The season of Advent prompts me to think on the coming of Christ, of Immanuel, God with us. It makes me think of the deep mysteries of the Incarnation and the doctrine of Christology (that Christ is both God and human). And yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, the day in which we remember […]
On Being the Head
Late last week someone accused me of being grumpy about evangelical history (I’ve been writing about it here and here). Well, beyond the reason that I’ve already stated, here are a couple of reasons that get under my skin. First off, I’m part of a historically Holiness (though non-Wesleyan) denomination (the Christian and Missioary Alliance) […]
The middle can be messy and misunderstood. It can also be apathetic and atrophying. It all depends on whether this “middle” is merely ignoring and hiding from important issues, or taking a reasoned stand in a different place. A recent study by Baylor University suggests that the “messy middle” among evaneglicals is growing, specifically in regard […]
The conflation of “evangelical” and “reformed” is so typically that more often than not it is taken for granted. We see it in Dr. D.A. Carson’s recent rebuttal of “kingdom” theology which he sees as too focused on communal ethics rather than individual salvation (it is found in Themelios, the academic arm (journal) of The Gospel […]
I think that much of theology works with the assumptions expressed by Matt Damon’s character in “The Good Shepherd” (about the CIA). When asked about what “you people have?” he answers, “We have America. The rest of you are just visiting.” (FYI, racial slurs in the dialogue) (My thoughts below). I think many pop theologians […]
Here is the official beginning of our “More than Splitting the Difference” video series where I hope to press a bit deeper into the radical evangelical middle, exploring a prodigal kind of Christianity. In order to push beyond the polarity of right and left, conservative and progressive, we must also push beyond the ambiguity of […]
I love this explanation, so upsetting to those who heard it. To update it, Jesus is saying: The kingdom of God is like dandelion seed, which, when someone took it and sowed it in their lawn….” In their lawn, dandelions! Mustard shrubs were viewed like weeds. A Jewish Mishnah, which is an explanation of the […]