Guest Post By: Andrew J. Belcher, Founder, Heart for Holiness Ministries Why can’t we have conversations about our beliefs? Why is it so difficult for people who claim the name of Jesus to put down their superficial walls of biblical arrogance for just one minute in order to hear someone else’s point of view about something that they too are claiming to be from scripture? It seems to be such a point of pride in the contemporary christian church. The church... Read more
Last week, I had the awesome opportunity to sit down and chat with one of the most influential spiritual guides of our generation, Rob Bell. Rob has just released a new book that he wrote with his wife, Kristen, called The Zimzum of Love and has a new television talk show- The Rob Bell Show– airing this Sunday on the Oprah Winfrey Network, so we had a ton to talk about when we chatted last week. If you missed the first installment of this two part... Read more
Evangelical theology is undergoing a major reformation. In this period of reformation and renewal, many fresh voices are rising to the surface and are helping challenge the presuppositions of both conservatives and progressives, calling us all to a more Christ centered reading of the Scriptures. Among the most impressive of these voices is Derek Flood, an artist and theologian who has been making substantial waves along the outskirts of the evangelical movement with his challenging and accessible theology. Dereks first book, Healing... Read more
Over the past week or so, Pastor Rob Bell has been blowing up the news outlets and Christian blog-o-sphere with the announcement of an airdate (December 21) for his new show- The Rob Bell Show– on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Many people have come out in overwhelming support of Rob’s new endeavors, such as Danielle Shoryer, who calls Rob “a better Evangelical than most Evangelicals.” Others have critiqued Rob’s new show as further proof that he has “left the fold” and... Read more
Tonight, our nation sits in shock. Some sit before their television screens speechless. Others are moved in a wave of emotions to the streets of Ferguson, D.C., Chicago, New York, and many other cities across out nation, expressing their confusion and pain to our nation and our world. Others, like me, sit at our computers, wondering what, if anything we can do in this moment to be a voice of justice in the midst of such a chaotic situation. Tonight, on... Read more
The internet and news networks have been blowing up for the past 24 hours as news got out that on Thursday night, President Obama will announce an executive action that will shield up to 5 million immigrants from deportation. This decision has come after many noted attempts to pass immigration reform that have been blocked time and time again by Republicans in Congress. As Dr. Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention noted,... Read more
This weekend I had the honor of being a part of The Reformation Project conference in Washington D.C., a conference hosted by my friend Matthew Vines which sought to train Christians on how to be effective agents of change in their communities around the issue of LGBTQ acceptance and inclusion. The weekend was packed with prophetic (and frankly, historic) plenary addresses by Rev. Allyson Robinson and Dr. David Gushee, Seminars on how to interpret scripture from Dr. Jim Brownson and Matthew Vines,... Read more
Not long afterward Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began to pick heads of wheat and eat the grain. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, “Look, it is against our Law for your disciples to do this on the Sabbath!” Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did that time when he and his men were hungry? He went into the house of God, and he... Read more
As I walked out of the Opryland Resort in Nashville this morning, I felt a great deal of tension in my soul. Since Sunday evening, I have been in town for the Southern Baptist Conventions conference on The Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future of Marriage. Almost since the moment that I walked in to the resort center, I have been engaging in conversations with leaders and lay people alike on issues surrounding sexuality and marriage equality, hoping to discover a... Read more
Today, on many Protestant Church Calendars, is Reformation Day. The day in which we commemorate the boldness and bravery of Martin Luther and many other Reformers who took a bold stand in the 1500’s against theological and political corruption they observed in the Catholic Church. (That is an oversimplification, of course.) None of the Reformers set out to cause divisions or to break away from the mainstream Roman Catholic Church. All of them hoped to be a force of reformation... Read more
Nomad
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In