Let me start by saying that I undertake this post with some trepidation. And that’s because the list in the title is unbelievably heavy. Writing about just one of these things would be difficult enough. But all of them? Additionally, finding a common thread among these items runs the risk of communicating to the less careful reader that they are in some way the same – which they most assuredly are not. The common thread I wish to unravel does... Read more
This will be the first in, I’m sure, a plethora of posts about the inaugural Missio Alliance Gathering in D.C. that came to a close yesterday. It was simply an epic time. One of the many highlights occurred Thursday evening as a group of us got together at a local cigar lounge in old town Alexandria, Va. We all ended up staying past midnight – it was just that good. And toward the end I found myself in a conversation (listening,... Read more
Earlier this week, The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology (one of my favorite things ever) posted this video interview with Rob Bell (another favorite thing). It was rather inspiring. See if you agree: Read more
While reading the Holy Saturday liturgy this morning, I was struck by the context for this oft-quoted text in John: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to... Read more
We all know John Mayer is like the biggest hypocrite of all time for writing this song, but it’s still totally wonderful: And it’s especially wonderful to me because I’m the father of two daughters, Gemma and Pippa – 3YO and 1YO, respectively. And my primary goal in life is to be good to those girls. And I have a throbbing ache in my heart for fear of not being good enough to them. For this very same reason, Exodus 21 is... Read more
You read it right. Rob Bell is irrelevant. As in, not relevant. Like, at all. Just take a look at the official trailer for his new book: Did you feel that? Exactly. Nothing. No shock. No awe. No rush of excitement at the danger or controversy or sheer hipness of it all. It’s just…alright. Now, I’m clearly not in the advance-copy pipeline, but I’d be willing to bet that this book will be just as irrelevant as Rob is. There... Read more
By now, most church folk (and lots of others) have heard about the trouble facing CJ Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries in regard to allegations that child sex abuse in the network of churches was covered up by pastors who allegedly counseled family members to avoid reporting to the police and forgive the abusers. And now, they are resisting the lawsuit and investigation by citing the First Amendment. Great. Rather than a journalistic dig into the history of SGM, CJ, or whatever,... Read more
Recently, I’ve been using this hashtag on Twitter a bit. #empirebusiness. It’s an attempt to warm ya’ll up to an idea – the idea behind my next book, actually, in the development phase right now. Empire Business will look at challenges facing the American church in its relationship to empire – the structures of selfish power and control that so often define life here. Specifically, it will look at the ways in which the church, like the religious institution of... Read more
Yep. Here’s how it went. Saturday night, I realized the Oscars were gonna be on the next day, so I better try to watch at least one of the best picture nominees since I hadn’t seen any of them (nor set foot in a movie theater in months). Argo was on iTunes and looked like a favorite, so Kalen and I rented it. It’s been a while since we’ve even finished a movie at home, honestly, and Kalen didn’t make... Read more
Earlier this week (before #rickwarrentips anyway), the Internet was buzzing about the missional and emergent labels. And in the midst of the conversation about the missional/evangelical part of the equation especially, there “emerged” (see what I did there) talk of two neo’s: the neo-anabaptists and the neo-reformed. The first time I heard these particular labels was on the blogs of both Scot McKnight and David Fitch, each a confessing neo-anabaptist in the tradition of Yoder and Hauerwas. I don’t think... Read more
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