God, help us to remember… …that life is a gift. To call it a gift is to imply that we did not earn it. Life is grace. Peace preserves life. So on this Memorial Day weekend we remember that Your intention for this world is shalom. This would be a world where human beings find themselves in right relationship with You – God, with each other, with the earth, and to one’s own self. Life is indeed a gift both... Read more
A NOTE FROM KURT WILLEMS: This is a guest post from two anabaptist thinkers/practitioners who offer us some needed reflections on Christians engaging in politics. I hope you will read and consider picking up their book! ——————————————————————— Upon returning to his hometown of Nazareth from forty days of temptation in the desert, Jesus began his ministry by proclaiming, with calm confidence, a simple yet earthshaking refrain: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17, Mk 1:14). Jesus’... Read more
… 21 and submit to each other out of respect for Christ. 22 For example, wives should submit to their husbands as if to the Lord. 23 A husband is the head of his wife like Christ is head of the church, that is, the savior of the body. 24 So wives submit to their husbands in everything like the church submits to Christ. 25 As for husbands, love your wives just like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. 26 He did this to make her holy by... Read more
KURT NOTE: What an honor to offer you this excerpt from the new book Between 2 Gods by my friend Trudy Metzger. Read and consider getting her book! ——————————– The mountains rise, tall and majestic, stretching into the skies and gracing the heavens—that place where God dwells. I pause from my play, a young preschooler, to take in the breathtaking view, and wonder if I would be closer to God if I were at the top of that mountain. I... Read more
KURT NOTE: This comes from my dear friends at Watershed Church in Kansas City!!!!! Writers, take note! ———————————————— Life is messy. It is full of surprises. Rather than taking the roads less traveled, alone, why not look for a tour guide and dare to ask some friends to join you for the adventure? Inspired by the theme, “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Watershed Church invites you to experience the goodness of God’s diversity through a collaborative writing venture. We’d like... Read more
KURT NOTE: Today we have a guest contribution by Jeff Clarke, who has been a guest before. I’m always challenged by what he writes. I hope you will be too… ——————————————————- “When we have our lives oriented on religious identity instead of in Jesus alone, we encounter a massive obstacle in our path.” – Benjamin L. Corey, Undiluted. One of the biggest challenges we will ever face in life will come when we’re forced to re-examine something we believe in.... Read more
This is a guest post to get us thinking about political discourse as Christians. Thanks to Darrin W. Snyder Belousek for this great guest submission! ———————————— In a recent essay at The Week, Damon Linker responds to several writers in First Things who lament the triumph of “secular liberalism” and the demise of “civic Christianity” in American politics, evidenced acutely by the (anticipated) victory of same-sex marriage in the arena of constitutional law at the Supreme Court. Linker writes: “I’d like... Read more
KURT: Whether you are a traditionalist, conditionalist, or believe in some form of universal reconciliation (or fall anywhere else on the hell spectrum of evangelical theology), the Rethinking Hell Conference would be awesome to attend. I think that we should be willing to listen to various views on theological issues so that we can sharpen one another and always take our conversations back to the Bible and to Jesus. In each of the popular perspectives on hell, there is a... Read more
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These are powerful words that are often recited as ashes are applied to the forehead of Christians. For the past few years of my life, Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent has been a time of focused commitment to journey with Christians around the world to the cross. This season is marked by heaviness, knowing the weight of what the Son of God will have to endure at the... Read more
I believe in Hell. Hell is real, in one form or another. Hell on earth is something every human being agrees exists. War tears families apart. Disease kills parents and leaves behind orphans. Famine neglects to feed the most vulnerable. Consumerism by the privileged fuels the ramifications of all of these things. Hell on earth–this is real. Hell as a literal place of eternal conscious torment for those who never make a mental assent to the Four Spiritual Laws (1. God loves... Read more
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