More Thoughts on David Gushee and Homosexuality

October 29, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

In yesterday’s post, I gave a brief response to Dr. David Gushee’s recent shift regarding homosexuality. My blog was passed around fairly broadly and elicited various Facebook discussions, which I did not anticipate. Some of the discussions were quite helpful, including the interchange between Dr. Robert Gagnon and Matthew Vines on my own Facebook page, along with many helpful comments by other friends, both gay and straight, who chimed in. As I trolled other Facebook posts—something I rarely do, and... Read more

David Gushee’s Recent Shift on Homosexuality

October 28, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

As you may have heard, leading Evangelical ethicist, Dr. David Gushee, has shifted his views regarding same-sex relations. That is, Gushee now holds to an affirming view, which says that the Bible does not prohibit loving, monogamous, same sex couples from getting married. Before I comment on Gushee’s new stance, let me first say both David and I share a lot of the same passions, including our stance against torture and violence. And it was a great pleasure to join... Read more

Who Was Mary Magdalene?

October 27, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

Mary Magdalene is one of the most well-known and yet misunderstood women in the Bible. She’s commonly portrayed in Christian art as a forgiven prostitute, or, in an extreme case, she’s thought to be Jesus’ wife—the “holy grail”—according to Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code. Neither of these depictions bears a shred of biblical evidence. The Bible never says she was a prostitute, and neither does it suggest she was Jesus’ wife. The only thing we know about Mary is that she... Read more

Jesus, Women, and Ministry

October 22, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

The New Testament says a lot about women. Jesus’ ministry was largely devoted to instilling value in women. The growth of the early church was to a great extent shouldered by women. Most of us “Bible believing” Christians have probably not realized the depth of how radical Christianity’s positive view of women would have been in the first century context. Because when Jesus stepped into the Mediterranean world and reconfirmed the dignity and value of women, he was going against... Read more

What Does it Mean to Be “Called?”

October 20, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

In my last post, I argued that the ever popular Christianese phrase “feeling called to…” is not a biblical concept. When used theologically, the word “call/calling” is almost exclusively used in terms of election unto salvation, not to authenticate a spiritual nudge we may have toward a particular ministry or vocation. But is there anything wrong with using the phrase “feeling called to…?” That depends. Most of us are simply echoing the lingo we’ve adopted from our Christian subculture. There’s... Read more

Is “Feeling Called” a Biblical Concept?

October 18, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

The Christian faith is cluttered with buzzwords—terms and phrases that spiritually authenticate the stuff we do. We “invite Jesus into our heart,” repeat the phrase “we just…” throughout our prayers, and we try live “missionally.” We “do community,” “live on mission,” do “life on life,” and we “feel led by the Spirit” to do all sorts of things from attend a Bible college to attend a Dodger game. Some of these Christianized sayings contain a measure of biblical truth. Others... Read more

A Celibate Same-Sex Couple?

October 17, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

I want you to meet a rather unique couple. Their names are Sarah and Lindsey, but don’t form your opinions too quickly. Yes, Sarah and Lindsey are partners. Yes, they are attracted to the same sex. But no, they are not married nor are they engaging in sexual relations. They are celibate. Now, before you race to declare where you “stand” on this situation—Is it sin?! Is it not a sin!? Why are they partners and not just roommates?!—why don’t... Read more

Meet Sam Allberry

October 16, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

Today, we’re going to get to know author and pastor, Sam Allberry. Sam is the assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Maidenhead, U.K. and is the author of several books including, Connected: Living in Light of the Trinity, Lifted: Living in Light of the Resurrection, and Is God Anti-Gay. I wanted to interview Sam primarily because of he is a celibate Christian pastor who experiences same sex attraction. Since Sam does not believe that same-sex relations are within the... Read more

We Are Creatures of Habit

October 15, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

In my previous post, I talked about the revolutionary vision of philosopher Jamie Smith. I wanted to briefly follow up with some thoughts that capture some of the more provocative points in this book. One of Smith’s main points in the book is that we are by nature liturgical creatures. For some of you, the word liturgy may throw you a curveball; you may think the term simply means heartless repetition that fosters in-authenticity. But that’s not what he means.... Read more

Bobble-Head Christians

October 15, 2014 By Preston Sprinkle

I’ve spent the last month working through two brilliant books by Christian philosopher, James K. A. Smith: Desiring the Kingdom and Imagining the Kingdom. After reading these books, the Center for Pastoral Theologians, of which I’m a member, invited Jamie to come mix it up with us at our annual gathering through dialogue, discussion, and debate. It’s been a brilliant couple of days! Jamie’s work has been nothing short of revolutionary in my thinking. If you’re a pastor, lay leader,... Read more