What do you do when you don’t like the Bible? Recently, The Resurgence posted some tips by Ryan Kearns about how handle biblical passages that make you feel uncomfortable: Rejoice that you are reading the Bible rightly. Study and try to understand the context of what you are reading. Observe your culture and lives and realize that they are not normal. Ask in community, seeking conviction in your own heart for parts of your life that must change to conform to... Read more
Small to medium sized traditional churches with long memories + a changing culture that increasingly finds our traditions irrelevant to daily life= decreasing attendance and tithing = high levels of anxiety. Is it too much of a generalization to say that this is the context in which most pastors in the Northeast United States minister? It is certainly my context, although hope is present as well. Not long ago, it was time to lead our congregation through change, and we let... Read more
In his new book A Farewell to Mars, my pastor-at-large Brian Zahnd spends some time on the powerful theme of scapegoating. This is not my full review of the book (that’s coming soon), but it is a quick riff. Because this theme struck a particular chord, considering the way people so often engage in this destructive social practice. I think we’ve been seeing an extreme example of scapegoating in the Israel-Gaza conflict. And I think we see it happen in smaller... Read more
It was the day after Christmas, 1944. In Europe, the Battle of the Bulge was in full swing. On the other side of the world Hiroo Onoda, an elite Japanese soldier and intelligence officer, was dropped behind enemy lines on Lubang Island in the Philippines. His mission was to link up with a small group of soldiers already on the island and conduct guerrilla warfare and covert operations. The departing orders from Onoda’s commander, Major Taniguchi, were clear: You are... Read more
Leaving a place that has become home is difficult. It’s unnatural really. We connect to a place and a people, understand the lay of the land and the ethic of a society. To simply uproot is not only becoming increasingly unpopular within a “local movement” orientation, but it is incredibly painful. This is a story about my family doing just that, uprooting from one place to replant ourselves in another. Ending well, as I have learned, is an artform, not... Read more
Looking for prophetic insights in a Wes Anderson film can be a little like looking for physics insights in a Will Ferrell movie. That’s not really what Wes and Will are on about. But Wes is on about nostalgia – in a stylish, ironic, and occasionally hilarious sense. And the nostalgia of his latest film (now on Redbox, yay!) is front and center from start to finish. In fact, The Grand Budapest Hotel is basically a nostalgic film about nostalgia.... Read more
If you want to get into a lively debate with anyone, just ask them a variation of this question: Which _________ was the greatest of all time? Which basketball player, singer, actor, writer, and especially rapper. Let’s take a moment to ask the rappers themselves… Jay-Z (Who refers to himself as J-Hova, as in Jehovah): I drop that Black Album then I back out it/As the best rapper alive, ***** ask about me. Nas (Who refers to himself as God’s Son) My first... Read more
But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things he has done. The Scriptures say, “Once you were nobody. Now you are God’s people. At one time no one had mercy on you. Now God has treated you with kindness.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 I am not a biblical scholar or theologian.... Read more
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge. Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” – Job 38: 1-4 I’ve been thinking a bit about science and religion, mainly because my church is going through a series on the topic. And it’s a sticky... Read more
Growing up in the Midwestern United States in the 1980s, I absorbed a very specific vision of Christianity. It was a Christianity that viewed the cultural revolutions of the late 1960s and 1970s as a catastrophe of immorality and a willful rebellion against God. It was a Christianity that dove head-first into national politics in order to change the country’s culture. It was a Christianity that rejected progressives like Jimmy Carter, and embraced conservatives like Ronald Reagan. Specifically, evangelical Christianity... Read more
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