When I was little there was a popular CCM song called “Jesus is the Answer.” Maybe you remember it. The chorus went, simply: Jesus is the Answer For the world today Above him there’s no other Jesus is the Way. The song became something of a rallying cry for the burgeoning post-Jesus Movement evangelical right, with implications for both saving souls and enacting righteous legislation. Yes, Jesus is the Answer for every down-and-out lost person who needs to get saved.... Read more
Christians get agitated when you use the word “cult.” I found this out recently when I suggested that megachurches can produce a cultish environment, especially if they have a revered celebrity personality for a leader (hence, “cult of personality”). High-control, high-demand, high-secrecy patterns can emerge, leading to all manner of hurt and abuse. Of course, this does not only (or stereotypically) occur within megachurches, but the very suggestion of such produced strong pushback in the comments, on Twitter, etc. One person on... Read more
Christians get agitated when you use the word “cult.” I found this out recently when I suggested that megachurches can produce a cultish environment, especially if they have a revered celebrity personality for a leader (hence, “cult of personality”). High-control, high-demand, high-secrecy patterns can emerge, leading to all manner of hurt and abuse. Of course, this does not only (or stereotypically) occur within megachurches, but the very suggestion of such produced strong pushback in the comments, on Twitter, etc. One person on... Read more
This past week yet another scandalous story broke having to do with the ministry of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church in Seattle. This story is, frankly, somewhat derivative – last month a similar one surfaced about megachurch pastor Steven Furtick. And, it follows on Driscoll’s last moment in the media rotation over questions of plagiarism. But this one could be a hell of a lot more serious than those previous blips on the evangelical media radar. Essentially, Driscoll/Mars Hill... Read more
I am a Christian. I love Christians. I have great hope for the Christian church. But throughout my journey one thing has repeatedly frustrated me. And that is the tendency among Christians to value the identity marker of “Christian” over basic truth and honesty. Oh sure, we’ve got the “truth.” But that truth revolves around theological realities about how one secures salvation or lives the Christian life that must be defended and upheld no matter what, along with the institutions... Read more
It’s Ash Wednesday, and last night I watched 12 Years a Slave. For some reason, that film seems a fitting way to begin the Lent season. It is painful. It is intense. It’s the kind of film that is impossible to “like” – it just destroys you. And in the process, it changes you. While there are plenty of wonderfully thorough reviews of the new Best Picture winner, I just want to share one observation from the film, and then... Read more
For the most part, Christians view the first Person of the Trinity particularly as Father. Now, I know there is pushback on that designation from progressive folks who promote an equal use of Mother or maybe a more neutral Creator or Divine Parent or Source or something along those lines. For the record, I’m really comfortable with Father primarily because, personally, I desperately desire a heavenly Father. And, biblically, Jesus used this designation almost exclusively. Finally, theologically, I don’t really associate Father with... Read more
There have been lots of conversations recently drawing out strong evangelical statements and, in the process, revealing exactly what might be wrong with the whole darn thing. And let me say straight away, I consider myself an evangelical. I know there are some who would question that identity, but that is precisely the point. Something has gone awry in the conversation around evangelical passion, mission, and faithfulness when it begins to mirror the polarizing, culture-war conversation in American politics. Which... Read more
Growing up, I was taught to believe – firmly, absolutely – that the Bible is God’s truth. While my Charismatic family didn’t quite put it in these words, what they meant was that the Bible is inerrant. Without error in the original autographs. Verbally and plenarily inspired such that every word of it is, in fact, the Word of God. This, after all, is the conservative evangelical bedrock, and my family were conservative evangelicals (even though they spiced it up with... Read more
After my post on Monday went a little bit viral, I received quite a bit of feedback along the lines of, “Be careful about using the ‘cult’ word – that’s a big accusation.” And I get it. Those outside the church who have interest in dogging the church have been prone to promiscuously throw “cult” at any expression they don’t particularly like or understand. If it’s a new church that looks or feels different from traditional churches – cult! If people... Read more
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