Have you heard of The Wild Goose Festival? If not, you have been missing out. For the past two years, I have attended this gathering of progressive-ish Christian pastors, theologians, leaders, and laypeople in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and every year I have had a tremendous time of spiritual nourishment and just plain fun. Wild Goose is unlike any other conference or festival I have ever been a part of. For four days, hundreds of... Read more
During this weeks general assembly in Detroit, the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to allow it’s ministers to perform Same-Sex Marriages. This news isn’t surprising, as this issue has been on the front burner of the denomination for many years. However, now that the PCUSA has taken a denomination wide official stand on this issue, it is likely that many of it’s more evangelical-leaning congregations may leave the denomination altogether. Speaking about this possibility, Jeff Karoub at AP notes: Since the... Read more
It’s no secret that those of us who claim to follow Jesus Christ consistently fall short of living up to the way of life of our Rabbi. Being a disciple of Jesus is a lifelong journey towards conforming ourselves to the image and way of life that Jesus taught. However, so often, followers of Jesus chose to blatantly ignore some of the clearest instruction of our Rabbi and obscure it with vague theology so that we can get off the... Read more
Many people in the Christian world are facing this issue of hijacked terminology. The words have lost much of their true meaning to fiery new meanings and seem to be beyond redemption. Many Christians caught in the middle of this are ready to simply forfeit the words and come up with new terminology for the Christian faith, marking a clear distinction between the moderate Christians who use the terms and those who misuse them on the ends of the spectrum.... Read more
We sinned against him, but he didn’t give us the punishment we deserved. His love for his followers is as high above us as heaven is above the earth. And he has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. The LORD is as kind to his followers as a father is to his children. He knows all about us. He knows we are made from dust. Psalm 103:10-14 (ERV) Last night a... Read more
Last week I had the awesome opportunity to sit down with Stephen Lovegrove for his YouTube show, Stephen Soul Talks, to chat about all things spiritual. Stephen asks some great questions and sparks some fantastic conversations centering around everything from the Church, New Age Mysticism, and the power of love. Stephen is a very awakened guy who offers a ton of great insights of his own, so I know that you will benefit from listening in to our conversation! Enjoy!... Read more
I am an Evangelical. But what does that label even mean anymore? A few days ago I was sitting around chatting with a few new friends at my Bible College. One of them was a young Canadian and another was a middle aged former soldier in the U.S. Armed forces. As we conversed with each other, we ended up on the topic of politics and how many companies and businesses in the United States give millions to political and social... Read more
Yesterday, my friend Benjamin Corey posted a video on his blog featuring the well-known Fundamentalist mega-pastor Dr. John MacArthur answering a question he received concerning how to respond if your son comes out as gay. When I clicked on the video, I expected to hear something along the lines of “call them to repentance”, “extend the grace of God to them”, or “pray for them”- all of which are popular responses of those who hold a conservative view of homosexuality.... Read more
Today is the day that my friend Brian McLaren’s newest book We Make The Road By Walking releases on Amazon and wherever books are sold. This new book is very different than anything Brian has written before in that it is not really a book at all. What Brian has created is a devotional/lectionary of sorts that goes through a year’s worth of scripture and offers his always fresh, well informed, life-giving insights on the text. It really is like... Read more
So then, our friends, stand firm and hold on to those traditions which we taught you, both in our preaching and in our letter. – 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Tradition. Tradition is an absolutely essential part of the Christian faith. It is one of the highest authorities we have as a community of Jesus followers. Any professor of Christianity would refer to a three legged stool of authority for the Christian faith: The Bible, Tradition, and Reason. Upon these three things,... Read more
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