Do small groups support Sunday services, or do Sunday services support small groups? That question is very relevant to the current concerns of many believers about American Christianity’s practices. To find an answer, it’s instructive to consider the Jewish religious practices familiar to the New Test
Small Groups and Synagogues Read More »
It’s hard to imagine a more precise illustration of “the ends justify the means” – and a more ironic one – than a Christian reverting to very anti-Christian behavior in order to obtain or preserve political power for the church. How did we ever get here?
Let’s Not Take Brandon to Church Read More »
The wilderness can seem deeply uncomfortable – but it’s also a womb, a place of preparation and growth, bringing about what the Lord intends for us.
The Womb in the Wilderness Read More »
Yes, it’s a spiritual battle we’re in right now. But it’s not against COVID, and it’s not against fear. And it’s absolutely not against each other.
Fear and Accusation Read More »
A number of evangelical personalities are now calling empathy a sin and advocating that sympathy is the only Scripturally-appropriate way to deal with other people’s difficulties. Over the last couple years, the Lord has been reworking my heart to restore an ability to empathize, so I share that testimony and challenge this unscriptural position.
How I Learned Empathy Read More »
I’ve been reading a book titled “Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World.” It has me thinking about the dynamics of people that think primarily in terms of groups versus individuals, and about the patterns in American culture and society of the use of authority – and especially about
A Collective Identity Read More »
When the church does not provide a “safe place” for the hurting and confused, it effectively eliminates itself as a source of counsel and wisdom, not to mention a place of sanctuary and healing. But “safe places” and a shame-based discipline system are incompatible with each other. My History with Shame For all of my
Safe Places and Untouchables Read More »
The COVID epidemic has clearly exposed a number of contradictions in the thought process and the actions of many American Christians. The very group that is the most vocal about stopping abortion, preventing euthanasia, and denying “my body, my choice” is also the group agitating the loudest against masking and vaccination and activity restrictions. Isaiah 1 has some strong words for God’s people in the face of their failure to look out for the vulnerable among them.
COVID Contradictions Read More »
Last year, quite a bit of the discussion in my own church, and what I saw in many other church discussions online, was about how the Lord was using COVID to shake up His Church, and bring it to new places, new thinking, new awareness, new methods and modes. Early in COVID, despite much frustration
For 45 years I’ve been taught some version of “Hebrews 10:25 says don’t skip Sunday church services.” I’m certainly not the first to exegete Hebrews 10:25, and I won’t be the last, and I don’t claim this is definitive, but I have some observations. In context, Hebrews 10 says “23Let us hold fast the confession
Forsake Not… Go Beyond Sunday Read More »
