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Love Recent Posts theology

Should Love Change Us, or Accept Us?

People, groups, and churches proclaim they will love us just as we are, no strings attached.  “You don’t have to change to be here. You are accepted,” they say.  Others will say, “Come as you are.  But don’t stay that way.”  Which is the more loving thing to say? Love is hard to pin down.  […]

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Bible Recent Posts theology

Is the Bible Just Humans Updating God as it Goes? Part 1: On Wisdom

At some point in my childhood I remember hearing the story in the Bible of King Solomon’s asking God for wisdom (1 Kings 3).  I really wanted wisdom—but probably not for the right reasons. God comes to Solomon in a dream and says that he can ask for whatever he wants and God will do […]

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ecclesiology Gospel Leadership missional Pentecost politics theology

Does Pentecost lead to democracy?

Asking if Pentecost leads to democracy might sound like an odd question.  But I really want to ask whether Christianity has a particular political-social form.  In other words, is Christianity particularly suited for (or the cause of) Western Liberalism? Or, does the Spirit that animates Pentecost also animate democracy? Pentecost and Equality Some see Pentecost, […]

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discipleship Gospel theology

The 10 Forgotten Words of Freedom

Which way are you heading? Some languages and cultures train you to know north from south, east from west. These people don’t need a GSP or a compass. Their language builds a directional guidance system into their brains. In Nuuk Thaayorre, an aboriginal language in Australia, you don’t “Hi” or “Hello” when you meet someone […]

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Faith Hacking God theology

Who is God Really? Faith Hacking #1

Our faith bogs down when we don’t know who God really is. Sometimes we think God is so distant that he can’t make a differences.  Or we think God is so vaguely everywhere that God is really nowhere at all. But we need to hack these understandings of God, take what is good, get rid […]

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20 For 20 Bible Glory of God theology

In All Things, For God’s Glory

Obviously my mind is stuck on the theme of God’s glory (see previous posts here and here). Which way does God’s glory flow? Back to God? Or out from God? This is today’s question. The glory of God’s keeps bouncing around in my mind as I feel out objections to the view I’m often put […]

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20 For 20 Bible Glory of God Recent Posts theology

Made for God’s Glory? another on the Nashville Statement

Is there a better way to understand the idea that God made us for his glory?   Yesterday we focus at this phrase from the Nashville Statement:   “Many deny that God created human beings for his glory.” ~ Preamble to Nashville Statement.   I ended my post asking this question. And, “Yes,” there is a better […]

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Recent Posts theology

Eternal Submission? Thinking (all the way) Through the Issue

(originally posted on Missio Alliance) Imagine this preposterous exchange. At a party, I enter a conversation when I hear that someone else is a Giants fan. “I love the Giants,” I say. “Yes, I love how the Giants hit,” comes the response. “And how they get after the ball,” he adds. “I really like their […]

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ecclecia ecclesiology missional theology Uncategorized

Bi-vocationalism as guerrilla warfare: 5 thoughts

Ok, yes, it might sound extreme.  But let’s be sober-minded.  As Todd Hiestand (and the comments) notes in his great post, “10 Suggestions/Thoughts on Bi-vocational Ministry”, being a missional bi-vocational pastor is hard, it takes commitment, it takes faith.  But in this post-Christian context (or at least outside of the ever shrinking Christendom pockets), the […]

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ecclesiology Jesus Christ missional Recent Posts Scripture Tabernacle Temple theology

Being the Temple for the World #3b

(SNARK: I’m hoping to answer, “Everything you didn’t know you didn’t know about it about God resting.”)

Yesterday the post was getting long so I cut it off and will pick it up now (see this for the beginning of the series).

Yesterday we talked about “The Cosmic Temple of Creation: A Dwelling…”, in that heaven and earth were made to be a dwelling place for God to rest. But what exactly does this means.

The Cosmic Temple of Creation: …For Resting (which is Productive)

If a temple is a place for a god’s dwelling and ruling, then this is what we need to understand by a god resting in a temple. “Rest” is not a cessation of work, but a sitting down from all the preparatory work to engage in the real work of ruling. Let me explain.