It’s time to make Jesus great again. Well, almost time. First, we’ve gotta vote and determine exactly who or what will make Jesus great again, but once we do, one thing’s for sure: he’s gonna be great again. I guarantee it. Now, if you’re brand new to this, American Jesus Madness is my spin on March Madness (which begins this week), but instead of basketball teams, I use Christian pop culture. It’s a mix of the good, the bad, and the downright crazy that defines... Read more

Wow. Whoa. That was some tournament last year. Thousand of votes. Thousands. So nice, thank you very much. That’s really nice. Thank you. I want to congratulate Yoga Pants on the winning of American Jesus Madness 2015. They worked hard on that — I know how hard they worked actually, and so I congratulate them on that win. That was an excellent win even if the tournament was filled with a bunch of small losers. And, I can tell, some of the players,... Read more

(Credit: Carol Von Canon, Flickr Creative Commons) In a recent sermon, Andy Stanley made some comments that are, well, kind of jaw dropping. When I hear adults say, ‘Well I don’t like a big church, I like about 200, I want to be able to know everybody,’ I say, ‘You are so stinking selfish. You care nothing about the next generation. All you care about is you and your five friends. You don’t care about your kids…anybody else’s kids.’ You’re... Read more

(Credit: Kevin Dooley, Flickr Creative Commons) Religious persecution, we’re told, is rampant throughout the United States today. And that’s true. It is. Religious persecution is indeed very real in America these days…for Muslims. But to hear it from conservative leaders and talking heads like Todd Starnes who recently moderated a panel of aggrieved Christian business owners at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, it’s Christians – not Muslims – who are the target of America’s anti-religion crusade. Starnes, if you’re... Read more

I know the title of this post probably sounds like over the top hyperbole, but it’s not. I really do believe every American needs to see He Named Me Malala. Not because it’s the greatest documentary of all time. It’s not. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a really good film that I thoroughly enjoyed and may have even found myself tearing up over a time or two, but that’s not why I think everyone in America needs to watch the... Read more

  Yesterday the Internet blew up when Pope Francis dropped this truth bomb on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump… A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel. Not surprisingly, The Donald™ wasn’t too thrilled with the Pope’s criticism of his conveniently newfound faith. Calling the Pope’s comments “disgraceful,” Trump went on to claim that Pope Francis “would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump... Read more

(Credit: United Nations Photo, Flickr Creative Commons) You ever watch Vice on HBO? It’s been around for a few years, but I just started watching the other day after having exhausted everything I want to watch on Netflix. If you’re not familiar with it – and I’m just barely familiar with it, so maybe this is a poor description – it’s sort of like a millennial version of 60 Minutes, but half as long. The show (produced by the same... Read more

(Credit: JD Hancock, Flickr Creative Commons) The 2016 presidential election officially kicks off today with the Iowa Caucus. I have no idea who will win and I’m not sure anyone else does either. It’s been a bizarre election season so far to say the least. But one thing this election season does have in common with every other election season that has proceeded it is its ability to reveal our values or at least our values at the moment. As candidates... Read more

(Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr Creative Commons) Let me just come out and say it right now: I have zero interest in so-called end times prophecy. I’ve written before that I don’t believe the rapture will ever happen and my opinion on that hasn’t changed. So, when I ask if Donald Trump is anti-Christ, I’m not talking about the mythical figure Kirk Cameron battled in Left Behind. What I mean is, “Is Donald Trump anti-Christ in the truest sense of the word?”... Read more

(Credit: Thomas Hawk, Flickr Creative Commons) Last summer, Christianity Today columnist and church statistic aficionado Ed Stetzer wrote a fantastic article about the Church’s embarrassing tendency to share fake news stories online. It was an incredibly timely and important reminder of the need to do due diligence (or at the very least check out Snopes) before sharing “news” on Facebook, especially when that “news” simply confirms our deepest fears and suspicions of folks we’ve already deemed our enemies. Along with... Read more