Geoffrey Holsclaw
This time of year, many progress-liberal minded Christians criticize the idea that God “turned away from” or “abandoned” Jesus on the cross. And most conservative minded Christians take the idea for granted, because God can’t look at sin. Did God abandon Jesus on the cross?Did the Father forsake the Son in death? Did God turn […]
Interesting that Faith, Hope, Grace, and Charity are women’s names, not men’s names (at least in English speaking West). Does this point to the feminization of the church in the West? Perhaps. But I doubt it. (picture credit: Faith, Hope and Charity, by James Christensen) Maybe the Work of God is Always A Critique of […]
Too often we focus on the JOB of parenting and lose sight of the JOY of parenting. What if our job was to be conduits of joy? Too often we focus on results, behaviors, outcomes. This feels like our job as parents—to churn out effective, well-adjusted, socially capable adults from the chaos of childhood impulses, […]
There is no such thing as prophetic or apostolic leadership AT THE TOP of the church. Prophetic and apostolic leading happens from WITHIN the community, DISCERNING the work of the Spirit with others instead of DECLARING to them. There is no “And it seemed good to ME and the Spirit”.There is only “And it seemed […]
In discipleship, we need less education theory and more neuro-socio-emotional practice. Focusing on education assumes that discipleship is primarily about learning information. But discipleship is about transformation. And the transformation of the person—as the best relational and affective neuroscience is showing—comes through our embodied socio-emotional relationships. This transformation simultaneously rewire our neural pathways (in us) […]
Would human rights emerge from a civilization-scale Bible Belt? Does the Bible Belt represent the historic sweep of Christianity? The answer is: No, on all accounts. The Bible Belt would NOT BE a very nurturing cradle in which to raise human rights. In fact, they would probably die of neglect—or something worse. But tragically, most […]
During the pandemic, physical church attendance is seen as optional at best. And because of the understandable deconstruction and disgust, many are repulsed at the thought of church. And that’s why idea of “church as mother” elicits a strong response from people (for and against) (See my recent post and all the response). This is […]
Is Jesus really the reason for the season of Christmas? Bart Ehrman is famous for “debunking” Christian claims about the Bible, Jesus, and early Christianity. He claims that early followers CHEATED by making stuff up about Jesus—including the Christmas stories. But maybe Ehrman is the one CHEATING. That’s what this video series is all about. […]
Earlier this week I asked “If you could change one thing about American Christianity, one specific thing, what would it be?” The responses were fantastic. And here’s mine (and it is specific, but it would mean changing many other things). Embodied Faith American Christianity—and really I’m talking about “white” American Christianity (of the right […]
I am so discouraged—but hardly surprised–by this response to a post of mine from Friday about the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. I was reminded that Jesus told his disciples to get swords (Luke 22:36) and that Jesus did not come to “bring peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34). Sadly—or infuriatingly—this response perfectly reflects the […]