It’s fascinating (one might say disturbing) to see how each person’s political context shapes his or her understanding of Romans 13. Christians living in North Korea or Burma tend to read Romans 13 differently than Americans do. Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, and other “Christian” dictators have celebrated the passage as their divine ticket to execute justice on whomever they deemed enemies of the state. Not more than a generation ago, Romans 13 was hailed as the charter for apartheid in... Read more
Grace under a Bridge America has no shortage of megachurches that glimmer with stage lights and thunder with deafening sound systems. But one of my favorite churches doesn’t have any lights. No building, no stage, no bells and whistles—it doesn’t even have a paid pastor. In fact, this particular church meets under an overpass off I-35 and Fourth Street in Waco, Texas. The Church Under the Bridge, as it’s aptly called, is a powerful portrait of the incarnation—God taking on... Read more
Whenever I talk about Christians and violence, guns and self-defense, it’s inevitable that Luke 22 will come up. Supposedly, this passage supports the view that Jesus wants his followers to pack some heat while they go about preaching the kingdom of God. Jerry Fallwell Jr. recently used this passage to show that Christians should arm themselves so that “we could end those Muslims before they walked in…” Better think twice before bringing your muslim friends to hear the gospel at... Read more
As some of you know, I teach at a Bible College that offers debt free education. We believe that college debt cripples graduates from living out their God-given calling. That’s why we do everything we can to offer a high quality, holistic, integrative theological education at the lowest price possible. (Last time I checked, our operating budget is about 1/3 of the average Christian college our size. Here’s a brief word from our founder Francis Chan: Basically, each student pays... Read more
We live in a country that’s obsessed with performance. From the time we are kids, we are trying to out-perform our classmates in school or fellow athletes on the field. If we want to make the all-star team, we must perform better than the rest. If we want to get a girlfriend or boyfriend, we have to look better than the competition. And we never outgrow our performance-driven culture. We advance in life by performing well in college. We’ll get... Read more
There may be good reasons for believing that homosexuality is a sin, but there are also some very bad reasons. For what it’s worth, I don’t even like the phrase “homosexuality is a sin.” I explain why in my book People to Be Loved. In any case, here are my top 5 bad reasons for holding to a non-affirming view of same-sex relations. 1. The thought of gay sex creeps me out The “creepiness factor” is a terrible reason for believing... Read more
I’m one of those guys who has an extra sensitive Christian cliché antenna. Some call it a BS meter. It picks up on all kinds of chatter through the church airwaves and demands a concrete explanation. So when I hear Christians say “I want to become more like Jesus,” my meter goes nuts. Not that it’s a bad thing. Becoming more like Jesus is a good thing. But what is this good thing? What does it look like? What does... Read more
In my last post, I summed up my challenge to the evangelical church about its approach to homosexuality from my book People to Be Loved. I mentioned my first two challenges, which are: 1. Cultivate an environment where people who experience same-sex attraction can talk about it, and 2. Listen to the stories of LGBT people. I want to continue our discussion by listing the next three challenges I give in my book. (I actually give 7 total challenges; you’ll have to get... Read more
My books People to Be Loved and Living in a Gray World release today. Usually when an author releases a book, it’s a celebratory moment. We break out the champagne, invite our friends, celebrate the release. But these books are different. It’s actually a quite somber moment. Yes, I’m excited to see these books finally in print. They represent several years of research and study (along with many interviews, friendships, and stories). But they are different in one crucial aspect: they’re not about... Read more
The follow post is written by my friend and local pastor, Rick Hogaboam. Rick is the pastor of Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Nampa, Idaho. He’s passionate about the gospel, and he’s a public advocate for the unborn. He posted something on Facebook about the gospel and nationalism that grabbed my attention, so I asked him to expand his thoughts into a blog post. Here it is: I recently saw a combination of bumper stickers on a car. One said, “If it’s not the KJV,... Read more
Theology in the Raw
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