipses activate the hormones of end-time believers. There are from 2 – 5 solar eclipses each year... Read more

Easter in the Rhetoric of Doxology John 20:1 – 18 I have decided to preach my Easter sermon in the mode of doxology. I still remember all those gruesome sermons back in the 1950’s designed to “prove” the resurrection of Jesus. I thought we would never come to an end of all those long sermons replete with theological, doctrinal, and arguments. I would have rather someone read John Updike’s “Seven Stanazas at Easter” and said “Amen” and sent us to... Read more

Some evangelical preachers interpret texts of Scripture with a reckless abandon. Reading tea leaves or the bones of a chicken would be as likely to offer truth as some of these interpretations. Back in 2016, Lance Wallnau compared Isaiah 42 to Trump being the 42nd president (if he won). Based on this wild assumption, Wallnau anointed Trump as God’s new Cyrus. This opened the door to a flood of evangelical biblical comparisons. For a time keeping track of all the... Read more

Comedians Are Our Prophets The word prophet hasn’t been so popular since the original Hebrew prophets spoke hard truth to God’s people. The Independent Network Charismatic (INC) is crawling with prophets. These Christians believe God has raised up prophets for our time to lead a great revival. INC prophets have deep affinities with Seven Mountains Dominionism. Historian John Fea explains, “INC prophets want to reclaim seven cultural mountains: family, government, arts and entertainment, media, business, education, and religion. The goal... Read more

Donald Trump was declared “the anointed of God” by a Pentecostal leader, Lance Wallnau. In 2016, Wallnau concocted the wild story that Trump would be the 42nd president of the USA. Then God told Wallnau to pick up his Bible and read Isaiah 42. Why not Jeremiah 42? According to Wallnau, God revealed Trump would be the new Cyrus – a pagan ruler who would restore power to God’s people. Soon, the entire evangelical tribe swallowed Wallnau’s ridiculous prophecy. The... Read more

Screen Free Worship Jesus cleansing the Temple elicited a more modern interpretation from me. John’s Gospel says, [Jesus] “making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, ‘Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’” Uncomfortable words for churches fixated on marketing. Perhaps... Read more

The Danger of a Politician Preaching a Sermon There’s an embedded illusion among people about preaching: “Any old stick can preach a sermon.” An Episcopal Canon to the Ordinary once told me, “Having a preaching workshop for my preachers would be a waste of time. They all think they should be preaching at the National Cathedral.” Some of my preaching students felt a built-in disdain for the work required in a preaching class. Somewhere they had gotten the idea that... Read more